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Google Maps
Essential tool for finding places, reading local reviews, checking hours, and navigating to destinations. The review aggregation is particularly useful for evaluating restaurants and shops.
Pros
- + Most comprehensive local business database
- + Real-time hours and busy times
- + User reviews with photos
- + Offline maps for travel
Cons
- − Reviews can be gamed or unreliable
- − Heavily biased toward paid/promoted results
- − Privacy concerns with location tracking
Google Maps is the default recommendation engine for most travelers. While it has limitations, it’s the single most useful tool for discovering and navigating to local businesses.
Pro Tips
- Save places to custom lists to plan your itinerary
- Check “Popular times” before visiting to avoid crowds
- Read the negative reviews — they often reveal more than the positive ones
- Download offline maps before traveling to areas with spotty cell service