maps

Lisbon with some of Jen’s pins

Once upon a time, my husband and I traveled with guidebooks, maps, and (going way back) travel brochures we ordered before our trips. This was back before smartphones, of course, and also before we learned to travel light and stopped checking luggage. We also traveled with actual physical books for entertainment on planes. And, this was in the time of travelers’ checks. So we’re talking about the 1990s, folks, and even into the 2000s, folks. Feels like centuries ago, no?

Now, we travel with phones that can access most, if not all, of the information we need.

There are a lot of ways to organize travel information on one’s phone but I keep things simple and organize almost everything in my Google email, calendar, and map.

And by map, I mean Google Maps, specifically my personalized Google Map.

Did you know that you can create your own personalized Google Maps and that it’s really easy? I’ve been working on mine for years. On it, I have dropped color- and icon-coded pins all over the world for places I would like to visit and places I’ve been.

If I am reading a travel article or a book or am scrolling social media and see a place that looks interesting, I add a pin to my map. When I am planning a trip, I add more pins. Lots of them. There are currently more than 2,000 pins on my personal worldwide Google map.

You can see a screenshot of a small part of Lisbon above. Some of the pins are the ones already on Google Maps and some are from Jen’s World. Here are a few highlights:

• purple pins with an artist’s palette note public art, like a sculpture or mural

• green pins mean stores — carts for grocery stores, shopping bags for other places, and one bike for a bike rental shop where we once rented bikes

• orange pins with little trains are for tram stops and metro stations we want to remember

• maroon pins with a fork and knife are for restaurants and the brown pins with the same icon are specifically for chocolate shops¹

• not shown here, yellow pins with a house are for hotels and Airbnbs we’ve stayed in and (occasionally) for accommodations that we might want to try in the future.

And so on.

When I first got started with this map, all pins were the same color and there were no icons. This was not wise, as a quick glance at my phone while standing on a street in Barcelona did not show me where our apartment was or the cafe recommended by friends. Hence, the colors and icons.

I balance all this with my calendar and email. For example, when we make hotel or Airbnb reservations, I add the check-in time and the street address to my calendar for easy reference. Ditto flights, tickets for museums or shows, etc. All emails are saved in a specific travel folder in my Gmail.

This system is not perfect. For example, currently, it is not possible to add or edit pins on the Google Maps phone app — everything has to be done via the website, which I think is truly ridiculous. But, overall, this method works for me.

There’s always the risk that I’ll lose my phone or not have cell service/wifi when I’m traveling, but for the former, I’d log into my tablet or my husband’s phone and for the latter, I’ve been known to take screenshots for information I might need.

All that said, I am always interested in learning about new ways to organize travel information and I would really like to hear about how you do it. So spill it, folks. How do you organize your travel planning?

1. Yes, I love chocolate that much.