Plan a trip with Google Maps: lists and My Maps

Almost every trip ends up in Google Maps at some point, because you already have the app. For a lot of things that's the right choice; plans just tend to outgrow what it's built for. This page separates the three tools that often get mixed up: lists in Google Maps, routes with several stops and My Maps. All statements and limits come from Google's own help pages as of November 2026. Where the help gives no number, we don't either.

The three tools at a glance

Step 1: collect places in lists

Lists are the easiest start. You create one with a name and description and choose the type: Private or Shared. A shared list goes out as a link to view or edit. To let others add to it, use "Invite collaborators". People on the list can also see who added which places and notes. For a group collecting restaurants or sights, that already goes a long way.

Our advice, from how the tool works: one list per trip, not per day. Lists don't sort by day and don't show an order. They are the inbox, not the plan.

Once the places are on the map, you can see which are close together. How many of them fit in a day is covered in How many sights per day?

Step 2: routes and the limit of 9 stops

Google says it clearly: you can add up to 9 stops, including the final destination. Two further restrictions often surprise travellers:

• Multiple destinations aren't available for public transport or flights. They work on foot, by car, by bike and by motorcycle.
• Departure or arrival time only works for routes with one destination. So a route won't give you a timed day 3 of a road trip.

For a day in a city, 9 stops is usually plenty. On a road trip it gets tight, even on a modest route. An example: eleven stations from Dublin through the south and west of Ireland and back.

1. Dublin
2. Glendalough
3. Kilkenny
4. Cashel
5. Cork
6. Kinsale
7. Killarney
8. Kenmare
9. Cliffs of Moher
10. Galway
11. Clifden

Base map: Natural Earth

From Dublin that's eleven further points including the return, two more than a single route takes. The fix is simple: split the trip into two routes. The first runs from Dublin to Killarney (six stops), the second from Killarney via Kenmare, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway and Clifden back to Dublin. In practice this suits better anyway, because behind the wheel you only want today's route. The complete day-by-day plan is in Ireland road trip: 10 days. You can compare hire cars from Dublin^* at Economybookings, for example.

Step 3: My Maps for the whole trip

My Maps is Google's tool for your own maps and does what lists can't: layers, colours, lines and your own points. According to the help, the limits are generous:

• A map has up to 10 layers.
• A layer holds 2,000 lines, shapes or places, and a map 10,000 in total.
• Import from CSV, TSV, KML, KMZ, GPX, XLSX or Google Sheets, with no more than 2,000 rows per file.
• Each saved set of directions sits on its own layer, by car, bike or on foot. The help page doesn't say how many stops are allowed in them.

The popular trick is one layer per travel day. That works well until you do the sums: with 10 layers you stop at ten days, and every saved route takes up a layer itself. A week with three driving routes just fits; two weeks don't. Then you need one layer per region instead of per day.

The more important catch is that My Maps is built on a computer. The Android help page says My Maps isn't available for Android and that you can view your maps using Google Maps on a computer. So finish it before you leave, because rebuilding it on your phone on the road isn't part of the design.

Offline: the surprise abroad

Google's offline maps are handy, but not for what you most need on a city break. The help page says:

• You can navigate offline by car, as long as the whole route is inside the downloaded area. There's no traffic info or alternative routes.
• Public transport, cycling and walking directions are unavailable offline.
• Downloaded maps expire and need updating. If a map expires within 15 days, the app tries to update it automatically on Wi-Fi.
• In some countries or regions you can't download offline maps at all.

So if you're on a day trip with no signal looking for the walk to the harbour, you see the map and your position, but no walking directions. More on this and on alternatives is in Offline maps for travel. An eSIM for Ireland^* solves the same problem another way if your own plan charges for roaming there.

Where Google Maps stops

Google Maps plans places and routes, not a trip. These things are missing from all three tools:

• A breakdown into days with times
• Bookings and tickets in one place
• Shared expenses: who owes whom
• Warnings if stops are closed on the chosen day or too tightly spaced

Many people work around this with a table alongside, such as our travel itinerary template, and that works well.

What YesTrip does differently, and what it doesn't

YesTrip starts where the list ends. You give it a destination, length and interests, and the AI suggests a day-by-day plan with times, walking legs and a map. Without AI, one tap puts a day's stops into a shorter order, and a day check flags closed stops (by OpenStreetMap, which can be out of date), tight gaps and duplicates. The offline package saves the street map, photos of the places and the routes of a trip on your device. If you travel with others, you share the trip including shared expenses.

Google Maps remains better at everything it's made for: live traffic, coverage, reviews, information on almost every place in the world, and nothing new to install. YesTrip doesn't replace it, and many people use both. For more planners see Best AI trip planner apps. YesTrip never books anything itself; you buy tickets and tours in Dublin^* from the provider.

* Ad – Partner link: if you book there, we earn a commission. Your price stays the same.