As the temperatures rise and summer approaches, you might start feeling the urge to travel. Whether you’re gearing up to plan your next vacation or simply daydreaming about it, Google offers a range of new and valuable tools to assist you in organizing the perfect summer getaway.
Crafting an ideal vacation requires thorough research to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. Google provides tools that can aid you at every stage, from brainstorming destination ideas to navigating your chosen city upon arrival. Continue reading for Google’s recommendations on leveraging its latest technology for planning an exceptional vacation.
1. Utilize AI-driven search for trip planning
The initial phase of vacation planning involves selecting your destination. While this may appear straightforward, various factors need consideration, such as the duration of your trip and the type of experience you seek, be it sightseeing or relaxation.
As you add more criteria, the task of picking a destination becomes increasingly complex. Once you’ve decided on a location, the next steps involve booking your trip and creating an itinerary. Google can assist you throughout this process.
By harnessing the AI capabilities of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), you can task Search with planning a trip based on your specific requirements. Your search parameters can be as broad or as precise as needed. For instance, you could request, “Plan a 3-day historical trip to Philadelphia,” and receive a detailed itinerary featuring suggestions for attractions, restaurants, flights, accommodations, and more, which can be exported to Gmail, Docs, or Maps.
2. Access curated lists of recommendations in Maps
The lists feature within Google Maps is exceptionally beneficial for organizing and saving all the places you wish to visit in one convenient location, allowing you to visualize them on the map. To streamline the use of lists, Google now enables users to explore additional list recommendations directly in Google Maps on both web browsers and mobile devices.
Users can now look up specific cities in the US and Canada on the map and discover top curated lists of recommendations from publishers and members of the Maps community.
Furthermore, Google has introduced trending, top, and hidden gem restaurant lists curated by Google Maps, inspired by popular activities in those cities.
3. Create customized itineraries in Maps
While lists in Maps serve as a great tool for marking desired destinations, users were previously unable to customize the order of the list—until now.
With the latest update, when you create a list in Maps, you have the flexibility to personalize the list order and rank the locations according to your preferences. For example, you can arrange the locations from favorite to least favorite or in chronological order to assist in building your itinerary.
To further enhance the customization of your lists, Google has introduced a feature that allows you to link content from your social media channels, providing additional context to your list. This feature enables you to link back to specific experiences, such as a meal at a restaurant captured in a photo, aiding in recollection in the future.
Both of these features will be accessible in Maps later this month on both web browsers and mobile platforms.
4. Translate your environment using your camera
Traveling to a country where you are unfamiliar with the native language can be both thrilling and challenging. To address this challenge, users can leverage Google Lens to effortlessly translate text in their surroundings while traveling, such as menus, signs, street names, and more.
To utilize this feature, simply tap on the Lens icon within the Google App and select the translate option. This will activate the Translate filter, which, when pointed at a language, automatically detects the language and overlays the translated text onto the original text.
Additionally, users of [ppp5] series devices will soon benefit from an enhanced translation experience with the introduction of a new Translations in feature. This feature allows users to instantly translate on-screen content by pressing the home button or navigation bar and tapping the translate icon.
5. Employ Google Lens as your on-the-go tour guide
If you desire more information about your surroundings while traveling, you can point your camera at objects of interest and pose questions to receive relevant answers. For instance, if you encounter a painting and wish to learn more about it, you can snap a picture using Google Lens and inquire, “Who painted this?” or “What painting is this?”
The Lens multi-search feature has recently been upgraded to incorporate AI-powered insights, offering more comprehensive results and enhancing the user experience. Accessing Lens is simple—download the Google App and tap on the Lens camera icon in the search bar for quick access to this feature.