Hack Google Maps to find your way

Ed. note - check out my YouTube channel for all my videos, and consider giving them a "thumbs up" or even subscribing. I update the channel with every trip I take.

One of the challenges you face as an independent traveler is getting to places by public transportation and on foot, especially that first trip from the airport or train station to your lodging for the night.

Here's how to make it easier, and I wish I'd thought of it years ago; make short, for-your-eyes-only way-finding videos at home, before you go. As long as you're staying in reasonably populated areas, this is easy (and a fun way to pass those too-long days before your trip). Once you're at your new location for a day or so, getting around will feel more intuitive.

I have a vivid collection of "adventures" getting to a hotel, apartment or bed-and-breakfast; my family will agree with eye rolls and adjectives. That night roaming the streets of Paris with dead phones. That cold walk in Yorkshire when we thought we'd need to sleep in a sheep shelter overnight. Those ragged circles through Manchester as I tried to remember details about canals and Roman ruins and science museums near our hostel.

These are just the highlights of many such excursions, but you get the idea. Being tired and in a new area, especially at night, isn't fun.

This is where short way-finding videos make all the difference. Upload them to YouTube as a backup if you have an account, or just leave them on your phone. I do both, although my first go-to is my phone because it doesn't require an internet connection. On YouTube I create a separate playlist for them and reluctantly keep them public so they're easy for me or anyone else in my family to find.

You may find gaps in Google's coverage of your route, but don't worry. Just make videos of what you have; you'll be grateful for the help when you get there.

Here's how you do it.

1. Open Google Maps.

2. Enter the address for the public transit station closest to your accommodation. In the example below, I entered Purley Station, United Kingdom.

3. On the map, locate your accommodation (hostel, Airbnb, apartment, etc.). This is the hard part.

4. Start recording on your phone.

5. Click the Street Map icon (the little yellow person) and use the arrows to move toward your next address as you record.

You'll end up with something like this. Although it's primitive, it will save you time and offer crucial landmark helps along the way. When you're fighting jet lag and stumbling over your own feet, every minute saved is a minute you get to spend doing things that are more fun, like exploring. Or slinging that backpack off your shoulders. Or napping.

Train station to apartment - Purley, England

Tips

• when you're in Google Maps, click in short increments; you'll be on foot at your destination, so move slowly

• take some 360-degree shots to orient yourself, especially at intersections

• linger at street signs, public transit signs and anything else that helps you know where you are (zoom in using your computer mouse or just moving your phone closer to the screen)

• remember that "built environment" things like business names may have changed since your map was generated

JFK Platz - Berlin

Wombat's Hostel - Vienna