How to Map Your Itinerary in Google Maps

To build a trip itinerary in Google Maps, save every place you want to visit to a trip list, then build a custom map in Google My Maps with one layer per day so each day's stops sit together. Use multi-stop directions to put each day in a sensible order, and download the area for offline use before you leave.

This guide walks through each step, explains when to use saved lists and when to use My Maps, and covers the limits that catch people out on the road. Google changes its interface often, so the steps below describe what to do rather than the exact button names.

How to make a Google Map itinerary: lists or My Maps?

Google offers two ways to organize a trip, and they work best together. Lists are for collecting. My Maps is for planning.

If your trip is short and simple, a single saved list may be enough. For anything longer than a weekend, or any trip built from a travel video with dozens of stops, My Maps is worth the extra ten minutes. On an iPhone, you can do much the same with Guides and multistop routes; our guide to planning a trip in Apple Maps covers it.

Step 1: Collect places in a saved list

Start by gathering everything in one place, without worrying about order.

1. Create a new list named after your trip, such as "Lisbon, May". Google Maps has default lists like Favorites and Want to go, but a dedicated list keeps this trip separate from everything else you have ever saved. Our comparison of Want to go, Travel plans and custom lists explains the difference.
2. Save each place as you find it. Search for the name from the video, guidebook or article, check it is the right branch or location, and add it to the list.
3. Add a short note to each place. Note why it is there: "creator says go before 9", "best at sunset", or a timestamp link to the moment in the video.
4. Share the list with travel companions if you are planning together, so everyone adds to the same place.

When you are done, open the list on the map. Seeing all your pins at once is the first moment the shape of the trip becomes clear.

Step 2: Group your pins by neighborhood

Look at where the pins cluster. Most cities break naturally into a handful of zones: an old town, a museum district, a waterfront, a neighborhood across the river. Each cluster is roughly a half day or a full day.

Note which zone each place belongs to, and pick one "anchor" per zone (the place you most want to see, or the one with a timed ticket). Everything else becomes a filler you visit if time allows. Our guide to planning your itinerary by neighborhood covers this clustering method in detail.

Step 3: Build a day-by-day map in My Maps

Now turn the clusters into days. My Maps works best on a computer.

1. Open My Maps in a browser and create a new map. Give it the trip name.
2. Rename the first layer "Day 1". Every new map starts with one layer.
3. Add a layer for each day. Google's help page says a map can have up to 10 layers, which covers most trips. For longer trips, use one map per city or region.
4. Add places to each layer. Search for each place and add it to the right day. If you already have a spreadsheet of places, you can import it instead of adding pins one by one.
5. Color-code and number the stops. Give each day its own color. My Maps can also style a layer as a numbered sequence, which makes the order of each day obvious at a glance.
6. Write details in each pin's description. Planned time, how long to stay, booking references and tips.
7. Hide layers you are not using. Unchecking a layer hides it, so on the morning of Day 2 you only see Day 2.

Step 4: Plan the route with multiple stops

My Maps shows where things are. Google Maps works out how long it takes to get between them.

1. In Google Maps, get directions from your starting point (usually your hotel) to the first stop.
2. Add more stops. Google's help page says you can add up to 9 stops, including the final destination. Our list of Google Maps limits for trip planning covers this cap and the others that affect a trip.
3. Drag the stops into different orders and compare total times.
4. Note the result back in your My Maps pins or your written plan.

One important limit: Google says multi-stop directions are not available for public transit or flights. On a day you will use the metro or buses, check each leg separately and write down the line and the stop.

Step 5: Put it on your phone and take it offline

Before you travel, make sure everything opens on your phone, including without signal.

• Saved lists appear on the map in the Google Maps app when you are signed in.
• My Maps can be opened from the saved section of the Google Maps app when you are signed in with the same account. You view it there, and edit it in a browser.
• Offline maps. Download an offline area for each city or region. According to Google's help page, offline maps can guide you while driving as long as the whole route is inside the downloaded area, but transit, cycling and walking directions are unavailable offline. Downloaded maps also expire and need updating, and some countries and regions do not allow offline downloads at all.

Then test it. Turn on airplane mode, open the app and check what still loads. Don't assume your custom layers or notes will be there without a connection; if they are not, a screenshot of each day's map or a PDF of your plan fills the gap. Our guide to keeping an offline copy of your itinerary covers what else to save.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Saving everything and organizing nothing. Eighty pins with no structure is a wish list, not an itinerary. Sort them into days before you leave.
• Pinning the wrong location. Chains, similarly named places and museums with separate entrances are easy to pin incorrectly. Check the address against your source.
• Trusting that a pin means it's open. A place on the map tells you nothing about its hours on your dates. Our checklist for fact-checking an itinerary before you go covers hours, closures and booking needs.
• Ignoring travel time. Two pins that look close can be a steep climb or a river crossing apart. Use directions to check.

Check before you go: Google updates its apps regularly, so features and limits can change. Confirm anything critical in Google's own help pages.

If your list of places started with a travel video, you can skip some of the sorting. Vidtrip turns a YouTube travel video into a day-by-day plan with each day built around an area, and its map file imports straight into My Maps with one layer per day.