# Route API — Vietmap API Playground

> Find routes between points with Vietmap Route API.

The Route API is Vietmap's directions API: it finds the way through two or more points in order, for car, motorcycle, truck, bike or foot. It returns distance, time, a path to draw and turn-by-turn instructions. Version 4 adds toll costs and congestion per segment, and can avoid tolls, take a departure time, a starting heading and a truck load, with alternative routes.

What it is for:
- Delivery and arrival time estimates.
- Directions in driver and travel apps.
- Shipping fees from real distance and tolls.
- Comparing routes for motorcycles, cars and trucks.

- Interactive page: https://tools.vietmap.vn/playground/en/route
- Endpoint: `GET /api/route/v4` on `https://maps.vietmap.vn` (trang có tuỳ chọn chuyển sang v3 và api-version=1.1)
- Official documentation: https://maps.vietmap.vn/docs/map-api/route-version/route-v4/
- API key: every request needs the `apikey` parameter. Samples use `YOUR_API_KEY` as the placeholder — when integrating, read the key from an environment variable (e.g. `VIETMAP_API_KEY`). Get a key at https://maps.vietmap.vn/console-v2/consumers
- Error codes: `401` wrong API key · `403` key restricted to another domain/IP · `423` API not enabled for the key's consumer, or out of credit (body contains "exceeded credit") · `429` rate limit exceeded.

## Code samples

_This is an example request with sample parameters; open the interactive page to change them and run it for real._

### cURL

```bash
curl 'https://maps.vietmap.vn/api/route/v4?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&point=21.0285,105.8542&point=21.0368,105.8346&points_encoded=false&vehicle=car&alternative=false&annotations=toll,congestion,congestion_distance'
```

### JavaScript

```javascript
// In production, read the key from an environment variable instead.
const API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY";

const params = new URLSearchParams([
  ["apikey", API_KEY],
  ["point", "21.0285,105.8542"],
  ["point", "21.0368,105.8346"],
  ["points_encoded", "false"],
  ["vehicle", "car"],
  ["alternative", "false"],
  ["annotations", "toll,congestion,congestion_distance"],
]);

const response = await fetch(`https://maps.vietmap.vn/api/route/v4?${params}`);
if (!response.ok) {
  throw new Error(`Vietmap ${response.status}: ${await response.text()}`);
}
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
```

### Python

```python
import requests

# In production, read the key from an environment variable instead.
API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"

params = [
    ("apikey", API_KEY),
    ("point", "21.0285,105.8542"),
    ("point", "21.0368,105.8346"),
    ("points_encoded", "false"),
    ("vehicle", "car"),
    ("alternative", "false"),
    ("annotations", "toll,congestion,congestion_distance"),
]

response = requests.get("https://maps.vietmap.vn/api/route/v4", params=params, timeout=30)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())
```

### URL

```text
https://maps.vietmap.vn/api/route/v4?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&point=21.0285,105.8542&point=21.0368,105.8346&points_encoded=false&vehicle=car&alternative=false&annotations=toll,congestion,congestion_distance
```

## AI prompt

A ready-made prompt for a coding assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot…) to write the integration:

````text
I need to integrate Vietmap's Route API v4 into my application.

Official documentation: https://maps.vietmap.vn/docs/map-api/route-version/route-v4/

Here is a sample request that works in the Vietmap API Playground:

GET https://maps.vietmap.vn/api/route/v4?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY&point=21.0285,105.8542&point=21.0368,105.8346&points_encoded=false&vehicle=car&alternative=false&annotations=toll,congestion,congestion_distance

Parameters in use:
- point = 21.0285,105.8542
- point = 21.0368,105.8346
- points_encoded = false
- vehicle = car
- alternative = false
- annotations = toll,congestion,congestion_distance

Write code in [my language / framework] that calls this API, with these requirements:
1. Read the API key from the VIETMAP_API_KEY environment variable; never hard-code it.
2. Send the parameters in the query string exactly as in the sample; repeated parameters (such as `point`) must keep their order.
3. Handle Vietmap's HTTP errors:
   - 401: the API key is wrong or revoked.
   - 403: the key is restricted to a domain / IP that does not match.
   - 423: the API is not enabled for the key's consumer, OR the account is out of credit — tell them apart by the response body ("exceeded credit" means out of credit).
   - 429: rate limit exceeded — retry with increasing backoff.
4. Set a request timeout, and define types (type / interface / dataclass) for the response.

If unsure about a field name, look it up in the documentation linked above instead of guessing.
````

## Reopen this exact request in the Playground

https://tools.vietmap.vn/playground/en/route?point=21.0285,105.8542&point=21.0368,105.8346&version=v4&vehicle=car&annotations=toll,congestion,congestion_distance