8 Google Travel Tips to Make Trip Planning Easier

The busy summer season travel season is right here, coming with issues of flight delays and cancellations. With that in thoughts, you could be fascinated with driving to your subsequent trip vacation spot. If that’s the case, you may benefit from Google Maps when planning your next trip. In any other case, Google Flights additionally has useful options to make journey planning rather less sophisticated.

Google Flights may also help you observe costs for any dates you propose on flying out. Additionally, For those who’re happening a spring break trip journey and do not know the airport effectively, Google Maps can simply assist you to discover some meals or espresso there.

Preserve studying and we’ll inform you extra methods Google may also help make your holidays go easily.

See how a lot a flight will value for any date you propose to depart

On Might 2, Google announced a feature that may allow you to discover the perfect deal on flights heading to your vacation spot. Now you can begin monitoring costs to seek out offers for any date, and Google will ship you an e mail if it detects decrease than typical costs within the subsequent three to 6 months.

Simply head to Google Flights in your browser and sort in your vacation spot. If you do not have a selected date in thoughts for touring, choose Any dates to seek out the perfect deal.

Navigate via airports, malls and transit stations

If you want to shortly discover a retailer in a big mall, Google Maps is expanding its Listing tab for all airports, malls and transit stations. This may also help if you’re operating across the airport looking for a spot to eat or grabbing a last-minute memento earlier than catching your flight. The tab will inform you a vacation spot’s enterprise hours and what flooring it is on. You possibly can look via eating places, shops, lounges and parking tons.

Browse Google Maps to see how busy a spot is

Google added a brand new function to its Google Maps’ busyness tool. Already you may seek for a location, like a enterprise, to see a chart that confirmed how crowded it’s in actual time. Now a brand new function referred to as Space Busyness permits you to see when whole map areas are clogged with individuals. 

To make use of the brand new function, you open the Google Maps app in your Android or iPhone (or your pc’s browser) and transfer across the map to discover a common space, say downtown, a riverwalk or a quaint close by city. The busyness data will now routinely seem on the map, so that you need not particularly seek for a spot to see how crowded it’s. Google Maps could say one thing like “Busy Space” and if you click on for extra particulars, it might say, for instance, “As busy because it will get.”

Track your trip itinerary in Google Maps 

Google Maps can chart your travels, but it can also quickly show you your flight, hotel, car rental and restaurant reservations, saving you the hassle of searching through your email for check-in times and confirmation numbers.

To see your upcoming reservations:

1. In Google Maps, tap Saved in the bottom menu row.

2. Tap Reservations. Here, you’ll see a list of upcoming reservations you’ve made that Maps has pulled from emails in Gmail.

3. Select an item to see more about the reservation, including date and location.

4. You can also search for “my reservations” in the Google Maps search box to see a list of what you’ve booked.

Make a restaurant reservation right in Google Maps

Planning a dinner night out with a large group can be a hassle, especially when you go at a busy hour. Google Maps can help you book a lunch or dinner reservation. Here’s how.

1. In Maps, tap the Restaurants button at the top of the map to see a list of places to eat.

2. Select a restaurant that looks good, and in the window that pops up, reserve a table or join a waitlist, if it gives you that option (not all do).

Remember you can use the busyness feature mentioned above to pick the least packed place. Also, note that some restaurants that are closed to dine-in may still allow delivery, curbside pickup or outdoor seating.

Use Google Maps offline

Heading someplace remote where you may not have a mobile network connection? Google Maps can still give you directions when you’re offline.

1. Before you head out, search in Maps for the location where you’ll want directions.

2. In the location’s window, pull up the menu at the bottom. 

3. Scroll right through the tabs and tap Download, and then in the next window tap Download again. Maps will download a map to your phone for the area you selected.

Now, as you use Google Maps for directions in the area you downloaded a map for, when you lose your cellular connection Maps will switch to the offline map to guide you. Note that because you’re offline, Maps won’t be able to offer real-time traffic info.

Find EV charging spots and gas stations wherever you are

If you’re taking your electric vehicle out for shopping, dinner or a vacation, Google Maps can help you find EV charging stations on your route, along with estimated wait times for a charging port. You can also filter your search by connector type — such as J1772, CCS (Combo 1 or 2) and Tesla — to see just the stations that are compatible with your EV. Note you can also search for gas stations by following these same directions. (Here’s how you can save money at the pump.)

1. In Maps, scroll through the tabs on the top of the screen and tap More.

2. Scroll down to the Services section and select Electric vehicle charging. 

3. Maps will display nearby charging stations and how many are available.

4. Tap a charging station on the map to have Maps add it as a stop on your trip.

You can also use this trick to search for other places along your route, like a coffee shop.

Share your location through Google Maps

Is anything more frustrating during a group activity than when the group gets split up and no one can find each other? Google Maps can help bring you all back together.

1. In Google Maps, tap your profile icon in the top right corner and tap Location sharing.

2. Tap Share location and select who you want to share your location with and for how long you want to share it.

3. Tap Share, and Google Maps will send your location to everyone you’ve selected.

4. If you want to see someone else’s location, tap that person’s icon at the top of the window and then tap Request.

For more travel advice, here’s our guide to saving money on travel even as flight costs rise. Check out 18 travel tips for a stress-free summer vacation, plus these must-have travel gadgets for international trips. Also, here’s how to travel without using up your vacation days.