This service uses data from the US Census and a supplementary list of cities around the world to find the latitude and longitude of two places, and then calculates the distance between them (as the crow flies). It also provides a map showing the two places, using the Xerox PARC Map Server.

Consistently ranked as one of the top 20 most visited travel sites on the Web, Maps On Us provides advanced mapping and driving directions throughout the United States.

The culmination of a 30-year evolution of mapping and technology has made MapQuest a world leader in online mapping and driving directions, providing destination information solutions to business partners and consumers anytime, anywhere. Consumers can access color maps and driving directions to pinpoint locations or assemble a route and use MapQuest Find It to find businesses and airports by name or category, even when they don't know the address. Consumers can access millions of locations around the world, find businesses and other locations, print, download or email personalized maps.

Move over Mapquest — sending us down that dead-end street in Burlington, Vt., was the last straw. Rand McNally's maps are prettier anyway, and nicely detailed. The turn-by-turn directions are clearly presented, with handy links to weather forecasts for both your start and end points and a list of scheduled road work, searchable by state and road type. Register for a free basic membership and you can store details about your next road trip.