If you’re taking a road trip this summer, chances are you’ll be using an app like Google Maps to find your way. No matter where you’re going or how long you plan to be on the road, it’s always helpful to know where you are and how to get where you need to be.
But Google Maps is much more than just getting from A to B. There’s a lot more this app can do, and if you’re going to be on the road for an extended period of time, you’d be wise to take advantage of it. them. But of course, that requires knowing what Google Maps really has to offer. Fortunately we can point you in the right direction.
Here are 9 Google Maps tips to help you prepare for your summer road trip.
1. Hands-free control
Google Maps has pretty strong ties to Google Assistant, so if you need to control the app while driving, you can do most things using your voice. Android users can use the “Hey Google” command if it is configured or if they are using Android Auto.
iPhone users can do this too, but they’ll need to go to Google Maps Settings, then Navigation, and turn on Access your Assistant with OK Google. It’s much easier than trying to do things in Google Maps with Siri, and it only applies to Google Maps while navigation is active. Alternatively, both platforms can activate the voice command interface by tapping the microphone button on the screen.
2. Plan your departure time
Traffic levels always depend on when you are actually on the road, and predicting it yourself is virtually impossible. Fortunately, Google Maps has libraries of historical traffic data at its disposal and can estimate what traffic levels will be like on your route at specific times of the day.
Simply enter your destination and press Directions. The route preview screen will appear, at which point you will need to press the three-dot menu and tap the Set departure or arrival time option. Set the time and day you plan to travel and Google Maps will give you a rough idea of how long the trip will take and what the traffic levels will be along your route. So if they are bad, you can modify your schedule to something a little more reasonable.
3. Add additional stops
Do you need to go to multiple locations on your way? You can add them all to a trip in Google Maps, either before or after you start driving. Before it’s nice and easy: type in your final destination and press Directions. Once the route preview screen is open, press the three-dot menu followed by Add Stop. Then you can search for places to add to the trip, whether it’s a restaurant, a gas station, or something else. Just be sure to rearrange the order by pressing and holding the two parallel lines icon at the end of each stop.
The easiest way to add mid-ride stops is with voice commands. Ask Google Maps to add a gas station and it will show you a ton of options. Tap the one you want on the screen and Google Maps will add it to your trip after a few seconds. Alternatively, press the magnifying glass at the top of the screen and you can type whatever you want or choose from a number of popular preset options.
4. Share location and trip progress.
If there’s someone waiting at the end of your trip, or you want to let someone at home know you’ve arrived safely, you can share your trip progress with Google Maps. Once navigation is active, swipe up the bottom menu and select Share trip progress.
Choose a contact to send it to, whether it’s an email, text message, or any other option, and the recipient will receive a message with a Google Maps link. Opening this link shows them where you are in real time, what your estimated time of arrival is, and what route you will take. There’s also an option to toggle battery life and sharing will automatically stop once you reach your destination, although you can turn it off at any time from the drop-down menu.
5. Offline mapping
You can’t always guarantee that there will be a cellular signal where you’re going, and you don’t want to be left without access to your navigation system just because Google Maps lost its data connection. Fortunately, Google Maps will allow you to download routes and maps for offline use.
The good news is that Google Maps will automatically download a route as soon as you arrive at your final destination, so you don’t lose directions halfway along the way. However, this does not take into account the occasions when you need to detour or move to a different location after reaching a dead end. Therefore, you can download mapping data for a much larger region.
Simply search for an area or city, any area or city you want and open the bottom menu. From there, tap the three-button menu in the top right corner and choose Download Offline Map. This will take you to a map with a large blue square around it, marking the area from which you will download mapping data. Zoom in and out, or move this box to cover a different area and hit Download once you’re done.
6. Book a table or a hotel
Google Maps not only includes the ability to find restaurants and hotels, but also allows you to check availability on a given day and reserve a table or room from the application itself.
Typically, trying to book something takes you to a third-party website, whether it’s a company’s official site or a third-party booking service like Experia or OpenTable. However, some of these companies allow you to make reservations without having to leave Google Maps, saving you a little more time in the process.
7. Avoid tolls, ferries and highways
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Google Maps will direct you to what it considers the best possible route, which is usually the quickest or shortest option available. But that can send you to some places you don’t want to be. Whether you’re avoiding the cost of toll roads or ferries, or prefer a more scenic route than highways can offer.
Fortunately, it’s very easy to tell Google Maps to avoid one or all of these things. Simply open the Settings menu and scroll down until you find the navigation settings. The menu will give you a bunch of options and you’ll need to scroll down until it says Route Options.
Here you can tell Google Maps to avoid toll roads, highways, and ferries. Activate them and then return to the main screen for instructions.
8. Routes that save fuel
Gasoline is expensive and charging electric vehicles takes a long time, even with a fast charger. The last thing you want is to take a complicated route that burns more fuel than absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, Google Maps can determine the most energy-efficient route for your car, based on the type of fuel it uses. Head to the Google Maps settings menu and then scroll down to Navigation Settings. Scroll down this menu until you find Route Options and below the buttons for avoiding tolls and highways is an option called Prefer fuel-efficient routes.
This should be enabled by default, but it’s worth making sure it’s on. Just below there is an option called Engine Type that will allow you to choose between gasoline, diesel, electric and hybrid, because the efficiency of different engines varies depending on the type of road you are on.
9. Save your parking space
There’s nothing worse than getting lost in a parking lot and not being able to find your car. So be sure to take advantage of this Google Maps feature that will save the location of your parking space and prevent that disaster from happening. Once you’ve parked, simply press the blue dot that represents you on the map and tap the Save Parking button in the menu.
Google Maps then places a yellow marker with a large P in the center, marking your parking spot. This location will also be saved to your recent history and will appear at the top of the menu when you tap the search bar. Simply tap on it and Google Maps will fly there and give you the option to get directions to that location.
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