Bing Maps is building on its itineraries feature by letting users create their own. Itineraries first came to Bing early in the year for popular destinations only. This summer, Microsoft let users customize those, and you can now create them for scratch.
For regular travelers, it’s an extremely helpful feature. You’re able to plan out a road trip, add restaurants, hotels, and landmarks along the way, all with timings informed by Bing’s travel calculations.
Bing also surfaces popular activities in a destination automatically, letting users discover attractions they may not be aware of. You can add destinations to itinerary by searching its name and pressing ‘Save’, or simply right-clicking anywhere on the map. There are likely third-party tools with more complete toolsets, but this is a good start for those who already use Bing.
Limited Availability
As you’d expect, itineraries pull existing information from Bing for its locations. That means locations will feature trip advisor reviews, website information, opening times, and photos. You can even book a hotel or see the weather predictions.
Unfortunately, Itineraries continues to have a major drawback. At the time of writing, these features are only available in the US and UK. That means you won’t be able to plan a road trip around Europe, though Microsoft says it’s “got more updates coming”.
Those who are visiting a compatible region can access the functionality now via the ‘My Places’ section in Bing Maps.
