Airbnb, Booking.com, Trivago: these are probably some of the names you are most familiar with when booking a hotel or accommodation for your vacation. However, in recent years, more and more businesses are using Google Maps to set up their online profile, and the program is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for vacation booking and planning. Whether you are reviewing restaurants, looking for that perfect hotel spot, or weighing up one historical landmark against another, Google Maps may just be the silver bullet in your holiday arsenal. Let’s explore three key areas that will help you plan your next trip, and explore some tips and tricks that might just save you a few bucks!
Planning can sometimes be a gift and a curse when it comes to vacation planning. Sometimes you want to hit the famous attractions of a city or region, and other times you want something a little more off the beaten track. To get the best of both worlds, simply use the Google feature ‘Things To Do’ (You can find this by simply typing it into Google followed by your destination). This feature will bring up countless activities, landmarks, natural attractions, as well as restaurants and nightlife spots. The best part? All the locations are marked on an easy to navigate Google Map window, where you can plan potential routes for your trip.
One of the best parts of any holiday is the opportunity to eat some of the best food your destination has to offer! Normally, this is where you would turn to sites like Yelp, or Tripadvisor, but Google Maps has some useful features of its own. Typing in ‘restaurants’ whilst hovering over any area you like on Google Maps will bring up all restaurants in that location, and typically, you will find more restaurants like this than with most other sites. From here you can filter the results by rating, price, type of cuisine, and opening hours.
We’ve touched on this a little, but perhaps the most underrated part of finding locations, and restaurants on Google Maps, is that everything can be reviewed. From mighty gothic churches and centuries-old castles, to local smoothie shacks and hot dog stands, you can find and leave a review for almost anything. Simply click on the location you are interested in, and next to the rating (between 0 and 5 stars), you will see a number. This is the number of reviews left by Google users. Click the number or scroll down to see the most recent reviews. Another great review tool is the ability to search by keywords! If there are enough reviews left, the location will have keyword functionality, just below the incredibly useful sort tool! This way, you can specifically find reviews based on the staff, the food, or even the decor.
Google Maps has a tonne of useful features, not all of which we can cover in a single article. Explore the site yourself, and the next time you book a trip, try and use some of the tools we explored today!