Having a personalized map with you on vacation is very useful, as it gives you the possibility to enter only the places of interest you want to visit. This makes the creation of an itinerary easier, with the map turning into a real tourist guide.
The same goes for a business trip, especially when the destination you are headed to is unknown. It is also a valuable work tool for travel bloggers, who can share useful tips to their readers by uploading the map into an article.
Below we will explain how to create a custom map, illustrating the procedure step by step and the best sites to make one.
How to create a custom map: the best sites
Let’s start immediately with the list of the best sites to create a personalized map with directions and itineraries:
- Google Maps
- Glotter
- GmapGIS
- Here Map Creator
- Map Chart
- Mapme
- Maps
- Maptive
- SnazzyMaps
How to create a custom map on Google Maps
Google Maps remains the main point of reference for those traveling and who want precise information on how to get to a certain place. For better or worse, everyone has used the famous Android navigation app at least once in their life, which has replaced satellite navigators over the years. On the other hand, few people know Google My Maps, which allows you to create and share customized maps.
But let’s see what is the procedure to create a custom map on Google Maps:
Log in to My Maps with your Google account;
Click on “Create a new map “;
Select “Untitled Map” to assign a title and description to the map
Click on “Save” to save the changes made;
Type in the search bar a place of interest you want to add to the map and press the magnifying glass to start the search;
Select “Add to map” to complete the insertion;
Repeat the same operation for the other attractions you wish to add to the itinerary;
Click on the “Draw a line” tool (the “share” icon, found under the search bar);
Choose the option “Add pedestrian route” to enter the directions for a walking route;
Select on the map the place of interest from which you want to start the itinerary and choose the second closest point;
Now click on “Add destination” under the heading “On foot” to insert all the other places previously entered and thus complete the itinerary.
Glotter
If it is true that Google Maps is the most famous navigator in the world, it is equally true that alternatives for creating customized maps are not lacking. One of these is Glotter, a free online service based on Mapbox, an open-source mapping tool.
Glotter allows you to create digital maps with placeholders, share them with other users and interact with community members. The only requirement is the registration of a new account via email address and password.
GmapGIS
A second alternative is GmapGIS, a digital mapping tool available for free. As the name itself indicates, it is a service based on Google maps, a choice in contrast to most of the other solutions on the net.
With GmapGIS, it is possible to create customized maps simply and intuitively. Key features include adding placeholders, lines, and place descriptions. In addition, users can measure the distance between one point and another, type in geographic coordinates to find a precise location, or share the map via a link.
Here Map Creator
For years, here has been the most credible alternative to Google Maps for millions of users worldwide. The revamped version of Here Maps (or Nokia Maps) officially debuted in 2013 on Windows Phone, the operating system of Microsoft-owned smartphones. Today part of that legacy is embodied in Here Map Creator.
The Here Map Creator is a tool that allows you to add or modify places of interest with photos and opening hours, insert or update streets indicating their exact position on the map, as well as roads, cycle paths, and trails. Here Map Creator is also available via apps on the Google Play Store and App Store.
Map Chart
If you haven’t found what you are looking for so far, we suggest you try Map Chart. It is a different service from the others because it is based on multiple predefined map templates, from which to start creating your map.
Map Chart does not allow you to enter information or itineraries but makes precision and simplicity its best weapons. The only customizations allowed are to color provinces, regions, or nations differently and give them a name. For this reason, we especially recommend it to parents who want to bring their children closer to geography.
Mapme
One of the most convincing answers to the question “how to create a personalized map” comes from Mapme, a well-known map builder that caters to the real estate and travel sectors. Its main strengths are three:
Content: add photos, PDF files, videos, and 3D tours to the maps, assign a category to each of them, draw lines and shapes on the digital map
Design: Customize the graphics to your style and change the mobile map layout to optimize the user experience
Sharing: print and share the personalized map on social networks or your site
Mapness
Mapness and Map Chart are also online tools for custom maps different from the others. Right from the home page of the site, you realize that you are dealing with a service designed exclusively to give a surprise to your loved ones.
With Mapness, you choose the exact city or place to show on the map, then select the size of the format, the typography, and the map’s color, and finally add the product to the cart. Nothing more, nothing less. We decided to add it to our list because it presents itself as a quality service and can offer a unique gift.
Maptive
Among the most complete and professional solutions to create a customized map is Maptive, a software specialized in transforming the data in possession of the user into a customized map in a few minutes. It is easy to guess from this short intro that it is a corporate service designed especially for professionals and companies.
Users who register a new account have access to a ten-day trial period. Then Maptive can be used by subscribing to one of the available subscription plans: prices start at $ 245 for 45 days (“45 Day Pass”) and reach $ 2,500 per year for the “Team” plan.
Snazzy Maps
Snazzy Maps is a website that hosts map styles made based on the API (Application Programming Interface) of Google Maps. With Snazzy Maps, the ability to add directions to the map using markers is back, as well as choosing from dozens and dozens of different templates.
Made by Canadian developer Adam Krogh, it is ideal for travel bloggers who want to share precise information on a given place with an eye for graphics.
And with that is all, we hope to have helped you find a valid tool to create customized maps with directions and itineraries for your leisure or business trips.