ANYONE who has ever tried to refold a map can see the attraction of planning a trip with a computer.

Forget about squinting at tiny type or trying to figure out whether Route 2 or Route 2A goes through the center of town. Several new software products go to the heart of the matter and add some advantages. Programs like Tripmaker, Map 'n' Go and Automap, the three best-selling computer travel planners, promise to evaluate various travel scenarios and options easily. And they provide useful information on hotels, restaurants and attractions.

More than one million trip planners have been sold in the last year, according to PC Data, a market research group in Reston, Va. It is easy to see why. They are simple and fun to use and relatively low in price.

But are they any better than a map and guidebook? To find out, I took these three programs on a virtual test drive, calculating both a quick trip and a scenic trip on a route I know well as a resident of Northampton, Mass.: from Manhattan to Lee, Mass., in the Berkshires, with a stopover in Northampton.

The products cost about $39 each and work roughly similarly. Each contains a nationwide data base of road maps and attractions that can be displayed in map form or called upon to create a travel plan. To plan a trip, enter the starting point and destination, along with any stopovers, and the software calculates various routes, scenic, quickest and so on; displays the route on a map, gives written directions, estimates the driving time and suggests attractions or places to stop for gas. Information can be printed out.

Although each program contains some information about hotels and restaurants, none do much to threaten the franchises of Zagat Survey or Frommer's. Think of these programs as powerful adjuncts and complements to traditional sources.

Technical caveats: a notebook computer or desk-top personal computer, equipped with a CD-ROM drive and Microsoft Windows, is required, and a color printer provides easily readable maps (none of these programs are available for the Macintosh computer). Keep in mind that the Web is also a growing source of free maps, with providers ranging from electronic cartographers to the Microsoft Corporation.

TRIPMAKER: Rand McNally has transferred its map-making expertise from road atlases to this software program, currently the best-seller among trip planners. Tripmaker turned out to be my overall favorite. It was easy to use and accurate and provided the most extras.

An animated guide is available to take users through the planning process step by step in just a few minutes. Thereafter, it is quicker to dispense with the guide.

Tripmaker was the only program to suggest taking Interstate 95 north to New Haven and then Interstate 91 north to Northampton as the fastest route, which my experience has shown is the way to go (even with Connecticut's road construction). The trip takes about two and a half hours this way, saving about 20 minutes over taking the more congested Interstate 84 east at the start.

Tripmaker suggested the Sprainbrook and Taconic Parkways, lush, less-traveled roads in southwest New York, as the scenic route. The directions ultimately take you back to Interstates 90 and 91, definitely not scenic. Prettier back roads will get you there, too, and they appear to be in the data base. Tripmaker accurately calculated the scenic drive to Northampton at four and a half hours, plus 40 minutes to Lee.

Tripmaker suggested La Cucina di Pinocchio, a respected Italian restaurant, and Amber Waves, a popular noodle shop, both in Amherst, Mass. Restaurant and hotel data bases, compiled by Rand McNally, give addresses, telephone numbers, hours and price ranges, but no ratings or directions. Worse, there is no way to search for, say, the best barbecue in New Orleans or moderately priced Thai fare in Chicago, jobs a computer should handle easily.

Tripmaker has 20 minutes of videos of nationwide attractions, like the Grand Canyon, with basic travel information included. It also lets the user explore by region or interest, like outdoor or children's activities. But bring a good guidebook.

A.A.A. MAP 'N' GO: This program, from DeLorme, is as simple to use as Tripmaker, but the map quality and detail were the best of the three programs tested. More streets are identified on city maps (none of the programs provide complete city maps), and more landmarks show up over all. The program features the largest map data base, with one million miles of routable roads in the United States, Canada and Mexico (plus, unlike the other two programs, parts of the Caribbean). Tripmaker contains 640,000 miles of routable roads, while Automap has 450,000.

And Map 'n' Go's data base contains the complete Automobile Association of America listings and ratings for hotels, restaurants and attractions. The information is not extensive, but it easily surpasses that supplied by Tripmaker or Automap. But again, there is no way to search by price range or food type.

As the most recently updated of the programs, Map 'n' Go was the only one to offer such features as a built-in link to the DeLorme Internet site, enabling one to download current information on road construction and to overlay that data on the maps. It is a useful feature for, say, a business traveler on a tight schedule.

When I asked Map 'n' Go for the quickest Manhattan-Northampton-Lee route, it provided directions a little off the beaten path and added a good half-hour, with choices like the the Hutchison River, Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways. The directions from Northampton to the Berkshires were also a bit puzzling: the bucolic backroads of Routes 112 and 20 toward Lee. That route adds some pretty scenery -- and about 20 extra minutes. When I requested a scenic route, it provided the same trip.

I randomly plugged in a half-dozen trips, requesting both fast and scenic routes, and half the time Map 'n' Go produced identical directions.

Map 'n' Go also suggested such attractions as the stunning gardens at Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Mass., and Amherst's historic Jones Library, but curiously did not list major spots like the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

AUTOMAP: Automap Inc. pretty much created travel-planning software before it was taken over by the software giant Microsoft. But this program is in need of an update and is easily the least useful of the three.

Automap provides less map detail than the others and also lacks the ability to explore by region. Its data on Canada and Mexico are limited, and it does not have the extensive major city maps or attraction data the others offer. The suggested quick route for my trip involved six highways and four hours -- directions anyone looking at a map could improve on. Until Microsoft upgrades the program, I advise not using it.

Over all, the virtual road test did not persuade me to use my paper maps and guidebooks as campfire-starters. While navigating the highways by computer is faster and provides more information, doing so with a map offers the advantage of dealing with those serendipitous unplanned side trips -- the tiny road that leads through the apple orchard right down to the Connecticut River, or the little town with the name that is just too charming to resist.

But planning a car trip with software can be as much fun as the trip. Maybe more, depending on how well your family weathers lengthy drives.

CAPTION(S):

Photos: Rand McNally's Tripmaker was easy to use and accurate and provided the most extras. DeLorme's Map 'n' Go provided the best map quality and detail among three computer travel planners tested.