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There are plenty of ways to make sure your vacation goes well, with planning tools aplenty. However, I personally use one very common app before, during, and after my vacations in an effort to ensure they’re as good as they possibly can be.
Google Maps will be familiar to most of you, but are you using it to its full potential?
With vacations being a valuable (and expensive) break from the monotony of normal life and work, it’s important to do as much as possible to make sure they go well. There’s nothing worse than enduring rather than enjoying a vacation and getting home and regretting having gone in the first place.
Using Google Maps Before a Vacation
Assuming you’re an organized person and not booking a last-minute trip, you may start using Google Maps to plan your vacation months ahead of time.
Look at Hotel Options
The first thing to do when planning a vacation is to look at hotel options. After all, without somewhere to stay, you’re not going to have a great time.
All you need to do is zoom in on the area you’re interested in staying in, then search for “Hotel.” Google Maps will provide a list of options and an overlay on the map itself, along with an estimated price per night. You can filter the results, adding your vacation dates to glean more accurate information. You can also see the official star rating and customer rating and check the availability.
Once you have chosen a hotel, it’s worth looking for it onother hotel-focused websitesto see if you’re able to get a better price for your stay. It’s also worth heading to the hotel’s own website, as removing the middle-man can often bag you a good deal.
Make Lists of Places to Visit
The biggest and best way I use Google Maps to make my vacations more enjoyable is byutilizing Google Maps' list featureto compile lists of places to visit. You can either create one long list encompassing everything you’re interested in, including sights, restaurants, bars, and stores. Or you create separate lists for each of these categories.
Personally, I prefer the former, as then, once there, you may click on that list and see everything that’s close by. However, once you have created a list, the places will be overlaid on the map view anyway.
To find things to add to your list (or find things to visit once you’re actually there), utilize Google Maps' search function. Just zoom into the area you want covered, then click one of the categories at the top. There’s also a More button for a full list of options. Once you have selected a category, you can filter the results in a number of different ways, including average price and customer rating.
Plan the Route in and Out of a City
Even once you have your hotel booked and your flight (or other main means of transport) booked, you still need to plan your way in and out of where you’re staying (especially if it’s a city). However, Google Maps makes this easy, as you can ask it to plan a route from (for example) the airport to your hotel. You should see a range of options, including public transport, along with the price you can expect to pay.
If you zoom in, you should be able to see specific public transit stops and by clicking on them, see real-time information about departures.
Using Google Maps While on Vacation
With the plans made ahead of time and the traveling over and done with, I use Google Maps in several ways while actually on vacation…
Find My Way Around With Real-Time Directions
The first and most obvious way to use Google Maps while on vacation is to get around. Google Maps is superb at getting you from A to B. Just find your destination on the map and click on it, then tap Directions. Then, add your starting location and travel method to get directions you’re able to follow to your chosen destination.
A good tip if you’re in a city is to use a single Bluetooth earbud to listen to the directions. This prevents you from having to look down at your phone for the duration, which not only prevents you from looking like a tourist but also reduces the risk of it getting snatched.
Look at the Surrounding Area for Day Trips
If you’re staying in one central location for a certain length of time, you can (and should) use Google Maps to explore the surrounding area. Just zoom out from the core of the city or resort you’re staying in and look for other places of interest. If you’re staying on the coast, this could include nearby islands that it’s possible to visit by boat, and Google Maps even shows you shipping lanes.
Share My Location to Reassure Family and Friends
Loved ones will worry about you when you’re on vacation, especially if you’re visiting somewhere new, off the beaten track, or packed with people. However, you can share your real-time location with someone using Google Maps. And they don’t even need to have a Google account.
There’s aGoogle Maps Help pagedetailing what you need to do to share your real-time location. But the gist is that you get to choose who you’re sharing your location with and for how long. And the latter includes the option to shareUntil you turn this off, meaning you can leave it on for the duration of your vacation.
Using Google Maps After Returning From Vacation
Even after returning from vacation, there are ways to use Google Maps. While they don’t necessarily improve your vacation, they may improve other people’s vacations in the same location.
Leave Reviews on Places Visited
After I have returned from a vacation and collected my thoughts about it, I’ll revisit Google Maps to leave reviews of some of the places I have visited.
As I explained in my article abouthow I started reviewing businesses on Google Maps, doing so benefits everyone involved. It gives you the satisfaction of leaving a review, the business owner useful feedback, and potential future visitors useful information. There is an art towriting a Google Maps review,though, which is why I wait until after my vacation before leaving any.
As you can see above, Google Maps is an extremely useful tool for before, during, and after a vacation. It can help you plan ahead, find your way around, discover new experiences, assure others you’re safe, and assist others looking to visit the same location.
