Labelling Google maps

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6257830?

Not sure if that help link is useful, but maybe it is an issue using the app versus a web browser. I use an Android phone but made my maps using Google (mymaps) and used a different icon/color to label each category of thing (e.g., restaurants, sites, tour stops). I'd pin the location on the map, then change the setting using the "style" button (you can pick colors and icons). You could do something similar for day 1, 2, etc.

I'm a very heavy user of Google's MyMaps, but it comes with a major disadvantage (at least to me): You cannot download the map for offline use. You can open it while on Wi-Fi or a cellular connection, but if you walk very far or want to zoom in on the map, you'll need some sort of data connection. My data usage basically doubled a few years ago as result of the MyMaps situation.

You can label destinations on the regular Google maps, too; not just My Maps, and then put them in categories. The easiest way to do this is as follows:

Go to Google Maps then key in a destination. If you're on your phone, you will see the words "Add label" to the right of "Directions." Click that, and add your labels. You can amend them later if you want and add more. I have hundreds of labels in Google Maps, all based on different trips I have taken.

Another way to do this is to open Google Maps, click on "You" at the bottom (this is on an iPhone - if you're on a laptop, just look at the vertical column to the left) and click on "Saved". A default list will pop up, but you can add more to this list and categorize them as needed.

Let me know if you have any questions.

MyMaps annoys me too much, so I just figure out my walking paths in regular Google Maps and then email the link to myself, putting the label in the subject line. Sometimes I just take a screenshot of the map and stick it into Photos with a title. Neither would work well with a complicated route.

I don't see an option to "Add Label" anywhere.

IMO , having mobile data is indispensable. A mobile data sim/esim is very inexpensive. Makes using Maps much easier.

I love using Google Maps to search for individual attractions, getting information and directions. However, I found Google Maps to be too cluttered and cumbersome to work with for organizing itineraries. A travel companion dropped pins for all the major attractions and suggested restaurants in a shared google map for our 5 night stay in a city. The map became a mess of pins and lines. Maybe there is a way to set up different layers but I found it too difficult to work with.

On our recent trip to, our family group used Wanderlog. It is a great way to compile lists for attractions and restaurants. Then each can be copy and pasted to a particular day which then sets up the route for them. If you get the paid version, the app will automatically reorganize each stop in order to optimize the route. However, it is easy enough to re-sort the stops in the free version to create a logical travel route for the day. The map is based on Google. And at any time you can click a stop and be directed to Google Maps to view google info, reviews and photos etc.

I don't see an option to "Add Label" anywhere.

acraven, on the iPhone, you can find it when you key in a destination, and there will be a number of horizontal tabs for it underneath, like Website, Call, Directory, Save, Share, etc. At the very end of the list is More... Click on that and you will see "Add label."

On a laptop (I'm using Chrome), I just search for a place in Google Maps, then once it appears, in the left hand column, just scroll down to "Add a label." It's right above "Suggest an edit" and right below all the info about the site, like website, location, hours, etc.

ETA: I should add that the label is different than saving it to a category or destination. For example, I'm, researching Romania right now, and when I save some of the places in Google Maps, it uses the Romanian names of course. So I'm adding a label with the English translation so I can recognize them easier. It just sits above the Romanian name.

Thanks to all who offered suggestions.
I have a good data plan so no problem with not being able to download the maps.
I have never heard of MyMaps, only Google maps, and looking at it overwhelms me a bit. I was hoping to organize my Google Maps.

Mardee, thanks for the tips. Can you tell me how using " label" is different than saving locations with a pin and making a note? I don't see how I can make a walking route using either.

Nancys8, that strategy is perfect for low tech me. Thank you!

Funpig, I have heard of Wanderlog and this sounds like a great feature. Thank you.

I will, bxrlover. I’m out right now and it’s hard to do on my phone but when I get back I’ll take a couple of screenshots and explain it more details.

You are so welcome, bxrlover! Both of my sons and a few people I work with like to tease me about my half-techy, half-oldschool methods.

Hey, bxrlover, here are 2 screenshots that show what labels will do. You can write whatever you want. One is for a Romanian folk museum I want to visit, but I added the name in English so I would remember (the part circled in red). The Romanian title in italics directly below is the original label. So it keeps the original but then you can add another for clarity.

The 2nd one is one I created when I went to Amsterdam, just so I would remember that this palce was near by B&B. :-) The link below will lead you to a Google Photos page I created with two screenshots showing the two pages with labels.

Hopefully that will give you an idea of what it does. Let me know if you have questions. And I should have clarified - it's not for making a walking route, but since you said you wanted to know how to label places, I gave you a description. :-)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QHRQJ87Ztx5FGKTn9

Oh I forgot - one last thing it is very helpful for is labeling a dropped pin. A lot of times you may be looking on Google maps for a place that google doesn't necessarily have a description for. So you can drop a pin at the exact location, which will show you the coordinates, then add a label describing it.