I’m a planner, through and through. My vacations are often a combination of spreadsheets, mapped out destinations, and guidebooks. Even when we don’t have our itinerary routed, I love having a few possible destinations flagged on a map so we can pick and choose where we want to go next. We map out favorite vineyards when we go to wine country, hot cocktail bars when we visit New Orleans, and historic sites when we’re in Europe.
Once you’re at your destination, navigating between those sites can be tricky, though. We use Google’s MyMaps functionality to plan our trips and pick the next destination – but I realized recently that most people don’t even realize you can do this!
It’s a game changer, y’all.
We’re currently pulling together the details on our Scotland trip, so I thought what better time to create a step-by-step tutorial for you!
Create your map
Hop on a computer and navigate to https://www.google.com/mymaps. Make sure you’re logged in (your profile pic will show on the upper right).
Select “Create a new map”. Rename your map so it’s easy to locate.
Add locations
Now let’s start identifying locations. Google makes this so easy – it pulls just like you were searching in Google Maps on your phone. Type in a location on the top bar. Make sure it’s the location you wanted (if there are multiple sites).
When you’ve got the location pulled up, click “Add to map”.
Customize your map
Travel maps can get big and messy. Adding a little organization makes things easier. A few things I always do:
1 // Add details you might need later on each location. This includes a link to their website, opening hours, and why I’ve selected them. Click “edit” (the pencil on the bottom right of a location, once added to the map). Use SHIFT+ENTER to start a new line (ENTER is like clicking “submit”). Click ENTER or “save” when done. The details will all be saved to your map now.
2 // Color code each location to make them easier to find by using the paint bucket, also on the bottom right of a location. In this example, I’ll use green for restaurants, blue for distilleries, red for lodging and transit sites (the airport), and yellow for other activities. These colors will be used for the markers on your map.
3 // Add icons to make your map even more user-friendly. From that same paintbrush, you can change the points on the map from being a dot to being an image. I like to map these to the type of map location, too. Click “more icons” for even more customization options!
Transform into an itinerary
I use the layer function to transform my list of locations into a trip itinerary. Places are sorted into layers on the left bar. For now, they’re all in the Untitled Layer.
Create a new layer by clicking “Add a layer”. Change the name of your new layers to “Day 1”, “Day 2”, etc. by clicking on “Untitled Layer”. Alternately, if you’re not sure yet when you’re going where, you can change these to things you want to do in one day, perhaps sorting by region – “Edinburgh” and “Highlands”.
Drag and drop locations into the layers you want them on, as you plan your trip. At any point, you can uncheck a box by a layer to temporarily hide it. I use this feature when I’m done with a layer so I can focus on items that haven’t been sorted yet.
ADD DRIVING DIRECTIONS
If you’re planning to drive between major locations, you can add layers with those routes. To do this, select one location. On the bottom right of that location, click the arrow. This will create a new layer with driving directions. You can type locations into the box and your map items will show up first. So easy!
Directions between the selected locations will start to show on your map. You can change the names of these layers, too. I swapped this one to “Day 1 Driving”.
Want to know how long the drive will take? Click the three vertical dots at the top of that layer, then click “step-by-step directions”.
This will pull up detailed directions, with distance and duration. You can also click the blue “driving” text on the main page and change to walking or biking.
Load the map on your phone
The map is cool and all, but how do you make it useful while you’re traveling? Load it into your iPhone! Open up Google Maps. Click the three lines in the top left corner, then look to the bottom to ensure you’re logged in.
Once you’ve logged in, select “Your places”, then the third option, “Maps”. Select the map you want.
Your locations will pop up and you’ll be reoriented to that location.
You can click “View map Legend” to get to those layers you created online.
Click on a location to see those notes that you added. From any location, you can use this map just like Google Maps. Just click “directions”. You can also use the Google Maps search functionality to look for places that aren’t on your premade map.
Pull back up your map legend and layer details at any time by clicking on one spot, then selecting “View map legend” again.
NOTE: Sometimes Google Maps will keep popping to your flagged places when you open Google Maps. A little frustrating when you’re trying to avoid traffic into the office and your phone keeps jumping to show you distilleries in Scotland! To close a map, go to “View map legend”, then “close”.
View our Scotland Distillery Tour map (in progress)
Looking for trip inspiration? View more of our travel guides here.