how do i use google maps to plan a route

Last Updated on September 22, 2021

An essential part of whatsoever good route trip holiday is the road itself. As they say, the journeying is the destination.

Simply by default, Google Maps tries to send y'all along the fastest route rather than the scenic route.

When you are on a road trip vacation speed isn't always the almost important factor. There may be certain roads that you desire to travel on, at that place are places yous want to see. You might desire to plan gas, food, and restroom stops. Information technology's non always about getting to the final destination as quickly every bit possible.

So it normally makes sense to plan a road trip with waypoints and stops before yous go.

Google provides ii tools that tin help with planning road trips, Google My Maps, and good quondam Google Maps.

I desire to first requite you an introduction to these 2 tools and their purpose and nosotros volition provide detailed "how-to" tutorial instructions later in this post.

Once yous understand the differences y'all'll exist able to choose the all-time tool to help you plan your road trip.

Creating and Saving Driving/Navigation Directions For Road Trips Using Google Maps

Google Maps is best for planning and receiving turn-by-turn navigation directions.

I'chiliad sure past now y'all have used Google Maps to go directions from A to B similar this:

You can also create and salvage detailed direction instructions with up to 10 destinations.

Then y'all can not just go directions from A to B but from A to J via eight other stops along the route.

This can help you find the scenic route and programme in boosted destinations that you desire to visit. Y'all might want to plan fuel stops or food stops or even simply a interruption to stretch your legs.

Here is how to do it:

How To Plan A Hereafter Route Trip Route With Multiple Stops On Google Maps

Create regular A-B directions.

And so tap the Carte du jour icon in the superlative-right and choose "Add Cease".

You can add up to 10 destinations that you want to stop at. You tin change the order of the stops by tapping and dragging on the horizontal bars.

Once you've added your stops y'all tin save these navigation instructions to employ later.

Save a link to them on your phone home screen using the 'Add together Road to Home Screen' option. This volition create an icon on your phone that you printing to open these directions up again at a subsequently indicate in fourth dimension.

Sending a Road Trip Plan With Google Maps

You can share the final directions using Whatsapp or Facebook to send a link to someone or you can even electronic mail them to yourself.

Only tap the carte du jour on the Google Maps App and then tap 'Share Directions'. You lot can and then send the directions via email or all your favorite social media and messaging apps.

Yous can also create driving instructions using a desktop or laptop computer at https://world wide web.google.com/maps/ and so transport them to your telephone.

If you click 'Send directions to your telephone' you can also email the directions to yourself and yous could and then become into your email business relationship and forward that email to other people.

Google Maps is great for planning day trips and shorter trips. Simply some road trips have more than ten destinations. On a multi-mean solar day route trip vacation you might plan 100's of stops. That'due south where Google My Maps comes in.

What Is Google My Maps For?

The main job of Google My Maps is to save a map with lots of pinned locations. It's not really a route planning tool although you tin utilise it to program routes. You can really save something like 10,000 pins in 1 Google My Map. Hither is an case of a Google My Map:

By using your own personalized Google My Maps you can get as detailed as you like.

You can create as many maps as you desire. You can salve the locations of hotels or campsites you program on staying at. You can make a note of restaurants that look skillful, and the attractions you might visit.

You can also save a listing of waypoints that you desire to visit along a road you are going to bulldoze. This tin can be useful if you want to programme a route trip with 12 locations or more.

You can create a layer with a route of footstep by directions on the map too. A directions layer has the aforementioned 10 destinations limitation that you run into in Google Maps. This volition depict a line on your map of the road you intend to travel. It's squeamish and pretty but unfortunately, these My Maps directions are not very useful once you are actually on the road.

They are handy when planning though considering they help you estimate journey times. This will allow you lot know where to plan to book hotels and what attractions you can visit each twenty-four hour period of your road trip.

But recall. You can't open a set route of turn-past-turn directions that you created on My Maps in Google Maps. Y'all tin can't press 1 push and load a 10 terminate trip you planned in My Maps into Google Maps. Or a 100 stop trip for that affair either.

Just all is non lost. There is some integration between Google My Maps and Google Maps and it's really very handy and functional.

You can view your list of pinned My Map locations using the Google Maps app. You tin click on 1 pinned location and cull to navigate there and the app will calculate the fastest route to that location.

It's all-time explained with an example and then let'southward accept a expect:

Subsequently you have created a Google My Maps (we'll show you how shortly) go to the Google Maps app carte du jour and click on 'Your Places'.

Click on the 'Maps' tab to see all your Google My Maps.

Choose the map that y'all want to utilize for navigation. In this case, it'south the Highway 61 Road Trip map. Then tap on a pin and you'll see a blue directions button.

If yous click that button you can starting time planning directions from your electric current location to at that place.

Suppose you wanted to make sure y'all stick to Route 61 and don't get redirected onto the throughway.

It's best to create a list of navigational waypoints using My Maps. For example, gas stations, roadside dinners, viewpoints etc. These are not necessarily destinations that y'all will stop for long at only they can be points that y'all navigate to and from to brand certain yous stay on the road that you desire to.

You will essentially create new Google Maps driving instructions every time you motility from one destination to the next. But it will be quick and like shooting fish in a barrel to do and then because you take saved all the pins previously.

If there is a scenic route that you desire to drive down yous demand to create a pin somewhere on the breathtaking road and navigate to that pivot.

But each time you become to a waypoint you lot'll think the map, click on the side by side pivot, and generate a new set of directions to that adjacent pin.

This way you can actually have a map with 10,000 stops which is a bit more than the usual ten-cease limit! Y'all'll just need to call upward a new destination at every stop you reach.

If you don't desire to do this and want to have preloaded ten stop navigation instructions loaded into your Google Maps you'll need to create and relieve the driving instructions using Google Maps as detailed above.

You tin, of class, break your journey into multiple 10-finish sets of instructions. There is even a hack to combine 2 sets of driving instructions into one 20-terminate navigation but it'southward non very simple to do.

Most people that want to know how to plan a route trip on google maps with more than than 10 stops should either break their trip into 10 end sections or get-go using Google My Maps.

In summary, for a twenty-four hour period trip with ten or fewer stops you can just utilize Google Maps.

For road trips or vacations with more than 10 stops, information technology'south best to use Google My Maps.

I hope that'south cleared up when to utilise Google Maps and when to utilise Google My Maps.

Let's get started with our detailed tutorial on how to create your own Google My Maps.

Google My Maps Tutorial

Sign In To Google Drive or My Maps

Go to Google My Maps and log in using your Google account. Hither you lot will meet all the maps that you have created or have been shared with you.

Google My Maps is part of the Thou Suite. This set of tools includes Google Docs, Sheets and Slides and any Maps that yous create are stored on your Google Drive.

A Google My Map is a type of document just like a spreadsheet or a text document.

Then you can meet your Maps both in My Maps and Google Drive.

Create A New Map

Creating a new map is piece of cake. You just click on the "Create A New Map" button.

You lot can also create a map from within your Google Drive. Click the "New" button on the left and navigate the card to Google My Maps.

A blank untilted map will wait something similar this:

Click on where it says 'Untilted Map' to give it a name and description.

A layer is simply a group of pins that yous can switch on and off. Click on untitled layer and rename it to 'Fundamental Stopping Points'.

You can then begin to discover locations to pin by simply typing in the search box.

Yous need to click 'add together to map' to add the pin to your 'Key Stopping Points' layer.

At this point, I volition unremarkably search for things to exercise in google using the normal methods. Using "things to practise in" and "places to visit in" type searches.

Don't forget to search for tips about your road trip is it's a popular route.

As you get ideas and detect places that you want to visit or might desire to visit add together the pins to your My Maps.

The Verdict

Google Maps is a great tool for elementary road trips with fewer than 10 stops.

Google My Maps is a more complete holiday planner.

Hopefully the examples in this post volition help you lot being planning your next road trip!

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how do i use google maps to plan a route

Source: https://travelinglight.com/how-to-plan-a-road-trip-with-google-my-maps/

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