Google Faves Sophie — I wasn't going to go out of my way to find these stairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but saw that I was close one day thanks to Google Maps.

The Saved Places function in Google Maps has changed my life.
Not only is it great for travel; it's also an amazing tool for planning future trips, and a huge part of my day-to-day life.
As its name suggests, the Saved Places function allows you to save places to your Google Maps app.
This way, you can see if there's a place you've been meaning to try near you at any given time.
It's the perfect marriage of being organized and spontaneous, in my opinion.

There are hundreds of apps out there purporting to help you be a better, more organized traveler, but my favorite is actually just a function in an app you probably already have.

The Google Maps Saved Places function changed my life.

Not only does it help me while I'm traveling, it's also great for planning future trips, and it's a huge part of my day-to-day life.

Just look at my New York City map:

The Saved Places function lets you save places to your Google Maps app

There are "starred places" which show up as yellow stars, "favorites" which show up as pink hearts, and "want to go" which show up as green flags. You can even add little notes explaining why you added them to your map.

You can also make your own lists and then look at your map through the filter of one of your lists, so that it shows nothing else you've saved. For example, I have an "office" list for eateries around my office (remember offices?).

Every time I read about a place I want to visit, or a friend recommends a spot, I add it to my map. That way, when I'm in a new neighborhood, all I have to do is open my Google Maps app to see if there's anything around me that I've been meaning to try. It also means finding favorite spots again when you can't remember what's around or the exact name or location of a certain place.

It is hands down my favorite travel app

I am constantly adding cool attractions, museums, restaurants, hotels, and sights to my map from all over the world, not just in New York City, where I'm based. That means that I don't really need to start my research from scratch when I go somewhere new: Usually, I'll already have a few stars on the map.

My favorite thing to do when I travel is to walk aimlessly until I can't walk another step, and see where the day takes me.

Thanks to the Saved Places function, when I get tired, hungry, or thirsty on my walkabouts, I can just open the map and see if a place I've wanted to try out is nearby. I also like to add my hotel or Airbnb to my "favorites," meaning it'll show up as a big pink heart so I can find my way back even when there's no Wi-Fi or internet connection to give me exact directions.

For me, it's the perfect marriage of being organized and spontaneous — of wanting to eat nothing but the best food and see some cool things, but not actually wanting to commit to a schedule or really plan anything in advance.

Open your Google Maps app. Enter the name or address of a place, or just tap on it. There should be a "save" button next to the directions and call buttons.

Once you click on the save button, you can choose to save it to your favorites, loves, and want-to-go lists, or create a new list. Click on the one (or more) you want and voila, that's all there is to it.

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This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).

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I'm a frequent traveler and my favorite hack when I'm on the road is a Google Maps function you already have on your phone