What is your Favorte POI that you use

I would have to say Charlie's "Places to visit" is my favorite with your "Offbeat attractions" a close second.

When I update the McDonalds file, I change the name to AAMcdonalds. It will always be the first file in Extras.
..I found poi-factory when searching for a McDonalds file about 3 years ago.

I like the non-chain BBQ POI. We try to find good BBQ while traveling and it's been helpful.

Well........... You immediately ruled out the ones I use the most - Red Lights and Rest Areas. (I don't go to Walmart by choice...) The Rest Area POI is excellent.

I probably have used the POI files for Safeway stores and for Campgrounds the most.

I have to travel for work sometimes and I tend to eat from Safeway rather than going to a restaurant. I don't really care to go out to eat alone.

My wife and I like to camp (and geocache) and have used the campground files while traveling through other states. My only complaint with those files is that people seem to think using an RV is actually camping. I only want listings of "real" campgrounds. Dirt, trees, campfires, tents, that sort of thing.

The Diners, Drive-ins & Dives POI gets the most use out of any single POI I've downloaded, hands down.

I often refer to the IHOP file. Need those harvest grain cakes.

As an RVer, not only do I load it into my GPS, but also into Google Earth. That way, I can plan (and preview) my stops with Earth and then get there with my Nuvi.

When I travel I usually use truck stops when the need for restrooms come up so that I can top the tank and empty myself and not waste time with rest areas unless we need the rest area.
My second is my food file which includes Food Network shows.
My third used file is Choice Hotels for night stays. I just returned from Chattanooga last night and stayed at one that was just opened last month and saw several others that were not in my file.

I just posted this and am already getting great input. I am starting to compile a list and will post it when I get more data. I think this information will help in creating more poi in the future. No one wants to creat a poi and find it is not being used or really wanted.

I am starting to see a trend here too. Lets keep watch this and see what happends.. THanks to everyone in responding!

I keep "Offbeat Tourist Attractions" updated and in use at all times. You never know whats going to pop up!

I also like the mousekeepers.com POI file for Walt Disney World. http://www.mousesavers.com/gps.html It is excellent for driving around the WDW/Orlando area. There are separate sections with directions for installing and using the files on Garmin, Tom-Tom, and Magellan units.

I have the "schools" file set as a Tourguide with a 550' radius and use it as school crossing zone warning file with icon and audio alert. I wish I could set a larger radius but that gives me too many false positives from adjacent streets.

I also found the stink_alert file here and that was just too tempting to ignore, so I also set it as a TourGuide with alert--but haven't passed within a half mile of a stinky location yet...

Two files I have loaded (and hope not to need) are the Discount Tire file and Subaru dealers file.

Of course, RestAreasCombined still has to be mentioned, even though you told us to skip the top 3.

My 3 favorites are :

1. Cracker Barrel (used in TourGuide format)
2. Panera Bread
3. Choice Hotels

Obviously they are ones we use quite a bit during are several long trips per year !

I like Burger King and 7/11 coffee while I travel.
Between the two of them, I am never far away from a good cup of coffee.

I don't use many of the POIs on the site, but my favorite is the one I maintain the most: Historic Ships of the United States and Canada.

Restaurants when traveling out of town.

My favorits are - independent BBQ joints, Family Restaurants, Subway, ...

Useful - Campgrounds, Walamarts

Needed - Rest Areas and McD - I drink to much coffee

We're a combination of RVer and Rt66 Roadies, so it is easy to pick Route Sixty-Six TourGuide as one to like a lot. While driving during any day, I enjoy activating various ones in what I call serendipity mode just to get a sense of what is near us as we pass through an area that might provide an opportunity. Sometimes it is Places to visit, sometimes restaurants, sometimes Campgrounds, just to name a few.

Dunkin Donuts and Denny's

Cracker Barrel, Mickey D's, and Taco Bell.

Mom & Pop restaurants. My wife and I are not formal dining types, so we bypass the chains and upscale places in favor of a little diner shack by the side of the road. We have found some wonderful places to eat, just stopping on a whim.

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives!

Don't load the McD file to avoid the coffee & the frequent rest stops won't be needed.

One look at my ever expanding waistline, and the answer is obvious: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!

I created my own poi for tennis courts around town. During the high school tennis season, I use that one quite a bit.

Other than RLC and Rest Stops ... Dunkin Donuts and Harley Davidson Dealers. I use them both regularly in the cage and on the Harley.

then Man v Food, Throwdown, DDD, Chowdown,...seems to be a theme going on here.

Seems that the most waqnted is "Diners, Drive-ins and Dive" but also anything that will help in traviling on the freeway from point a to b without to many exits.

THis is intresting. I was expecting something differnt but should have known better.

If you look at this post and then compair the "what POI file do you want" link you will find it being differnt info. I do want to make new poi files but not into the food or hotel areas. And the RV stuff has been done already and is being updated great.

Humm.. I think I still need more data ...
So tell me what IS your favorte AND why is it? Again we all know that the top 3 are everyones and we all know why.

I would also know how offen do you use your favorte poi file? every day? onece a week? once a month? or just when you go on a vaction?

Let me know. I think this information will help me and others in future POI files.

Let me explain. As a consultant I travel 100% of the time, different cities all the time. DD coffee is my favorite, so finding any in a town I'm in is a priority (familiarity). Since I'm a big fan of Adam Richmond, Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, etc. I also like to try out the places they've been to (trying to get familiar). Finally, I enjoy the offbeat, so the roadside attractions are next in line to explore (unfamiliar).

So for me I'd love to see anything that is different, any kind of collection of sorts. Things like drive-in theaters operating or abandoned, the world's largest things, places where movies were shot, and so on.

BTW, thanks to all who create the POI files. Seems like a lot work with little return on your part other than the occassional acknowledgement of your fine efforts. Thanks.

Restaurants.

Speed & red light cameras

I would say our most used and also our favorites are the redlights/speed cams, restrooms and bank of america

IHop and Starbucks

diners drive-in & dives, road food and jersey mikes

I usually show Historical Markers for the state I am in so that I know what the sign said while not stopping.

The Rest Areas POI is the one that is most used for me. It is very useful for long trips with the fam.

I use the Red Light & Speed Camera POI the most!

Red Light & Speed Camera POI are used automatically by the GPSr to it makes them the most used POI files. As for manually selected files, restaurant files are my favorite (Hooters, MacDo, BK) and shopping store files (Walmart, Lowe's) are the most used when in a new area.

I travel all over the state of Florida fishing doing outdoor photograph and I probably use the Publix and Walgreens POI files the most. They come in very handy.

i would love to truck stops truck dealers things that involve trucking history. peterbilt kenworth mack and freightliner dealer icons would be cool. maybe a few trucking companies too

state land locations for fishing and hunting here in montana and ATV trail locations

Redlight and Speed cameras, Cracker Barrel and Costco

Redlight Cameras

Although I have not been able to use it very much due to lack of POIs where I've been.

End up using the rest area POI the most, probably like many other folks here.

I'm like Strephon. The POI file that I (and my wife) use the most is the Ohio Wineries file that I (with a little help from another NE Ohioan) created. Nothing better than on a nice warm sunny Sunday visiting a winery we haven't been to before.

...use POIs (RLCs excepted). On occasion I'll use the Cracker Barrel POI.

The main reason I joined this site... the Redlight & Speed Camera files.

Otherwise, I use the POI's that "I" put in my unit to remember places I want to return to that are otherwise hard to remember, i.e., camping, hunting, fishing and special places.

Cracker Barrel, Costco, Best Western, Choice Hotels, Mickey D's, Taco Bell, & Shell.

...or that have veg options, like Which Wich, Burger King.

Rest areas

Speed traps -

Red light - none in our hometown as yet but it comes in handy when traveling.

McDonald's when traveling - filtered with EPE to cover the route I will be traveling. I hate it when traveling along the interstate and need to stop for that morning coffee and see a sign for McDonald's and when you exit the interstate you find out that it is located 6 miles into town. Once at my destination it is not needed.

Beer me and Breweries. (inside a folder entitled Feed Me, which contains about 25 non chain entries)

Geo/ATL