Planning Your Vacation Made Easy with Mobile Map Apps

Marking its 20th year, Google Maps has grown well beyond simple navigation, much like Apple Maps, which launched in 2012. Both platforms now offer extensive travel planning features, including bookmarking favorite spots, reading user reviews, making reservations, and exploring local attractions.

Here is an overview of some helpful tools these apps provide for travelers.

When selecting a business or location, Google Maps (available on Android and iOS) and Apple Maps (iOS only) present a detailed "place card" containing essential information such as address, operating hours, reviews, and other relevant details.

In Google Maps, the Explore tab at the bottom allows users to discover nearby places. Certain restaurant listings even support reservations through OpenTable. Additionally, Google Maps often includes immersive Street View 360-degree imagery to give users a virtual sense of the surroundings.

Apple Maps offers place cards where users can save locations and add personal notes. These cards also provide quick access to contact numbers, websites, and other details. By tapping the Search box and selecting Find Nearby, users can explore spots in their vicinity. Apple’s 360-degree street-level view, called Look Around, can be accessed by tapping the thumbnail image on the map.

To save a location for future reference, users can tap the Save or + button on the place card. Saved spots in Google Maps are organized within the Lists section under the You tab, which includes a default Travel Plans list. Apple Maps stores saved places in the Library accessible from the app’s Search screen.