Google Maps adds "Explore along your route" feature with personalized stops

Google Maps has just announced a new ''Explore along your route'' feature for personalized stops while driving, with the main aim to make you enjoy your journey more and explore along the way. The feature will allow you to find suggested attractions, restaurants, landmarks, and scenic views. It's a more personalized experience than previous versions of similar functionality on the app.

Exploring the world in your car is something I've been wanting to do for quite a while, and many people enjoy that. Google Maps is now going to help you explore more with its latest update, available for both Android and iOS.


To get access to these suggestions, you need to tap on Add Stops when you have entered your destination. You will see suggestions and pins on the map for restaurants and places recommended for visiting. You can also pick a specific topic from the screen and see suggestions for it.

You can preview info about each suggestion before adding it to your trip.

Interestingly enough, some people have seen similar functionality before, but the previous versions were more generalized. Before this update, you could get every business and landmark in the area, which was pretty useful for finding general resources, but they weren't curated or personalized.

This feature now works more like a road trip assistant than a big directory of all restaurants in a given area.

I love this new feature and I can see many uses for it. I cannot help but not think about my sister who likes to stop everywhere on a trip just so she doesn't miss seeing something unique and beautiful. I like this approach to traveling and in this busy world, we need more of that, so kudos to Google for thinking about this!