Show HN: Trip Planner – A tool for planning a trip itinerary using Google Maps | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Trip Planner – A tool for planning a trip itinerary using Google Maps

github.com

110 pointsadl199530 comments

I have to say, being able to add all the places to a list accessible from Google Maps is really key since it's one of my main tools while on a trip. I'm curious though -- what got you to choose exporting to Google My Maps vs. a Google Maps saved places place list?

For Wanderlog (https://wanderlog.com), we ended up exporting to Saved Places instead of Google My Maps. My Maps lets you do advanced things like create regions and polygons, but when using it on the Google Maps app, it seems strictly worse:

1. You have to explicitly turn on the My Maps layer, rather than the pins always showing, for it to show up on the app, and

2. When you tap on one of the My Maps pins, it doesn't show the underlying place's associated details (e.g., rating, etc.) which makes it a bit harder to go back to the source of the info.

It's definitely nicer to build on top of Saved Places, which also seems more actively maintained by Google. Did you have any reason in mind to use My Maps rather than the Saved Places?

I do use Saved Places but only for storing bus terminals, Airbnbs addresses, etc. Google My Maps has the advantage of grouping places by a column (e.g. rating, reviews) and modifying icons based on the place type (which I frequently use). It also doesn't clutter the maps with landmarks (they only show up when the map is selected).

1. For me all layers are enabled by default when I load a map on the Maps application

2. I agree that this is quite annoying. The workaround I found was to add the missing information in the CSV file which then shows up in My Maps

Having said that, there are still tons of features missing from My Maps, e.g. each layer can have a limited number of places and there's no API to import the CSV file programmatically. There's a pretty hectic list of feature requests here: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues?q=google%20my%20maps%...

The first paragraph from the readme is a better description:

> This tool filters Google Maps places based on an input query and exports them to a CSV file.

Why a CLI tool instead of a GUI? This sort of thing seems like a poor use-case for a CLI experience.

Probably because the author wrote this for themselves and did not need a UI, but then thought that sharing it would be cool.

Why wouldn't you need a UI? What makes a UI too bloated?

A UI is more work, and a CLI can be piped into all sorts of personal projects/workflows. I sure would like this.

I didn't say it's too bloated, but whipping up a script like this would take me time in the scale of minutes, while adding a basic UI would make that hours, and not be too useful. To be even a little useful the UI has to do quite a lot.

Once you have the CLI working, you can then add the GUI. They don't have to be globbed together.

I'm not sure what extra features I could provide with a GUI. I mainly use the script just to create the CSV file and then import it into Google My Maps, as explained here: https://adl1995.github.io/programmatically-organising-your-b...

https://wanderlog.com (formerly TravelChime - YC W19) is pretty great too. I used it over the summer to plan a family visit and it was very useful.

Neat project! If anyone's interested in more of a full-featured web app for travel planning, I've been working on developing https://www.naverator.com/

Thanks! Maybe it would be useful if your app allows importing itinerary from CSV files (I'm guessing each item is added manually for now).

You're right, it is all manual for now. I do like the idea of some sort of import, but it's intended for a more general audience. I'm not sure my mom would figure out how to create and then import a CSV.

Nice! Traveling can be overwhelming. This is another great tool folks can use to help prep for their trip [since it's a CLI your market will naturally be developer focused]. I built https://trrip.co - much less about search and google maps, and much more about sorting itinerary in a chronological way. Both can coexist!

I got this error when running it :

File "fetch.py", line 25 place_raw = requests.get(f'https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/details/json?plac...) ^ SyntaxError: invalid syntax

What version of python are you using?

I use now python 3.6 but got this error :

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'wikipedia'

(I installed requirements)

That's odd. What output do you get from 'pip install wikipedia'?

You do you, but if you're giving python support in HN comments, you might be here for a while!

It looks like you need python 3.6+

I remember the time where you could plan your route on Google Maps and save it to your maps. Obviously they removed that feature circa 2012 because it was too useful.

It'd be cool if the tool could also figure out the shortest path between the attractions returned to optimize the trip!

Definitely! I'm now thinking of adding a 'radius' parameter which only returns places within a certain region.

I really enjoy this. I've also been interested in a tool that allows full itinerary planning on the command line.

I'd built out a similar tool that pulled in the Google Photos / Panoramio photos along a route / path, within a certain distance to find interesting things along your way.

It got nuked when Panoramio died - would be interested in Open-Sourcing it if anyone wanted to pick up the project..

Sounds like a neat idea! I would be very interested in checking it out.

Nice tool! Could also be used for data science ;)

https://dokomaps.com is a more human and user friendly alternative were locals create their own map, add comment and categories and share them.

Very cool! love the simplicity ... A UI based tool that I have found very useful https://maps.sygic.com/

Sygic is awesome! Used it to plan a trip to Japan and South Korea and it highlighted a bunch of cool attractions that I would have never known about otherwise

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