6 Tips to Use Google Maps for Beginners

When we were talking about travelling, one thing that might come to your mind is a travel map. An application that you should consider is Google Maps. Google Maps is an awesome map application that help us finding & exploring places, getting directions to a place we want, and preventing us to get lost. If you are new to Google Maps, in this article, I’ll tell the things you can do with Google Maps.

Google Maps can be accessed via the web and phone devices. Its features on the web and phone devices are almost the same. If you are using a phone device, make sure you have Google Maps installed on your device. The following are the tips on how to use Google Maps.

1. Get your current location

If you want to go to a specific location, you should get your current location first. Make sure your device has GPS turned on . In the bottom-right corner, there is a GPS button. Tap that button and you will get your current location.

2. Get directions to a place you want

After Google Maps has got your current location, then you can freely search for a place and get directions to that place. There are 2 ways to do it. The first way is by tapping a blue button in the bottom-right corner, below the GPS button. After you have specified your destination, Google Maps will show you the routes (the best and alternative routes) and duration (based on what transportation you take) directly to that destination.

The second way is using a search box in the top-left corner. Search for a place and tap that place. This way will not show you the routes and duration directly instead of the place details (rating, reviews, exact address, working hours). If you are ready to get the directions, tap a blue transportation button above the place name.

You can also use the search box to search for nearby places. For example, if you search restaurants then it will show a list of nearby restaurants. Awesome!

3. Set your home and workplace location

Google Maps allow you to set your home and workplace location. So, if you want to go home or go to workplace, you don’t have to type the address again to get the directions instead by tapping the Home or Work entry. You can set them by tapping the hamburger icon button in the top-left corner, tap Your places, then set the address to Home and Work entries. After setting the address for each entry, just tap the entry and the blue transportation button to get routes.

4. Call, save, and share a location

There is a call, save, and share buttons in the place details. You can use the call button to call the place’s customer service to get more information, for example. You can also save a location for easy access and share it to other people.

5. Set Google Maps view mode

Google Maps has 6 modes of displaying its map. They are Traffic, Public transit, Bicycling, Satellite, Terrain, and Google Earth. The traffic mode shows you which streets have traffic jams (signed using the green, orange, red and lines) and traffic incidents. The public transit mode shows you which streets that are usually used for public transit (for example, buses). The bicycling mode show you which streets that are safe or specified for bicycling. The satellite mode shows you the streets along with the buildings around. The terrain mode shows you the elevation of landscape, like mountains and canyons. The Google Earth mode is the best mode. It allows you to explore the Earth by viewing satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You must install Google Earth on your device in able to use it.

6. View an area with offline mode

You can download an area and view it later in offline mode. Just select a place or location, click on the menu in the upper-right corner of the place details, then select Download offline area. It will download the area around that place.

Google Maps is a smart map application that has accurate navigations. When you want to visit a place, Google Maps doesn’t show only one route. It will show more than one route based on traffic condition, transportation, and duration to that place. You are recommended to have Google Maps on your device.

That’s all about the tips on how to use Google Maps. I hope this article is useful for everyone.