My number one travel planning hack
Have you ever wondered how to keep track of all your travel plans? Today, I’m sharing my number one travel hack for this. It works in most of the world and without internet as well. I’ve used it successfully for years, and today I’m sharing it on my site. I hope you will enjoy it and that it gets as addictive for you as it is for me.
The pinning process
Think of it as Pinterest, but on a map. By using tools available in Google Maps, you will have the world at your feet to explore. When I plan trips, or just randomly scroll Instagram, Pinterest or my Facebook feed, I make sure to pin the things I’m interested in doing on my personal Google Map. By doing this, I can easily see how far away things are from one another, and I can plan future trips accordingly.
It’s up to you how you want to use this tool. For me, it started with planning trips, now I use it for everything. I pin restaurants that seem good when I’m walking around in town, I even put pins in cities thatI don’t have any plans on visiting. This, to ensure that when I do visit, I already have a few things on my mind that I want to do. The places and activities are usually things that are very easy to forget about unless you actually save it for later.
Why you should Pin
Below, you see my current pins in NYC. It is a lot, but when I make my next visit, I’ll refer to this when choosing restaurans and activities.
Let’s say that I choose to visit Times Square as a morning activity, then I’ll have at least three brunch spots to choose from that are conveniently located near Times Square. Planning like this ensures that you get the most out of your trips, and prevents you from spending money in the wrong places. It also ensures that you avoid the classic tourist traps around Times Square.
Of course, I always leave room for being spontaneous. I don’t force myself to visit all these places, and I am happy to change my plans if I find something better.
Getting started
It is really easy to get started with this, and I highly recommend you to try it out.
- Create a Google Account
- Go to Google Maps and log in at the top right corner
Pinning on your desktop
- Enter the name of the place that you want to search for. Once you’ve found it, you can also see their website, opening hours, pictures and ratings. Very convenient. For this example, I am using the cafe Serendipity 3 in NYC. More on that here.
- On the bottom-right part of the page, click ”Label”
- A small box will appear in the top left corner of the page, where you can add a new label or edit your current one.
- You’re all done
Pinning on your smartphone
- Download Google Maps on App Store ( it is also the best app for directions including reliable public transit assistance in most major cities)
- Login to your account on the Google Maps App
- Pinning places works in the same way as on the desktop version, it only looks a little different. Start by typing the location into the white box, then add or edit your label. All done.
Using Google Maps when offline
When travelling and being on the go, Wi-fi may not always be available or reliable. Google Maps does, however work pretty well offline too.
- To download maps and use them offline, click here for further instructions. You will se the option ”Download offline map” right below the ”Edit Label.” You will be able to choose how zoomed in your map should be (the more zoomed in, the better), and then press ”Download”.
- The pinned locations are, to some extent available offline even if you haven’t downloaded maps beforehand.
- If you’re planning on using the maps offline, open them up when you’re online to keep them in your cache memory for a while, as an extra safety measure.
What are your best methods for travel planning? Please let me know in the comments!
