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Travel can be filled with exciting adventures that enrich your life with memorable experiences. Or travel can be an endless stream of hassles, delays and unwelcome surprises.
The difference between the two may be the tools you use before and during your trip. With the right tech tools, you can make the most of your travel.
Google Maps is filled with tech tools to help you travel. You may check Google Maps just for directions, but there are so many more tools within Google Maps that can help you make the most of your trip.
The infographic below shows you 11 top tips and tricks for using Google Maps to help you travel. Check them out to make the most of your next trip.
Google Maps Infographic
This infographic shows the 11 best tips and tricks for using Google Maps, including how to do each one.
Below the infographic you can read a further explanation of each tip.
1. Plan a Road Trip Route
When you’re traveling on a road trip, you don’t have to search for each leg of the trip separately. You can search for all of the legs of the trip in order to plan more efficiently.
To plan a road trip, open Google Maps and search for your first destination, then click on the arrow to get directions.
Click on the plus + sign after you get the directions to add another destination to your trip and get directions to it.
2. Plan Your Idea Itinerary
Looking for places to see? Search for them in Google Maps, then save them to Favorites, or create a new list.
When you’re ready to plan your trip, go to the Google Maps menu, Your Places, find your list with your saved places, then add them to your itinerary.
3. Share Your Route with Travel Companions
Whether you’re traveling with friends or want to share your itinerary with others, you can let people know about your travel plans easily using Google Maps.
After you have planned your route, click Share or open the menu and click “Share or embed map” to share your route with others.
4. Save Your Maps for Offline Use
When you’re traveling you may be away from the Internet or don’t want to run up international data charges. The good news is you can still use Google Maps even when you’re not connected to the Internet.
Download a map to your phone from Google Maps to be able to use it offline.
To save a map, open the Google Maps app on your phone or tablet and search for the area you want to save. Tap on the address at the bottom of the screen, then choose Download.
A screen will pop up showing the area of the map you will be saving and how much space the map will use on your phone.
Tap Download to confirm that you want to save the map to your device.
5. Skip the Lines at Popular Places
A very handy feature of Google Maps is the tool that shows you how busy a place is at various times during the week. A bar graph will show you the average busy and quiet times during the week for places such as restaurants, stores, tourist attractions and more.
With this knowledge, you can plan your trip to avoid the peak busy times of the places you want to visit.
Don’t use this tip if you actually like waiting in lines…
6. Find the Best Places in Town
Want to know the best local places? Google Maps can help. Whether you’re searching from home or in a distant place, ask Google Maps for recommendations.
After you search for a place, click Nearby to find restaurants, hotels, pubs, coffee houses, or whatever you’d like close by.
Click on Rating to refine your search by star ratings.
7. Share Your Current Location with Friends
Google recently updated Google Maps so you can share your location with your friends when you use the app on a mobile device. They can also see where you are, using Google Maps on a computer.
If you are using Google Maps for navigation, you can share your route with friends so they can see your estimated arrival time.
This video shows you how Google Maps Share Your Location works.
=> Find out more at: New Google Maps Tool Lets You Share Your Location with Your Friends
8. Use Google Maps for a Walk or Bike Ride
The default direction mode for Google Maps is driving, but you can change that to walking or biking. After you search for directions, tap the walking or bicycle icon to get alternate directions.
The results can also tell you the elevation of your trip so you know how much energy you will have to use by choosing self-propulsion.
Sometimes it can be fun to see how long a journey would take if you walked, even though you plan to drive…
9. Use Street View to Familiarize Yourself with a Location
When you’re going somewhere you’ve never been before, viewing it ahead of time can be helpful. Google Street View can show you what you’re looking for before you arrive.
To use Google Street View, drag the yellow figure to the location you want to see. You will switch from map view to street view. Drag the screen around to see the view you’ll see from the street.
10. Save Money on Gas
Google Maps can show you the lowest gas prices in the US and Canada. Search for “gas stations” on Google Maps on a mobile device and you will see a list nearby stations with gas prices.
The stations will also be marked on the map so you can see the closest ones to you.
11. Get Tickets to Events
When you search for a venue, Google can show you upcoming events and even connect you with a website where you can buy tickets. Search for a venue, then scroll down the sidebar.
Google Maps will show you a list of upcoming events. Click on one to connect to a website where you can buy tickets to the event.
Your Thoughts
Do you use Google Maps when you travel? Which of these tips for using Google Maps were new to you? Do you have any other tips for using Google Maps?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
* Infographic used with permission, courtesy of Expedia Canada
10 Years of iPhone
Happy 10 year anniversary to the iPhone today!
#iPhoneAt10 – Happy iphone 10th anniversary pic.twitter.com/tfdUQmzuY6
— Travoline (@travolineglobal) June 29, 2017
Today marks 10 years since the iPhone was first sold by Apple. Many predicted that the phone would fail and be an unworthy competitor to the dominant smartphone of the time: Blackberry.
The naysayers were proven wrong.
When the #Apple #iPhone was launched #OnThisDay 10 years ago by Steve Jobs, it had plenty of detractors. See all the nasty things they said! pic.twitter.com/0qiF76WyLA
— FactorDaily (@factordaily) June 29, 2017
The iPhone has come a long way in 10 years, with more storage, better display, a front-facing camera, faster processor, dual rear cameras and more.
This video shows you the incredible journey of the iPhone since this date in 2007:
Stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech to discover what’s next for the iPhone!
Voice of America Learning English
Have fun learning English while reading about technology at my Voice of America Learning English personal technology column each week. This week’s article is: Five Fun Puzzle Apps to Stretch Your Brain.
Hi i am an avid user of Google maps.It always guide me to reach my destination
Hi Muthukrishnan, That’s great you’re a fan of Google Maps and that you’re using it to navigate to places you want to be. With all of these other tools in Google Maps you can use it for many other things as well!