• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MomsWhoSave.com

Living Well. Shopping Smart. Family, deals, recipes, travel, reviews, home and decor, beauty, fashion, and much more!


More results...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • home
  • all posts
  • lifestyle
    • parenting and family
    • health / self-care
    • diy / crafts / home
      • diy / crafts
      • home
    • education
    • beauty / fashion
    • personal finance / careers
    • pets
    • reviews & entertainment
      • reviews
      • entertainment
  • gift guides
    • all gift guides
    • amazon-exclusive gift guides
  • printables
  • recipes
    • entrees
    • side dishes
    • appetizers
    • desserts/treats/snacks
    • beverages / smoothies / popsicles
    • recipe roundups
    • seasonal / holiday recipes
    • misc. recipes + tips & techniques
  • travel
    • travel posts
    • search travel deals
  • deals
    • deals
    • daily deal sites
    • freebie list
    • freebie posts
    • free / frugal activities
    • store list
  • giveaways
  • blogger resources
  • about / pr
    • about
    • pr
    • privacy
    • disclosure policy
You are here: Home / travel / Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips

Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips

By Teresa

Disclosure: Articles may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no additional cost to you). See our full disclosure here.

Last updated on April 22nd, 2022 at 02:16 am

Thereโ€™s no denying the impact that both the desktop and mobile versions of Google Maps (Apple/Android)  have had on the traveling communities of the world and the functionality and assistance it has brought to millions of travelers.

However, whether youโ€™re vacationing as a one-off trip or venturing out for the long-term, why not take your journeys to the next level by using the platform to its full potential? Interested? Keep reading to learn more.

Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips

Trip Planning Using Google Maps

1. Take Your Maps Offline

Right off the bat, easily one of the most helpful features is the ability to download your Google Maps maps for certain regions that youโ€™re visiting, so you can use them offline. 

This means you donโ€™t need to use any data on your smartphone or tablet, and you can even use your laptop or computer to help you get around where there’s no (or spotty) internet service.

2. Run Google Maps Faster

If youโ€™re running lots of applications or tabs on your computer, Google Maps can start running slow because it does require a lot of data. However, why not speed things up using the lightning bolt in the bottom right-hand side of the screen? This puts the platform into light mode for faster browsing!

Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips

3. Find Something New

One of the best things about trip planning using Google Maps is that you donโ€™t need to know exactly where youโ€™re going in order to use it. In fact, if youโ€™re looking for something close by, Google can help. Simply search for anything from ATMs to Indian restaurants to see whatโ€™s near you, or just let Google tell you what’s nearby!

4. Make a Custom Itinerary

Few people seem to know that Google Maps allow you to create your own custom maps in the form of layers, which are ideal for adding points of interest. (Just click ‘layers.’)

Say youโ€™re visiting a new city, you can simply add a new layer with only the things you want to see, so you donโ€™t get distracted by everything else.

Actually, there’s a lot to explore in the ‘layers’ feature, so be sure to check it out for yourself.

5. Are We There Yet?

Who knew that thereโ€™s an accurate measuring feature built into both the desktop and mobile versions of the Google Maps app? From the desktop version, simply right-click anywhere on the screen and select the ‘measure distance’ option.

You can then add as many points as you want, and move them around if you’d like. Youโ€™ll find the total distance from point to point. If you make a shape with a touching beginning and end point, youโ€™ll see the surface area in the middle.

From the app, simply tap and drop the pin, and swipe up to access the ‘measure distance’ option. Then all you need to do is tap the + button to keep adding points for the same information.

This is perfect when using Google Maps to plan a road trip. You can see just how long a road is, how far youโ€™ve traveled, or how far a potential route would be.

Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips

6. Ready to Go?

If youโ€™ve been looking up locations, destinations, routes, and looking at maps on your computer, and you’re finally ready to start your journey, look under the blue box where you input the directions, and youโ€™ll see the โ€˜Send directions to your phoneโ€™ option.

As long as youโ€™re signed into your Google account on all your devices and have the app installed, your Google Map information will sync automatically. If not, you can send a copy to an email address, or text it to a phone number via SMS.

7. Indoor Navigation

You might know how to plan a trip using Google maps, but are you using it to find your way around shops and buildings? This feature is one of my favorites! There are more and more of these being added to the Google Maps database and library all the time, with a plethora of buildings and locations to explore.

These include train stations, shopping centers, airports, larger public buildings, and even sports venues. If youโ€™re looking for something in particular or you quickly need to get to where you need to be in a maze of shops or venues, Google Maps can help. Even multi-floor buildings are supported. (This sure would’ve come in handy on my last trip to the Mall of America!)

Trip Planning Using Google Maps: 10 Essential Tricks & Tips | #travel Share on X

8. Multi-Stop Journeys

Traveling to multiple places in one journey, but fed up with going to one place, and then typing the address in for the next? When inputting your destination, simply tap the ‘plus’ button to add another location, and add as many as you want. Google will then help you find the best and most efficient route.

9. Share Your Location with Friends

Looking to meet up with someone, or have you found a city wonder that you want someone else on your travels to see? No matter where you are in the world, simply select where you are, and hit the ‘share’ button to share your location instantly.

You can share your location indefinitely or limit it to just an hour. You can then share access to your location with a group of people via your Google account, by sending an SMS, or sharing a link through email or social media.

10. Save Favorites

If youโ€™re an avid Google Maps user, youโ€™ve probably seen the Home and Work features that save your home and work locations, so you have easy access to them in your daily life. 

While this might not be ideal while youโ€™re traveling, if youโ€™re staying in an Airbnb or hostel, change your home to this address temporarily so you can easily find where it is and how to get back to your home away from home!

Now that you know more about trip planning using Google maps, which features will you use?

You might also like…
Gift Guide: 20 Great Gifts for Travel Lovers
Find Travel Deals

Madeline Miller is a travel writer and lifestyle blogger at Paper Writing Service. She helps people to leave their comfort zone and highlights ways to improve peopleโ€™s travel experiences and identifies useful technologies to make things easier.ย 

Filed Under: travel, tech

Previous Post: « Adorable Easter Bunny Breakfast Toast (Perfect to Celebrate Spring)
Next Post: Gorgeous DIY Agate Slice Coasters With Gilded-Edges »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Email
  • Etsy
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Threads
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Amazon favorites

celebrate independence day

4th of July Patriotic Windsock Craft

4th of July Patriotic Windsock Craft

Make These Easy Patriotic-Themed Snacks: Red, White, and Blue Pretzel Bites

red white blue appetizers
MomsWhoSave bio

Footer

newsletter

SIGN UP for the latest news & updates!
Read our privacy policy.

follow along

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright MomsWhoSave © 2025 ยท Genesis Framework
Stock Photos provided by Depositphotos