Official Google Canada Blog: New ways to plan your vacation while on the go

Official Canada Blog

News and notes from Google Canada

New ways to plan your vacation while on the go

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

With spring around the corner, it’s time to look forward to sunnier skies—and summer getaways. And with more than half of Canadians saying they intend to vacation in 2016,* we see many Canadians turning to mobile phones to sneak in vacation dreaming and planning here and there—in line at the coffee shop, or on your way to a friend. In fact, Canadians spend an average of 30 days planning their trips, which last 8.6 days on average.**
But even as mobile travel planning grows, it can be hard to get all the right information in one place on a small screen. There are a dizzying number of questions to answer when planning a trip: What are the best places to visit? What time of year is good to go? What kind of prices can I expect?
Today we’re introducing something to make all this easier: Destinations on Google, which helps you discover and plan your next vacation, right from Google Search on your phone.
Search with Google on your mobile phone for the continent, country, or state you’d like to travel to and add the word “destination” to see an easy-to-browse collection of options. Destinations integrates a deep understanding of all the places in the world with Google Flights and Hotel search, so you can see available flight and hotel prices instantly. So instead of jumping between a dozen links or tabs to get the information you need, you can sit back and scroll—and leave the heavy lifting to us.

To find a vacation that’s just your style, search for a destination and something you’d like to do there, like “spain surfing,” “new zealand hiking,” or “colorado skiing.” We’ll suggest spots that fit with your hobbies and interests
Say you’re planning to take some time off in June or July, but you haven’t decided exactly when to go. The “Flexible Dates” filter lets you refine your results by month, so you can see when fares and rates are lowest within the time range you want, across multiple destinations.
Want to avoid crowds or bad weather? Select any destination and tap the “Explore” tab to see what the weather is like year-round and when your destination is most popular, based on historic visits from other travelers.
Once you've selected a destination, tap "Plan a trip" to see rates for hotels and flights. We show you highs and lows for the next six months, so you can find the right price tag for you. And as you slide left or right, the results instantly update with real-time fares and rates, pulling from the trillions of flight itineraries and hotels we price every day on Google Flights and Hotel search. You can also tap the pencil icon to customize results further with flight and hotel preferences, including number of stops, hotel class, and number of travelers. Whether you’ve got five days or 12, don’t fret about figuring out where to go first or which spots you can’t miss. Simply search for “Spain travel,” and click the blue arrow icon to browse the most frequently traveled itineraries. The suggested itineraries are based on historic visits by other travelers to those places, so you can use the wisdom of the crowd and save time researching.

And which destinations are Canadians interested in traveling this Spring? We looked at the cities and countries that have seen a spike in search interest in January and February compared to the preceding months, to determine the Trending Destinations in Canada for the upcoming travel season.

Whether you’re looking for a quick sunny getaway or planning an extensive trip overseas, we hope Destinations on Google make it smooth sailing to your next vacation. Bon voyage!
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, Communications Manager, Google Canada

*Google Consumer Survey, Canada, March 2016 ** Canada Travel Study. Google / Ipsos, November 2015

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