my travel map countries

Countries Explored and Counting!

32 countries.

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• Country Flags
• Terms of use

Add more countries to the list

• Map & Counter
• Most Visited Countries

Countries Visited Map & Counter

Explore the world on our interactive country map! Mark, showcase and count the countries you have visited.

Number of Countries Visited

of the World traveled

Share the personalized map of the countries you have visited:

Visualize and count the countries you have visited

Use the world map as a digital scratch card and mark all the countries you have already visited with a few simple mouse clicks. Whether it was a brief city excursion, an extensive vacation, or a phase of living abroad, you can capture and visualize those experiences on this map. If you're unable to locate the countries you have visited on the map, the list beneath it is your guide.

Countries Visited Checklist

The following form lists all countries globally, including numerous dependent territories, organized by continent. Simply select the country by checking the box, and watch as it automatically fills with color on the map. This action will also increase the country counter by one. Additionally, you can directly observe the percentage of the world you have already traveled.

Africa (55)

Europe (50), north america (35), australia & oceania (31), south america (15), antarctica (1).

Have you gone through the list and marked all your visited places? Which countries are still missing? Let a random country name generator inspire you for your next destination.

Share your Travel History

Embark on a visual journey with our interactive map of the world with all countries that lets you explore and highlight the countries you have visited. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting your adventures, our scratch map feature allows you to mark the countries you've been to, creating a personalized travel history that showcases your global experiences. Easily navigate the map, select countries by name, and watch as each destination comes to life with vibrant colors. The user-friendly interface lets you document your travel milestones effortlessly. Want to share your wanderlust with friends? Our platform makes it simple to share your customized map, allowing you to relive your adventures and inspire others to explore the world. So, start pinning, scratching, and sharing – because every journey deserves to be celebrated and remembered on your own personalized map of the world.

Use this tool to create beautiful interactive maps of the places you have been in the world or within any country. Create smooth animations or static images. Embed them into any website or blog. Share on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, or any other social network. Awe your friends and followers with a cool-looking animation video or as a true child of Internet with an animated GIF.

Quick templates

Visited Travel App

Unlike other travel apps, with Visited you can re-live your experiences over and over, uncover new destinations and map your personal travel goals. See why over a million travelers use our app.

MAP YOUR TRAVELS

Design your personal travel map by displaying countries, states / provinces / regions and cities of where you have been or want to visit.

SEE WHERE TO NEXT

Visited has the answer for the burning question that most travelers are asking, “Where to next?” We rank the countries to visit based on the number of experiences, places of interest and inspirational photos you have selected.

See your full travel plan by country with a beautiful gallery of photos—and ability to share it.

TRAVEL EXPERIENCES & BUCKET LIST

Track your experiences by country such as where you’ve gone golfing, snorkelling/diving, skiing, wine tours and others.

Keep up with your travel life goals by selecting all the countries of the world that you want to visit.

Add travel journal notes by country of your travel dates, points of interest or personal memories.

GET INSPIRED

Build your destination wish list by browsing hundreds of photos. Keep track of the places you must visit based on interest. See famous places you have been to.

CUSTOMIZED EXPERIENCE

Share your travel map, stats and bucket list with your family and friends

Adjust the sovereignty for disputed territories

Available in over 30 languages.

You can learn more about us here.

PERSONALIZED TRAVEL STATS

How do you stack up against other world travelers? Share your personalized stats (travel ranking, percentage of the world seen, countries visited) with others. 

See the Top 10 visited countries from your country. See your top 5 most frequently visited countries. And more!

PRINT YOUR PERSONALIZED MAP

Create a custom map print of your world travels in less than 10 minutes. Customize it with your own colors and have it delivered straight to your home. 

You can learn more about getting your map poster here .

THE KRUGER 100

“Doing Nothing is not an Option”

A donation to the Kruger 100 charity Challenge will help ensure that every endangered species and their habitat are protected. And that we can also get a better understanding of two diseases that need more research. Not just for today, but for tomorrow and for generations to come. Your support will help take action on the ground.

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For more information read our privacy policy .

Map My Travels

Create an Interactive Travel Map of Your Tours and Activities

Are you dreaming of creating your own interactive travel map to bring your tours and adventures to life? With Map My Travels, it's easy! Craft and share custom maps of your travels, embedding them seamlessly on your website. Start mapping your journeys and share them with the world today!

Creating a travel map has never been easier

Combine an intuitive travel map creator with many customization options like uploading your own marker icons as well as loading in GPS files. Creating an interactive travel map has never been easier.

Create custom markers

One of the key features of Map My Travels is to customize the way you want to show waypoints on your travel map. That's why you can add markers to your map in multiple ways:

Add content to your travel map

A map marker without information is not a good marker! People want to know what happened at that specific place. That's why you can easily add a popup to your markers and routes, where you can add the following pieces of content:

Fill your travel map with content!

Embed the travel map on your own website

You can share your map in many different ways. You can share a link to the map on social media or where ever you like. You can also embed the map on your own website, like I've done on my personal website! It doesn't matter if your website is made with Wordpress, Squarespace or any other.

Upload GPS files

Upload your recorded travel data with ease. In the Map My Travels editor you can upload GPS files in the following formats:

After you've added the GPS files you can still change the line's appearance, like color, thickness, opacity etc.

Import your Strava Activities

If you host your travel activities on Strava, a popular fitness app on which you can share your traveled routes (usually used by hikers or cyclists), you can import these directly into the map creator!

If you don't have any recorded route data like from Strava or a GPS file, you can still add lines to your map by just drawing on the map!

Change the look of your travel map

You can customize the look of your map with 4 different map types that Google Maps provides:

Create as many travel maps as you want!

You can add as many travel maps in your account as you want, completely free! There are only limits on the amount of markers and routes you can add to your maps. But you can get started for absolutely free. See more information on pricing and limits on the pricing page.

Create travel maps on any device

All of the map creator features are totally compatible with both laptops and phones. Out of personal experience, I'd recommend editing the maps on a laptop or computer. The experience is a bit better for panning around the map, but it's totally possible to do it on a phone as well. Your travel map will look beautiful either way!

Built by TravelingTice

Hi! I built this application myself as I have both a passion for coding and travel! I've cycled through 13 countries in Europe as well as part of Taiwan!

Brands creating travel maps with Map My Travels

Visited: My Travel Map & Lists 4+

Track places been & plan trip, arriving in high heels, designed for ipad.

• 4.5 • 5.5K Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

Beat your own travel stats. Get inspired to visit exotic new destinations. Track your experiences around the world as you tick off your bucket list. MAP YOUR TRAVELS -Design your personal travel map by displaying countries, states / provinces / regions and cities of where you have been or want to visit. TRAVEL ITINERARY - Wondering where to travel next? We got you covered. Select different destinations and places based on travel lists, experiences and inspirational photos. We'll show you which countries have the highest numbers of places you wish to visit. So you can go down the list and optimize your travel plans. - Picking your next travel destination just got a lot easier with the Visited App! GET INSPIRED -Visualize your future travels by swiping through beautiful photos and adding them to your wishlist. TRAVEL BUCKET LIST -Keep up with your travel life goals by selecting all the countries of the world that you want to visit. -Add travel journal notes by country of your travel dates, points of interest or personal memories. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR TRAVEL JOURNEY -Share your personalized stats with others! You can share your travel ranking, percentage of the world seen and countries you’ve visited. -See your top 5 most frequently visited countries. -Create regional maps for over 20 countries, including United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, UK, Russia, France and others. TRAVEL EXPERIENCES -Want to see how many of the worlds’ capital cities you have been to? Or how about how many art museums you’ve visited? Using the list feature, check off places you have been to or want to visit by category. Travel Lists include: African Safaris, Capitals of the World, Wonders of the World, Pyramids, Culinary Experiences, Ancient Sites, Churches, Greek & Roman Ruins, Cruise Ports, Beer Destinations, Palaces, Ski Slops, World's Top Beaches, Shopping Destinations, LGBTQ+ Destinations, Popular Hiking Trails, Lakes, Bridges, Snorkelling/Diving Locations, Chocolate Destinations, Castles, Wine Regions, Kids Attractions, Temples, Mountain Ranges, Rock Climbing Locations, Monasteries, Opera Houses, Funicular Railways, Waterfalls, Volcanos, Mosques, US National Monuments, Hot Springs, Tunnels, Dance Shows, Deserts, Famous Prisons, Canal Cruises, Formula One Circuits, Top Surf Spots, Underground Cities, Whale Watching Spots, Synagogues, Caves, US National Historic Site, Tennis Destinations, Film Festivals, UK National Parks and Scotch Distillery Regions. -Track your experiences by country such as where you’ve gone golfing, snorkelling/diving, skiing, wine tours and others. FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE -Select different colors or design your own based on your travel type -Pick fully accessible, high contrast colors for your map. -Dark mode is supported to make the app easier to use while taking a red eye flight -Adjust the sovereignty for disputed territories SEE HOW YOU COMPARE TO OTHER TRAVELLERS: - Compare your travel stats with other global travellers or friends - See the top 10 most popular countries to visit from your home city - Share your travel map, stats and bucket list with your family and friends Have you ever had a problem where you can’t actually remember all the countries you’ve been to? That’s why we created Visited – a simple and fun travel tracker. With Visited, you will be able to not only keep a log of all the countries, regions, and cities you’ve been to, but you’ll also be able to see your accomplishments beautifully rendered on a world map that you can share proudly. A digital scratch map if you will! You can also use Visited to plan your upcoming adventures by being inspired by breathtaking travel photos and building up your bucket list.

Version 4.2.4

- Adding New Video - Adding New Lists

Ratings and Reviews

5.5K Ratings

Nayan's traveling updates

This is a review about how good visited is. It is an excellent app for people who like to go on holidays to different countries. You can record where you've and record the countries you want to visit. There is a key on the bottom left hand side. That shows you which colours match what, like orange for where you live, purple for the countries you want to go to and green for the countries you have visited. I rate this an excellent app. Although an app called been is slightly better but this is an excellent app

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your review! We have added even more features to the app, especially stats in the latest version. Do let us know if you have any ideas on how to make the app even better!

A little bit broken

The app concept itself is great. I love how you can zoom into countries to get the regions and zoom out and it marks the whole county as visited. It does however seem to glitch when you zoom some countries with regions turning the screen white. This is more prominent when you zoom into a country with regions which border a country which hasn’t yet had regions added and makes it very hard to read and see what you are marking. Having the regions labelled wouldn’t hurt? The other issue I have had with the app is when I tried to use the app without internet connection it signed me out and completely reset the app which is mildly frustrating. When I signed back in with the same email address it had stayed completely empty meaning I had lost all my progress and had to start again. Overall just a few bugs but I’m sure once these have been ironed out the app will be great!

Thank you for your suggestions, we have fixed all issues mentioned in the new version of the app. Regions are now found under each country, to get there click on the country and 'ABOUT' to view it. We have also added cities and other cool features.

Ideas for the app

I have recently downloaded the app and really love it to bits. I hope it continues development into the future but some ideas for a future update are to add more states and regions to some countries like Switzerland with its cantons etc and Belgium, Netherlands, Poland etc with there states. I don’t mind which countries get regions/states etc but there are a few ideas there. But I know that I don’t know what making an app is like but personally I would love to get more states etc to be added in a future update as it allows you to go more in depth with where you’ve been. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for your review and feedback. We have added regions and cities to the map, so now you can mark them off! Thank you so much for making the app that much better!

App Privacy

The developer, Arriving In High Heels , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

• Contact Info
• Identifiers

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

• Visited Pro £12.99
• Unlock Cities £7.99
• Unlock Regions £3.99
• Remove Ads £3.99
• More Inspirations £3.99
• Unlock Itineraries £7.99
• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

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Countries Been

Blog – MapChart

The official blog for the #1 map-making website and mobile app

Make your own travel map of visited countries with MapChart

It is easy to make your own travel map showing places you have travelled or you plan to visit with MapChart. In this post, we will see some variations of such maps from users of the website.

First off, and one of the most popular options, a travel map that shows counties visited in the United States :

The map’s legend provides more detail to the map, dividing the colored counties into three categories (lived in, visited, and passed through counties). This is pretty common to have on a travel map, making it more comprehensive.

Another option on the USA Counties map is to take advantage of the shortcut to color all counties in a State. This way, it’s easy to also show unvisited States:

Similarly, on a larger scale, a USA and Canada map showing States visited in these two countries :

If you are based or have travelled in Europe, you can use the Europe Detailed map or the EU NUTS maps to showcase every province you have visited:

Finally, there are always the World map pages ( Simple and Detailed ). Here you can quickly create a map listing countries you visited or plan to visit worldwide:

These are just some examples that you can get inspiration from and make your own travel map. Keep track of your travels with MapChart, update it with new places you visit, and share it with your friends and family! ⁣⁣

Travel Map Creator

Loading map..., save options:.

You can bookmark this page and it will save your visited countries.

You can also download your map into a image file:

Style Options:

Countries visited :, select countries:.

• Afghanistan
• American Samoa
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Australian Indian Ocean Territories
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Burkina Faso
• Canary Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Central African Republic
• Cook Islands
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Dominican Republic
• Dutch Caribbean
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Falkland Islands
• Faroe Islands
• Federated States of Micronesia
• French Guiana
• French Polynesia
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• French West Indies
• Guinea-Bissau
• Heard Island and McDonald Islands
• Hong Kong S.A.R.
• Isle of Man
• Ivory Coast
• Liechtenstein
• Macao S.A.R
• Marshall Islands
• Netherlands
• New Caledonia
• New Zealand
• Norfolk Island
• North Korea
• Northern Cyprus
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Pitcairn Islands
• Puerto Rico
• Republic of Serbia
• Republic of the Congo
• Reunion Island
• Saint Barthelemy
• Saint Helena
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• Sint Maarten
• Solomon Islands
• South Africa
• South Georgia and the Islands
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• Switzerland
• São Tomé and Príncipe
• The Bahamas
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turkmenistan
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom
• United Republic of Tanzania
• United States Minor Outlying Islands
• United States of America
• United States Virgin Islands
• Wallis and Futuna
• Western Sahara

Created Link:

Coming very soon

We'll let you know when the Android app is available

Build your own Skratch map

Skratch lets you plan, track and share your travel life with personalized maps

Mark the places you've been

Create your own scratch map in seconds. Add over 18k countries, territories, cities, regions, provinces and states

Explore new destinations

Don't know where to go? Get inspired for your next trip with curated lists and easy search

Make smarter travel choices

Get real time info you need to know before you travel including visa applications, weather insights and more

Create your travel bucket list

Easily keep track of places you've lived, visited and want to visit in the future

Organize your travel memories

Skratch detects the location of your photos and videos to help you create a timeline of memories from each country you visit

Track your travels

Track your travel stats and share your Skratch map with friends

Start making smarter travel choices

Tap any country on your Skratch map and get real time info on everything from Covid-19 restrictions to local plug types

Your travel companion app

Unlock the world with skratch.

Visited countries map maker – Create your travel map

Table of Contents

Welcome to a personalized visited countries map maker where you can create your personalized Travel Map! On this page , you can create your own map – Easy & Fast – with all your visited countries around the world. There are 193 countries recognized by the UN (United Nations). Do you know how many of these states you have been to ? You can also map countries visited easy and fast!

This page is useful for :

• Know how many countries you’ve been to. Count them!
• Add a visited countries map to your travel blog . Create one and copy paste it!

How to make a travel map

Instructions

• Select the continents;
• Check off the list of countries you visited;
• Select the desired country color;
• Follow your current country count above the map;
• To use your personalized country map on your website COPY + PASTE the automatically generated code and insert it on your blog’s HTML text editor;
• You can also copy the updated map as an image and share it;
• Share this page with your friends!

NOTE : This map uses the current official member states of the United Nations list.

Visited Countries Map Maker

Select the United Nations member states that you visited

• North & South America
• Azerbaijan 🇦🇿
• Bosnia & Herzegovina 🇧🇦
• Bulgaria 🇧🇬
• Czech Republic 🇨🇿
• Liechtenstein 🇱🇮
• Lithuania 🇱🇹
• Luxembourg 🇱🇺
• Macedonia 🇲🇰
• Montenegro 🇲🇪
• Netherlands 🇳🇱
• Portugal 🇵🇹
• San Marino 🇸🇲
• Slovakia 🇸🇰
• Slovenia 🇸🇮
• Switzerland 🇨🇭
• United Kingdom 🇬🇧
• Vatican City 🇻🇦
• Antarctica 🇦🇶 (will not be counted as country)
• Australia 🇦🇺
• Kiribati 🇰🇮
• Marshall Islands 🇲🇭
• Micronesia 🇫🇲
• New Zealand 🇳🇿
• Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬
• Pitcairn Islands 🇵🇳
• Solomon Islands 🇸🇧
• Botswana 🇧🇼
• Burkina Faso 🇧🇫
• Côte d’Ivore 🇨🇮
• Cameroon 🇨🇲
• Cape Verde 🇨🇻
• Central African Republic 🇨🇫
• Congo Brazzaville 🇨🇬
• Congo Kinshasa 🇨🇩
• Djibouti 🇩🇯
• Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶
• Ethiopia 🇪🇹
• Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼
• Madagascar 🇲🇬
• Mauritania 🇲🇷
• Mauritius 🇲🇺
• Mozambique 🇲🇿
• S Tomé & Principe 🇸🇹
• Seychelles 🇸🇨
• Sierra Leone 🇸🇱
• South Africa 🇿🇦
• South Sudan 🇸🇸
• Swaziland 🇸🇿
• Tanzania 🇹🇿
• Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
• Afghanistan 🇦🇫
• Bangladesh 🇧🇩
• Cambodia 🇰🇭
• East Timor 🇹🇱
• Indonesia 🇮🇩
• Israel 🇮🇱 & Palestinian Territories 🇵🇸
• Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
• Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬
• Malaysia 🇲🇾
• Maldives 🇲🇻
• Mongolia 🇲🇳
• North Korea 🇰🇵
• Pakistan 🇵🇰
• Palestinian Authority 🇵🇸
• Philippines 🇵🇭
• Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
• Singapore 🇸🇬
• South Korea 🇰🇷
• Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
• Tajikistan 🇹🇯
• Thailand 🇹🇭
• Turkmenistan 🇹🇲
• United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪
• Uzbekistan 🇺🇿
• Antigua & Barbuda 🇦🇬
• Argentina 🇦🇷
• Barbados 🇧🇧
• Colombia 🇨🇴
• Costa Rica 🇨🇷
• Dominica 🇩🇲
• Dominican Republic 🇩🇴
• El Salvador 🇸🇻
• Greenland 🇬🇱
• Guatemala 🇬🇹
• Honduras 🇭🇳
• Nicaragua 🇳🇮
• Paraguay 🇵🇾
• St Kitts & Nevis 🇰🇳
• St Lucia 🇱🇨
• St Vincent & the Grenadines 🇻🇨
• Suriname 🇸🇷
• Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹
• United States 🇺🇸
• Venezuela 🇻🇪

🌈 Country map color picker

Copy & Paste this code and use it on your website

been travel map

Been there, done that.

Where have you been in the world? Create a map of all the countries you have visited or share a list with your friends. Ultimate bragging rights! Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Pin Traveler App

Track your travels, create your bucket list, save your favorite locations, and much more..

Essentials for Travel Tracking

Search from millions of locations available and pin your travels on your very own digital push pin travel map!

Easily export your travel map with pins and share on social media or give access to others to check out your map.

Log your trips, archive your photos, save your favorite places from your trips. Never forget your adventures!

Download Pin Traveler App

The must-have travel tracker app! Pin your travels, create your bucket list, save your favorite locations, and much more.

Join Pin Traveler

Get the app and sign up to Pin Traveler in a single click! Creating your own online push pin map is as easy as 123.

Track Your Travels

With text based searching or pin dropping, quickly create your own world travel map to pin where you've been.

View Your World Map

Take a minute to see where you've been on the world map. You can also view your destinations as a list and customize them to make your map more personal.

Share With Friends

Share your world travel map with the press of a button! You can let friends and family see your travel map with pins on their own devices. Disable sharing with ease at any time and keep your map private.

Personalize Your World Map

Bucket list.

Create your online travel bucket list with ease by adding pins to your wishlist.

Customize your travel map with pins, using various pin colors and map styles!

With personalized travel statistics explore how much of the world you have discovered.

App Screenshots

Screenshots from: Pin Traveler App Version 2.7.5 (iOS)

Get the must-have travel tracker app

Pin Traveler is now available for Android!

User Testimonials & Reviews

See why our users love tracking their travels online with Pin Traveler

Amazing app! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I am an Airline Pilot … and I've been searching for perfect app that helps me keep track of all the cities I've travelled to. Trust me. This is it. The $2.49 premium monthly subscription is well worth it. And also, the $0.99 map designs are really beautiful. ”

Awesome Travel Diary App ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ After years of looking for a travel diary, … I found what I'm looking for. This has everything I have searched for, … in this one app. ”

Great app ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I love this map. I am using it to pin my travels over the past 40 years. It will take a bit of time but I am enjoying the memories. ”

Nice Nostalgic App! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ Pin Traveller helps me keep track of my visits with an simple and intuitive interface. Reminds me of my grandfather's old travel diaries. :) ”

I use this to mark my products ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“ I use this to see where our products have been shipped too from purchases. I really like seeing the overview of the map and where our barrels and poles have been sold. … This gives us a great overview of where our products are being purchased. ”

Keep In Touch

Check out our new Blog !

Sign up for Our Mailing List

COPYRIGHT © 2018-2023. Pin Traveler LLC

[email protected]

Google Maps travel tips to navigate and learn about places you visit (even without Wi-Fi)

"Easy Travel” is a ten-part series focusing on how to reduce bumps during vacations, anticipate roadblocks and be ready when things aren’t going your way. If you'd like to contribute to our future reporting and share your experience as a source, you can click here to fill out this quick form .

It goes without saying, but gone are the days of paper maps for navigating. We mostly all have phones in our pockets that can show us where to go, which comes in especially handy when traveling to a new place, even when reception isn’t guaranteed. 

USA TODAY Travel reporters Zach Wichter and Kathleen Wong teamed up to share some of their favorite digital map tips to help travelers on their journeys.

Street navigation and offline map access 

Zach: I’m a little map-obsessed myself. The post below on X, formerly Twitter, really speaks to me. So, before I visit a new place, I typically spend hours looking around on Google Maps to familiarize myself with the geography. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

It’s not just natural features I’m interested in, either. Google Maps comes in super handy for learning the basics of a new city’s transit system and other ways to get around. Especially if I’m arriving after an overnight flight, I like to know exactly how I will get to my lodging. I often take screenshots of transit directions for that first trip so I don’t have to worry about bad service or lack of airport Wi-Fi to get where I’m going.

However, I may want to start using the app directly more often. 

Christina Tong, a senior product manager at Google, said "Live View" directions are available everywhere that Street View imagery exists.

“It’s a really new capability that is helping you navigate in augmented reality and be able to search your surroundings,” she said. Live View allows Maps users to see turn-by-turn directions overlaid on street view. Tong said the feature can be especially helpful for orienting yourself when you come out of a subway station and need to get your bearings.” You can even use it in some indoor locations like certain shopping malls and airports for more detailed wayfinding.

Live View is accessed through the camera icon on the walking directions tab. To use it, you must have an active internet or data connection.

Tong pointed out that the Maps team is also rolling out bike and scooter directions in many cities.

“This bike and scooter information is available on Google Maps in more than 500 cities globally,” she said, adding that information about vehicle availability, dock locations and battery levels for e-bikes and scooters is also provided in the bike directions tab.

Another cool feature that’s especially helpful when using Google Maps abroad is the option to download offline maps. Doing that allows you to navigate and find some basic information about popular sites where you’re visiting, even if you don’t have cell service outside of the U.S., like when I went on a reporting trip to Hamburg this spring. or are traveling somewhere with poor reception.

“Two cases for me: I’m about to go camping or take a road trip and I’m going to be driving through a place that has less phone reception coverage, or if I’m traveling internationally and my phone doesn’t cover a data plan,” Tong said. “This was actually one of our most requested tools and I’m really excited to share that with travelers.”

To download offline maps:

• Tap your profile picture or the initial icon in Google Maps
• Then tap “offline maps” and choose the select your own feature
• Zoom in on the area you want to save, and then hit download

Cruising Altitude: Is airplane coffee safe to drink? I'll try to put the rumors to rest.

Customizing your map for a trip, collaborating with friends

Kathleen: When I travel, I always employ Google Maps – and not just for directions. The online tool helps me easily visualize my destinations to develop an efficient game plan. 

I’ll include Google Maps in my research when I check out accommodations to book. I’ll scroll around to explore neighborhoods and see what businesses are nearby. (For obvious reasons, it’s important that a good coffee shop is within walking distance of my hotel or Airbnb.) 

If a business catches my eye, I’ll save it to My Maps . Usually, I’ll make My Maps for different categories, like shops or bars I want to visit, and mark them with a color or icon. 

• To make your layered custom map, sign into your Google Maps account and open or create a map. 
• Add and name a layer, like "cool bars," then explore and save certain businesses to your layer. You can even add different colors and icons to your layers. 
• When you’re done, hit share or preview to see your custom map.

The Google Maps interface makes it easy to see the address, operating hours, contact information and if you can make reservations or order online. I’ll also do a quick look through reviews and photos. Based on how many reviews a place has, I can gauge if a place sounds popular – and will probably be busy. The digital tool also helps me support diverse businesses . You can see if a place is women-owned or LGBTQ+-owned, among other identities. 

Tong also pointed out that hundreds of places are also getting added to Google Maps’ new Immersive View feature, which can help you better understand things like crowds and weather to plan your visit more precisely.

“Immersive view uses AI to fuse together billions of images and create this multidimensional view of a place,” she said. 

If I’m traveling with friends, we’ll work together on marking places to visit and share the map link with each other, where all the pins live. When my New York-based friend visited me in Honolulu in 2021 for the first time, we brainstormed a map of spots that I wanted to take her to and others she wanted to visit ahead of time. We could even add notes, like saying if an eatery is a must-visit. When creating our daily itinerary, we looked at our custom map to see what was in the same vicinity so we could make the most of our time and not backtrack.      

These custom maps also help me in the moment when I’m traveling. If it’s been a long day and I need to grab some dinner, I can open up Google Maps to see what spots I had previously vetted without having to frantically search for a place. Then, Maps will direct me right to the restaurant. (This is especially useful for those with dietary restrictions, so you already have a rolodex of eateries before the hanger kicks in.)

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and columnist for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at [email protected] . Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected]

Bon Voyaged

60 Countries Quiz: How Many Can You Name On A World Map?

Posted: May 12, 2024 | Last updated: May 12, 2024

It’s probably been a long time since any of us sat in geography class, but knowing the map is still a difficult thing to do if you’re not looking at one daily or using it at work. Occasionally maps change, and countries go through evolutions which can cause some mix-ups, usually in terms of naming. But how do you feel about your skills naming the countries of the world from a blank map. Whether you know your way around Asia, or can pick out the obscure shapes of South and Central America, put your geography skills to the test with this expansive map quiz! Good luck!

What Country Is This?

• South Africa

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Spain

• United Kingdom

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: United Kingdom

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: China

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: India

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Argentina

• Netherlands

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Norway

• United States

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: United States

• Philippeans

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Italy

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Japan

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Brazil

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Mexico

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: France

• South Korea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Indonesia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Canada

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Germany

• Saudi Arabia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Egypt

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Russia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Israel

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: South Africa

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Sweden

• Democratic Republic of the Congo

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Chile

• Papua New Guinea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Madagascar

• Switzerland

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Denmark

• Dominican Republic

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Panama

• Turks & Caicos

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Philippeans

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Australia

• Trinidad & Tobago

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Cuba

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Poland

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Iceland

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Turkey

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Ireland

• Turkmenistan

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Ukraine

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Vietnam

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Croatia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Greenland

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: South Korea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Saudi Arabia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Portugal

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Columbia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Greece

• New Zealand

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: New Zealand

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Ethiopia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Netherlands

• North Korea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Thailand

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Mongolia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Venezuela

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Romania

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Iran

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: North Korea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Kazakhstan

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Finland

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Kenya

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Cyprus

• Falkand Islands

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Fiji

• Western Sahara

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Somalia

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Belgium

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Yemen

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Morocco

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Peru

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Iraq

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Taiwan

• United Arab Emirates

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: United Arab Emirates

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Bolivia

• Papau New Guinea

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Jamaica

• Afghanistan

✔ CORRECT ANSWER: Algeria

For the Latest Travel News, Headlines & Videos, head to Bon Voyaged

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‘It’s going to be worse’: Brazil braces for more pain amid record flooding

The death toll has climbed to 56 in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state, with tens of thousands displaced.

Overpowering floods and mudslides caused by torrential rains are continuing to sweep southern Brazil, killing at least 56 people and forcing tens of thousands out of their homes, the government said.

As well as raising the death toll on Saturday, the country’s civil defence agency said rising water levels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were straining dams and threatening the metropolis of Porto Alegre.

Keep reading

Photos: ‘out of control’ fires endanger wildlife in brazil’s wetlands, photos: rains, mudslides kill 37 in southern brazil’s ‘worst disaster’, deforestation in brazil’s amazon falls to lowest level since 2017, brazil’s congress weakens environmental, indigenous ministries.

Triggered by storms that began on Monday, the flooding is only expected to get worse, local authorities said, as rescuers scoured the ruins of washed-out homes, bridges, and roads for missing people.

“Forget everything you’ve seen, it’s going to be much worse in the metropolitan region,” Governor Eduardo Leite said on Friday as the state’s streets were submerged.

‘Nothing could be saved’

The flooding, Brazil’s worst in 80 years, has so far affected at least 265 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul, according to the southernmost state’s civil defence department.

It has injured at least 74 people, displaced more than 24,000, and left 350,000 with some form of property damage.

“Nothing could be saved,” said Claudio Almiro, who lost his home and possessions to the flooding.

“Many people have even lost their lives. I raise my hand to heaven and thank God that I’m alive.”

Residents in several cities and towns have been left completely cut off from the world, with no electricity or telephone access, while others have been forced to abandon their livestock.

“You don’t know if the water will continue to rise or what will happen to the animals, they may soon drown,” said Raul Metzel, from Capela de Santana, north of the state’s capital.

Five days in, as the rainfall shows no signs of letting up, four of the state’s dams are at risk of collapsing, creating the risk of a new “emergency situation”, according to civil defence officials.

Brazil’s federal government has sent aircraft, boats and more than 600 soldiers to help clear roads, distribute food, water and mattresses, and set up shelters, while local volunteers have also helped with search efforts.

‘Disastrous cocktail’

Climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino said the devastating storms were the result of a “disastrous cocktail” of global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

South America’s largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that killed at least 31 people.

Aquino said the region’s particular geography meant it was often confronted by the effects of tropical and polar air masses colliding – but these events have “intensified due to climate change”.

And when they coincide with El Nino, a periodic warming of the waters in the tropical Pacific, the atmosphere becomes more unstable, he said.