How we measure and check our routes

This page proves what our route and hub pages claim. No invented route content and no random points off the internet: every route is measured by us with motorways avoided, curated by hand and checked. Below we explain exactly how that works and what each status means.

Last updated: July 2026

How we measure a route

We capture every route in Google Maps and enforce that motorways are avoided. The distance, drive time and motorway share you see on a route page are therefore real measured figures, not estimates. Where needed we split an A-to-B route into connecting parts so the Maps export is correct, and long routes get multiple waypoints so the shape is preserved. We measure a city-to-city corridor, such as a fly-drive route, in both directions separately, with the scenic stops as waypoints in the Maps export and the GPX.

What "0 percent motorway" means

The number is the measured share of motorway on the route, not a promise or a feeling. At 0 percent you drive the whole route on back roads: provincial roads, dykes, village centres and country lanes. Where a short stretch of motorway is unavoidable (a bridge or tunnel, say), we show it honestly as a percentage instead of hiding it.

How we vet stops

The nice stops along the way come only from our own database, not from Google Places or a scraped list. Every place is scored by hand on how it looks from the road, its setting on the route and its access (a 0 to 100 model). Only places that clear the bar become selectable; we use photos only with a commercially usable licence, checked per file. Anything that doesn't clear the bar is left out. That is why the stop selection cannot simply be copied.

Our status labels

To avoid confusion we use fixed labels. Every route carries one or more of these statuses. That way you always know what has and has not been done.

Concept

A route idea. Not published as a route yet, because it has not been measured or curated.

Measured

Technically captured in Google Maps with motorways avoided. Distance, drive time and the motorway share are real measured figures, not estimates.

Curated

The roads and the stops are chosen and assessed by hand: back roads over through roads, and only stops that pass our own vetting.

Checked

The whole route, the stops and the GPX and Google Maps export are checked end to end and tested by hand, so what you download is actually correct.

Driven

Physically driven by car by us. This is the next layer we are adding; we label honestly per route whether this has happened.

Review phase

Ratings from real drivers are being collected. Only drivers who have verifiably driven a route can rate it, which is why you can trust our stars.

What status our routes have now

Every route online now is Measured, curated and checked (July 2026). That means: measured by us with motorways avoided, assembled by hand, and the route plus the export tested by hand. Physically driving them and ratings from real drivers are the next two trust layers we are adding; once a route has been driven, you will see that stated honestly on the page.

Who is Touren.app

Touren.app is a Dutch initiative that puts together beautiful driving routes for anyone who loves to tour by car, motorbike or camper: not the fastest road, but the most beautiful. We build the routes and the free route planner ourselves and expand area by area, in waves, each time only after an area clears our bar. Questions, corrections or a route tip? Email us at info@touren.app.

Plan a route yourself?

Type in your starting point and generate a route or a round trip with nice stops for free, from your own doorstep.

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