How to Make a Travel Itinerary with Google Maps

If you’re planning a trip, you might be wondering how to figure out where to go and in what order.

1. Sign in to My Maps on your web browser.

In order to use the “My Maps” function of Google, you’ll need to first have a Google account.

2. Give your map a descriptive name

To keep yourself organized, give your map a name to remind you what it contains.

On the white box on the top left of the screen, click on the line of text saying “Untitled map.” Another white box will pop up, where you can enter a name and description.[4]

3. Search for places to visit on your trip.

Enter the name of any location into the Google Maps search bar

You can enter restaurants, sight-seeing locations, or even whole cities.

4. Add the locations of any places you want to visit to your map.

A white box will appear with some additional information on the location.

At the bottom of this box, there will be a text that says “Add to map.” Click on this text, and it will appear on the white box on the left side of your screen.

5.Organize your selected places with the “layers” function

For example, you might have a layer titled “Places to see,” one titled “Places to eat,” and one titled “Places to sleep.”

The layers function will group all of the places you’ve chosen.

Click “Add layer” at the top of the white box on the left side of your screen, and give it a title.

You’re nearly unlimited in how many layers you can create, so add as many layers as you’d like.

You can then drag your locations in the white box into the right layer to organize them

6. Plan your travel routes using your Google Map

You can easily map out the distance between two locations.

Select one of your locations from the white box on the left side of the screen, then select the arrow sign on the box that pops up.

A new layer will be created which has the location you’ve selected as an endpoint on a route. Select another location and add it to this layer, and My Maps will automatically create a route for you between the two points.

  • You can add more than one location to a single route. For example, if you wanted to plot a route from Big Sur to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then to Palo Alto, you can add all three locations to your route layer and create a multi-stop path.
  • By clicking on the three dots next to the layer with your travel route, then selecting “Step-by-step directions,” My Maps will create a set of directions for your travel. Handy!

7. Use your map to create a daily schedule.

To give yourself a clear idea of where you’d like to go, and how long it would take you to get there.

Although My Maps won’t give you a day-by-day itinerary of plans, it can make the process much easier.

For example, by using My Maps, you might notice that seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, walking around San Francisco, and eating at a restaurant in Berkeley are close enough to all doable in one day, while visiting Big Sur might be better saved for another afternoon.

My Maps can help you plan out the most efficient trip possible, so you can enjoy your travels even more.

8. Use the “Share” option to loop your friends in on travel plans

When sharing your map, you can also choose the option that allows others to edit the map as well.

Near the top of the white box on the left side of the screen, you’ll see an icon of a person with a plus sign to their left. By clicking this link, you’ll receive a link to your map that you can share with your friends.[10]X

9. Print your map for offline use.

Traveling sometimes means running into areas with spotty Wi-Fi. In these situations, it’s great to have a print out of your travel plans.

Click on the three dots located next to your map’s name in the white box on the left side of the screen. Then, select “Print map” from the menu.

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