Google Maps celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, but like Apple’s Maps (released in 2012), it has moved far beyond basic navigation services and into travel planning. Both provide tools to bookmark your favorite places, read reviews, make reservations and see the points of interest around you.
Here’s a guide to some useful tools for travelers.
Know Your Place(s)
When you search for and select a business in the app, both Google Maps (for Android and iOS) and Apple’s Maps (for iOS) display a “place card” with the address, hours, reviews and other details about that location.
In Google Maps, tap the Explore tab at the bottom of the screen to see nearby places. On some restaurant cards, you can make reservations using the OpenTable booking service. Google usually includes an immersive Street View 360-degree photo of the area.
Apple’s cards, where you can save and add your own notes, include buttons for the establishment’s phone number, its website and other information. Tap the Search box and choose Find Nearby to see places around you. Apple’s 360-degree view feature is called Look Around; tap the photo thumbnail on the map to open it.
To bookmark a place for later reference, tap the Save or + button on the card. Saved places are stored in the Google Maps Lists area (which includes a default Travel Plans section) on the You tab, or in Apple’s Maps Library, linked on the app’s Search screen.
Both Google and Apple combine curated lists of places into area guides that can be private or shared. In Google Maps, tap the Explore tab to see local guides, or the Contribute tab to make your own.
To see Apple’s trip advice, open Maps, scroll down and tap the Explore Guides button. Last month, Apple announced that it was adding reviews and ratings from sources like the Michelin guide, The Infatuation and Golf Digest.
Put Screenshots to Work
If you’re the type of person who takes screenshots of notes, online articles and photos for reference when doing trip research, a new Google Maps feature, Screenshots, can help turn those static images into an editable itinerary — thanks to an assist from Google’s Gemini A.I. helper. (The Screenshots feature is rolling out now for iOS and is expected for Android devices soon.)
To use it, open Google Maps and tap the You tab at the bottom. On the next screen, select Screenshots. After a short instructional video and some permissions boxes, tap the option to import existing screenshots into Google Maps; once enabled, the app can add future shots automatically.
After the screenshots are imported, Gemini analyzes the contents and creates a list of places pulled from the images — with links to more information, space to enter your own notes and a map.
Explore the Great Outdoors
Map apps aren’t just for cities, especially if you enjoy hiking, camping and America’s National Park System. Both apps link to the National Park Service site for alerts and announcements. Google Maps beefed up its national parks guides and popular trail routes a few years ago. To find a park or trail, just search within the app for it.
Apple updated its Maps app last fall with its own detailed hiking routes and topographic maps for many parks. Serious wanderers can also create and save their own hikes within the app by selecting a starting point on a map, tapping Create a Custom Route and following the onscreen instructions.
Of course, getting a cellular signal in remote areas isn’t always possible, but you can download the maps to your phone before you go. In Google Maps, tap the name of the place, open the More menu and choose Download Offline Map. In Apple’s Maps, tap the Download button on the place card.
Navigate the Airport
If your flight is delayed or you’re in an unfamiliar airport, use your maps app to find food, beverages and other entertainment. (Looking up the gate map for a connecting airport can also help with a tight layover.)
On the airport’s place card in Google Maps, tap the Directory button to see the shops and businesses in the terminal. Google also has detailed indoor maps available for some airports.
In Apple’s Maps, tap the buttons on the airport’s info card for nearby restaurants, shops, security checkpoints — or zoom in and explore the terminal’s map in detail.
Drive in Style
If you’re hitting the road and using Google Maps for driving directions, there’s another bit of customization you can do.
Once you’ve entered your route, tap the blue arrow onscreen showing your location and use the menu to change that icon to the automobile style and color of your choice. Now, just enjoy your vacation.
J.D. Biersdorfer has been writing about consumer technology for The Times since 1998. She also creates the weekly interactive literary quiz for the Book Review and occasionally contributes reviews.
The post How to Research and Plan a Vacation, Right on Your Phone appeared first on New York Times.
