Make Planning as Sweet as Valentine’s Day Candy with Google Maps

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you still haven’t planned your night whether it’s a romantic date, a comfy night in, or a night out with all of your friends, here’s a few planning tips.

The spontaneous date

On Valentine’s Day you can be sure of two things: 1) Buying just a couple of flowers will rip you off and 2) 99% restaurants are fully booked (at least it feels like it if you’re trying to book a last minute table). If you're the spontaneous (or forgetful?) type who has just asked your girlfriend out, you could try your hand at walking in on Thursday. The best way to do this is to find the restaurant’s Business Profile on Google Maps and scroll down to see when they tend to be busy. Some restaurant even show whether they’re busy in real time, giving you the best chance at finding an available table.

A cozy night in

If you prefer a cozy night in with delicious food, but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen creating fancy dishes, Maps also got you covered. Just search for the type of food you crave in Google Maps, select the restaurant that matches your taste the best, and place an order via the restaurants Business Profile.

Get inspired

Whether you’re staying in or going out, finding the right restaurant can be difficult when there’s so many good choices (especially if you, like me, have two toddlers, rarely have the time to go out, and don’t even know half of the restaurants in your neighborhood). With a simple search on Google Maps, you can easily find the place that fits your taste the best. Just type in “restaurant” in the search field, and Maps will show you a list of the restaurants in the area including reviews, opening hours, price range, and you and the restaurant's match in percentages.

Going out with friends?

Planning a night out with friends is almost impossible when you have to find both a time and a place that works for everyone, but with the group planning feature in Google Maps, mission impossible becomes an easy task. Find a place in Maps that you think everyone will like, long press the place to add it to a shortlist, and share it with the rest of the group via your favorite messaging platform. From there, they’ll be able to add more places to the list and vote on where to go.

Don't forget to check out our blog for more Google Maps tips and tricks. Happy Valentine's Day.