Google Maps has become a travel necessity for most people. But chances are you’re saving locations wrong. In this post I tell you how having a logical system of saving places helps you remember your trip and allows you to use Google Maps as a travel journal.
Maps are an essential part of planning and navigation when traveling. Google Maps is an amazing travel resource and something I use daily. If fact, it made the list of my essential travel applications. Making the most of Google Map’s features involves going beyond simply saving locations. The real power lies in creating and managing lists. This simple yet effective technique makes finding things much easier, looks great and can serve as a mini travel journal right within Google Maps.
Why Save Places
I love a good map. For me there is something special about being able to look at what’s around you, switching between satellite and standard view to get an impression of a new place. When I find somewhere I would like to visit, I just save it to one of my lists. Saving places helps you find real world places faster and more efficiently.
Picture this common situation:
A friend is planning to visit Sarajevo and asks you where you stayed when you visited last year. Can you remember? Details are fuzzy – You remember a hostel, a welcome beer. But was that Sarajevo or somewhere else? You remember having to walk up a lot of stairs to get there. Plus, it was near a church. But what was it called again?
How do you remember?
Do you:
- Go back through your photos.
- Check your travel journal (if you remembered to write about that day).
- Go back through your emails or the application you booked the accommodation with and try and find it?
- Check your saved locations on Google Maps.
If you answered a, b or c.
That sure seems like a lot of work, I hope you found it. But I am here to tell you that there is a better way. If you have your phone and access to the internet you will be able to find wherever you stayed, in any city, within one minute. Read on to discover how to save locations in Google Maps
If you answered d
Looks like you are on the right track to using Google Maps as a travel journal. But how have you categorised the things you saved? Check out how to master lists below.
How to save a location on Google Maps
The idea behind saving a location on Google Maps is straight forward. For those of you that haven’t used this feature yet. This is how it’s done; you’ll just need to make sure you’re signed in.
- Open Google Maps (obviously).
- Search for a place, tap on a marker or press and hold on a location on the map.
- At the bottom of the screen, tap the places name or address.
- Tap save and choose a list.
- Open Google Maps (obviously).
- Search for a place, tap on a marker or press and hold on a location on the map.
- At the bottom of the screen, you will see oval shaped buttons for navigation, contact etc. Scroll across until you find the save button.
- Tap save and choose a list.
- Open Google Maps in your browser.
- Click on a place in the map.
- Click Save and choose a list.
Mastering Lists
So, you now know how to save locations. But the real power lies in creating lists. Lists are the categories you save locations under. Google Maps has some pre-made lists and lets you create your own. It also lets you choose a custom icon for each of your own lists. There is a lot of power in organising them in a logical way. This is what works for me:
| List | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Slept | Record of accommodation. |
| Eating | Places to eat which have been recommended or that I found and really enjoyed. |
| Been there | Places which I went to and want to remember for later. |
| Favourites (built into Google) | The best of the best. |
| Want to go (built into Google) | Future travel ideas and/or recommended places. |
Things to note:
1. Eating is separate
The reason why I keep the Eating separate from the Want to go is purely practical. When hungry and trying to find somewhere to eat, I want to avoid as much irrelevant information as possible.
2. Lists are dynamic
I move saved items around in my list. For example, once I have visited a Want to go location, I move it to a different list, or remove it entirely. To do this, just go back into the saved menu on Google Maps and select a new list. I also update the note for the list.
3. Make it fun
This is your list. Provided you know what each list is for, call it whatever you want.
The Importance of Notes
Now that you know about how to make your life easier using specific lists, let’s talk about notes.
Adding a note to each saved location is essential for recall. This is where the ability to create a travel journal with Google Maps comes into its own. If you save a place without a note, it will be difficult to remember why you saved that particular spot. Whenever I save a location, I take 20 seconds to write a quick note on why I saved it. Here are some examples.
As you can see, notes do not need to be long. It’s really just a short reminder of why I saved it in the first place. This example is for a bar in Heidelberg where a friend said it was known for it’s melon schnapps.
Here’s another example: While on a walking tour (I love a good free walking tour), the tour guide often mentions other places to visit, see or eat at along the way. Whenever this happens, I quickly pull out my phone, open Google Maps, find the location mentioned and save it under recommended. As you keep saving them, they build up to create your own travel journal, all within Google Maps!
Choose What to Display
You might find after a while that your Google Maps gets a little cluttered with all the saved locations on there. Fortunately, you can hide/unhide relevant lists as you need them. Just go into the saved page, tap on the three dots next to a list and select hide/show on map.
For me, I hide everything except for slept. It looks cool to able to see all the places I have visited, helps me remember, and helps with planning new adventures.
Collaborating on Lists
Not to be confused with sharing a list. This is about having multiple people edit one list. If you’re traveling with a partner, wouldn’t it be great to have one person’s saved items come up on both your phones. Well, this is possible! While I have not done this personally, you can invite someone else to edit your list. As long as they have Google Maps and are logged in, they will be able to view and edit a list with you. How cool is that!
Simply go into the list options (the three dots) and then select invite to edit.
Other Lesser Known Features
But wait, there’s more.
There are several other things you can do with lists within Google Maps:
- See your closest saved locations.
Found under the saved tab on the bottom of the screen. This means that even if a saved location is hidden on the on the map view, you can still find all the nearby saved locations. - Customise the look of each list using emojis.
You can customise the icon for each of the lists to any emoji you choose. - Share an entire list.
You can share an entire list with someone else, simply by opening that list and pressing the share button. - Make your own Custom Maps with Google My Maps.
This allows you to create your own maps, locations and custom icons. Check out my Scoops Map I have created of all the ice-cream I’ve eaten recently. I’ll post an entire article on this in the future. Subscribe to keep updated.
Check out the Google’s how to guide here, if you need help doing any of these things.
Using Location History
It is possible to get Google Maps to constantly track your phone using Google Maps Timeline. It continuously tracks your movements and keeps them saved on Google Maps. While this can be useful, I have not used this feature. Let me know if you have used this while traveling and would recommend it.
Alternative applications
There are two main options when it comes to tracking your travels. These are Polarsteps and FindPenguins. Both provide a more immersive experience of a travel blog with a map. They are both very similar. Polarsteps has a larger user base and better city guides, but FindPenguins has better tracking features.
Polarsteps
Track your trip, plan it and keep your friends and family back home updated on where you are. It’s kind of like a personal blog with a map. Set a start date and Polarsteps will automatically start tracking.
FindPenguins
In direct competition to Polarsteps and works the same way. It is like a travel journal with a map. You can track your trip, post photos and videos, share with family and friends and follow other travellers.
Note: I have travel tested both of these applications on separate trips. I am in the process of writing up the reviews.
GPS Tracking apps
GPS type tracking applications are best for activity specific tracking. Well known applications include Strava and RunKeeper. Tracking with either of these applications is highly accurate and provides a lot of information. However, these applications are designed for shorter activities (Hiking, running, activities). They are not for tracking your movements all day every day. GPS is accurate, but very battery intensive making these applications best used for the short term.
Conclusion
Google Maps isn’t just for navigation, it’s an essential travel companion. Save locations, create custom lists and add notes to optimise your travel experience. Custom lists allow you to categorise saved locations into a mini travel journal. For a more in-depth experience consider using apps like Polarsteps or FindPenguins.
I hope this helps you plan, navigate and importantly remember your travels (and day to day life). Let me know in the comments in you have any other Google Maps tips, I would love to hear them.
Happy Exploring!
Kieren