How to import a KML file into Google Maps (and Google My Maps) — step-by-step
A KML file is the cleanest way to load someone else’s map into your phone. Here’s exactly how to import one — Google My Maps on desktop, Google Maps on iOS and Android — in under three minutes.
KML (and its compressed sibling KMZ) is the format Google uses for “a list of pinned places.” If someone shares a curated travel map with you, it’s almost certainly a KML file. The good news: importing it into your own Google account takes about three minutes, and once it’s there it’s available on every device you sign into.
Step 1 — Open Google My Maps on a laptop
- Visit google.com/mymaps while signed in to the Google account you use on your phone.
- Click Create a New Map. A blank canvas opens.
- In the left panel, click Import under the first ‘Untitled layer’.
- Drag the .kml or .kmz file into the import area. Every pin appears, already named and addressed.
- Rename the layer (top left) and the map (e.g. ‘Tokyo, April’).
Step 2 — Open it on your phone
There’s a small gotcha here: Google Maps (the everyday app) and Google My Maps (the personal-maps tool) are different products. Your imported map lives in My Maps but is reachable from the regular Maps app:
- Open the Google Maps app (iOS or Android).
- Tap your profile picture (top right), then Saved.
- Scroll down to Maps. Your imported map appears as a tile.
- Tap to open. Pins are tappable for directions, route, “Save” etc.
Step 3 — Make it work offline
Custom maps don’t work offline by themselves, but the underlying base map does. In the Google Maps app, tap your profile → Offline maps → Select your own map, and download the city you’re in. Then your custom layer plus the offline base map will function with no signal, including walking directions to each pin.
Common problems
- “Import failed” — Usually a KMZ that contains more than one file. Open the .kmz (rename to .zip and extract); inside is the .kml. Import the .kml directly.
- Pins not appearing on the phone — Make sure you’re signed in with the same Google account on both devices, and pull-to-refresh the Saved → Maps tab.
- Too many layers, only the first imports — My Maps caps a free map at 10 layers and 2,000 features per layer. Split very large files across layers before importing.
Once a KML is in your account, every device sees it. Phone, tablet, partner’s phone — all of them. That’s the whole reason to use it.
What we ship
Every Pin Reef volume is a KML file built exactly to drop into the import flow above — pre-organised into layers (coffee, lunch, galleries…), already under My Maps’ per-layer limits, every pin placed by a person. Three minutes from download to open.