Google My Maps for travel: build a trip atlas in 3 minutes
The quiet Google tool that turns a messy list of cafés and museums into a phone-ready map — layers, colours, offline base maps, shareable with whoever you are meeting for lunch.
Saved stars in Google Maps scatter across one personal layer forever. Google My Maps is different: one map per trip, layers per category, colours for priorities, exportable and shareable. For a weekend away it is the difference between “I think the café was near the station” and a pin that opens walking directions in the rain.
Create the map (about 90 seconds)
- On a laptop, open google.com/mymaps signed into Google.
- Click Create a New Map. Name it after the trip — “Lisbon, March” beats “Untitled map.”
- Add a layer per category: Coffee, Lunch, Museums, Errands. Rename layers so future-you understands them at 7am.
Add places three ways
- Search bar — fine for five places, slow for fifty.
- CSV import — spreadsheet with name + address columns; fastest manual bulk method.
- KML / KMZ import — the format curated guides use. Drop the file and pins arrive named and organised. Free utility maps and Pin Reef volumes use this path.
On the street
Phone: Google Maps app → profile → Saved → Maps. Open your trip. Tap a pin for directions. Download an offline base map of the city so the streets still render underground and abroad.
One map per trip. Layers as categories. Colours as priorities. That is the whole system.
Share without chaos
Use the Share button to invite a travel partner as editor or viewer. Everyone sees the same pins; nobody has to forward screenshots of a Notes app list at midnight.
When you want the research done
Pin Reef ships hand-picked KML city volumes — independent cafés, restaurants, galleries and more, chains already filtered. Import, open on your phone, walk. Start from the city list or the free utility maps if you only need ATMs and laundry tonight.