When was the last time you got lost? You probably can’t remember, huh? All thanks to the modern apps and gadgets that have come up around us. I won’t go into storytelling, ever heard of Google Maps? Well, that’s what I’m writing this article on, How to get directions from one place to another on google maps, plain and simple.
I’m pretty sure you might have used Google Maps at one point or another in your life. Why else would you be reading this post right now?
Well, I almost know what’s happening with you, ( No, there’s no reason to be shocked, I’m no guy with black magic ! ) Instead, you being on this post told me quite a few things about you.
First, you’ve used Google maps at least once in your life. Second, you are trying to get from one place to another. And third, you don’t know how to get the directions from one place to another, or maybe you’re trying to calculate the distance of one place to another via a certain route, and you’re failing.
See? That was easy, well worry not, Google maps is pretty advanced, and by the end of this article, you’ll have a pretty neat idea about how it can help you get directions from one place to another.
What Exactly is Google Maps?
Putting it Simply, Google Maps is just a digital map, but one with extreme precision and details.
The best thing about Google maps is it not only shows you the “street directions”, but almost each and every element you might need or think up of when searching a map.
It gives you:-
- Exact Distance between two locations.
- Shortest possible route options.
- Map driving directions.
- Different ways as per your means of communication. Meaning, you will get the best route no matter if you want to use a bus, plane or just walk to your destination. It will show you a custom route for each kind of vehicle or mode of travel differently.
- And of course, it offers a Street view.
How to Get Directions From One Place to Another on Google Maps:-
As I already said, the best thing about Google maps is, if you have an android smartphone, you won’t ever get lost. Yes, that’s how easy finding directions from one place to another on google maps is.
So, you start out by visiting the homepage of Google Maps!
Over there, you should see a tiny little “blue” icon saying “directions” , and that’s exactly where you need to click.
Once you click that, you get two search boxes, neatly organized for you. So type in the “Starting point” in the first box and the “Destination” in the other.
For eg. I’m typing in “Chinatown, San Francisco, CA, USA” as the Starting point, and “Las Vegas, NV, USA” as the destination.
And you should see a beautiful map, optimized with proper directions for you on the right side of the screen.
How to Calculate Distance Between Two Locations using Google Maps:-
It’s no rocket science, in fact, it’s one of the easiest methods to calculate the distance between two locations in the world.
You just head over to their homepage and click on the directions icon we talked about in the above section.
After that, enter the two Start and Endpoints of the locations whose distance you want to calculate.
and a couple of minutes later, just below that section where you entered the locations, you should get the exact distance between the locations on Google Maps.
How to Calculate Driving Distance to And From One Place To Another on Google Maps
Another great feature of Google maps is it shows you different routes, the best ones, and the exact driving instructions according to your vehicle.
Meaning, if you’re using a Bus, you’d get a different route, if you’re planning to use a train or a plane, the route would obviously be different. Not just that, it even gives you route options for “walking’ and “cycling”!
Calculate Driving Distance To and From locations on Google Maps:-
Head over to Google maps homepage and click on the directions button.
Enter your starting point, and destinations just like you did in the above sections.
And then click on the little “driving” icon on the top.
The next screen should greet you with more than just basic driving information. Of course, you get the directions on the right pane of the screen:-
What did I mean by “more than just basic driving information” a couple of seconds ago? Well this:-
See? You get a turn-by-turn driving instruction on how to reach your destination, and that’s the beauty of Google maps!
What Else Can I Get With Google Maps?
Not just driving directions, you get a lot more with Google maps.
It’ll get you “Walking directions”, “Transit Directions” “Cycling directions” and what not! In fact for an example, let’s get you cycling directions.
How to Get Cycling Directions From One Place to Another on Google Maps:-
The best thing about Google maps is, it gets you a “unique” direction set for different kinds of modes of transport. So, if I want to cycle from one place to another, I just have to select the “cycling” option the map.
On the right pane, it would get me a map that suits my cycling needs, with a directions guide on every turn on the way.
That was about it. You can use any other mode of transport, all you’d have to do is, click on the icon by which you’re making the journey, and Google maps would be at your service.
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