The holiday season is starting—which means time with friends, family, and lots of food. And though festivities may be a bit different this year, there are still creative, safe ways to celebrate and stay connected. No matter what you have in store for the holidays, these Google Maps tips can help you stay informed, stay connected and save time.

Stay informed even while running holiday errands and traveling

If you need to, connect safely

Save time so you can spend more time enjoying the festivities 

7. (New!) Don’t let your food get cold: If you’re taking a low-key approach to the holidays this year and opting to order in instead of cooking an elaborate meal, Google Maps can help. When searching on your phone for restaurants nearby, you can easily sort by places that offer takeout or delivery and place your order directly from Google Maps. Now you can also see exactly when your order will be delivered or ready to pick up on the app’s home screen—because nobody likes cold turkey!

8. Search along your route:  If you’re on the road and realize you need to make a stop—say you’re running low on gas or need to pick up a last-minute item from the market—use Google Maps to search for gas stations, grocery stores, or other places along your drive so you can tackle your tasks without going too far out of your way. 

The holiday season is starting—which means time with friends, family, and lots of food. And though festivities may be a bit different this year, there are still creative, safe ways to celebrate and stay connected. No matter what you have in store for the holidays, these Google Maps tips can help you stay informed, stay connected and save time.

Stay informed even while running holiday errands and traveling

If you need to, connect safely

Save time so you can spend more time enjoying the festivities 

7. (New!) Don’t let your food get cold: If you’re taking a low-key approach to the holidays this year and opting to order in instead of cooking an elaborate meal, Google Maps can help. When searching on your phone for restaurants nearby, you can easily sort by places that offer takeout or delivery and place your order directly from Google Maps. Now you can also see exactly when your order will be delivered or ready to pick up on the app’s home screen—because nobody likes cold turkey!

8. Search along your route:  If you’re on the road and realize you need to make a stop—say you’re running low on gas or need to pick up a last-minute item from the market—use Google Maps to search for gas stations, grocery stores, or other places along your drive so you can tackle your tasks without going too far out of your way. 

This holiday, family gatherings will be smaller or take place virtually to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Indoor activities will move outdoors. And that international holiday vacation will potentially transform into an epic road trip to nearby attractions as you stop to sightsee at local hidden gems along the way. But even still, people are prepping to make classic holiday dishes, looking for ways to experience winter and finding new, safe ways to be together.

We’ve analyzed Google Maps data before and during the pandemic (for the purposes of this post, we analyzed data from March to October 2020) to see how people across the U.S. are getting ready for the holidays. Read on for top trends on how people are navigating, how they’re spending their time and what type of food they’re craving.

Dashing through the snow, in a ? or ?‍♀️ or ?

Across the country, Americans are opting for solo ways to get around safely. Unsurprisingly, driving continues to be the most popular mode of transportation, while interest in riding transit appears to be down by more than 50 percent. Cycling has emerged as a transit alternative–interest in cycling has increased 30 percent nationwide compared to pre-pandemic days, which is even higher than typical seasonal changes. Across all modes of transportation, we’re seeing people get directions to fewer new places, likely in an effort to social distance by sticking to tried and true spots versus exploring new places.

At the local level, transportation patterns are shifting:

• While New Yorkers typically embrace public transit and Angelenos defer to driving–both cities have seen interest in driving increase by over 10 percent since the start of COVID. 

• Cycling is up across the board, both in the East and the West. Cities with the biggest shift in cycling increases include Denver (+200 percent), Minneapolis (+150 percent), New York (+72 percent), Seattle (+65 percent) and Portland, OR. (+57 percent).

Social distancing in a winter wonderland ❄️

Popular times and live busyness information in Google Maps have always been essential holiday tools, helping you avoid unwanted crowds. These tools help you know in advance when places are going to be busy so you can save precious time and also social distance.

So if you find yourself in need of a caffeine fix to tackle your holiday errands, make sure to avoid picking up coffee on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. when coffee shops across America tend to be most packed. And if you’re planning to shop for a holiday meal, stay away from the grocery store on Saturday afternoons between 1-3 p.m. when you’re likely to encounter long lines.

Chestnuts (or turkey or stuffing) roasting on an open fire ? 

In the spring, Americans were optimistic about cooking at home–searches for “easy recipes” were at an all-time high. But as we approach the holiday season (and dishwashing fatigue sets in), people seem to want to order in. Interest in “takeout” on Maps has gained popularity by 306 percent compared to the beginning of the pandemic, and restaurant reservations booked directly on Maps have spiked more than 200 percent–likely because more restaurants are requiring them as they work to maintain safe capacity levels.

As for what people are eating, Mexican, Chinese, and BBQ are the most-searched cuisines across the country, and we’re seeing local noodle wars and more:

• Seattlites and Denverites are pho lovers! Both cities have searched for “pho” twice as much as they’ve searched for “ramen.”

• In Philadelphia, interest in “cheesesteak” has decreased by nearly 40 percent compared to early this year—suggesting that locals are expanding their food horizons or that tourists were the ones searching for this Philly classic.

• Portlanders and New Yorkers are craving Thai. In both cities, interest in Thai food is up more than 100 percent compared to earlier in the year.

Spend time outdoors and deck the halls ?

From coast to coast, people are using Google Maps to have fun safely outdoors, searching for parks, waterfalls, beaches and gardens within driving distance. As the weather cools, searches for outdoor locations continue to remain higher than pre-pandemic. Even traditionally outdoorsy cities like Seattle (+56 percent), Los Angeles (+31 percent), and Denver (+135 percent) are looking for outdoor spots more than they were earlier this year.

When they’re not heading outside, people are sprucing up their homes. Searches for home and garden stores are increasing all around the country, with the highest spikes happening in Chicago (+77 percent), Detroit (+86 percent) and Cleveland (+96 percent).

No matter how you plan to spend the holidays, Google Maps is here to help you knock out your to-do list. Check out our favorite tips to keep your holidays as stress free as possible while staying safe, connected and organized.

For number nerds, here's a behind-the-scenes look on where the trends data came from.

This holiday, family gatherings will be smaller or take place virtually to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Indoor activities will move outdoors. And that international holiday vacation will potentially transform into an epic road trip to nearby attractions as you stop to sightsee at local hidden gems along the way. But even still, people are prepping to make classic holiday dishes, looking for ways to experience winter and finding new, safe ways to be together.

We’ve analyzed Google Maps data before and during the pandemic (for the purposes of this post, we analyzed data from March to October 2020) to see how people across the U.S. are getting ready for the holidays. Read on for top trends on how people are navigating, how they’re spending their time and what type of food they’re craving.

Dashing through the snow, in a ? or ?‍♀️ or ?

Across the country, Americans are opting for solo ways to get around safely. Unsurprisingly, driving continues to be the most popular mode of transportation, while interest in riding transit appears to be down by more than 50 percent. Cycling has emerged as a transit alternative–interest in cycling has increased 30 percent nationwide compared to pre-pandemic days, which is even higher than typical seasonal changes. Across all modes of transportation, we’re seeing people get directions to fewer new places, likely in an effort to social distance by sticking to tried and true spots versus exploring new places.

At the local level, transportation patterns are shifting:

• While New Yorkers typically embrace public transit and Angelenos defer to driving–both cities have seen interest in driving increase by over 10 percent since the start of COVID. 

• Cycling is up across the board, both in the East and the West. Cities with the biggest shift in cycling increases include Denver (+200 percent), Minneapolis (+150 percent), New York (+72 percent), Seattle (+65 percent) and Portland, OR. (+57 percent).

Social distancing in a winter wonderland ❄️

Popular times and live busyness information in Google Maps have always been essential holiday tools, helping you avoid unwanted crowds. These tools help you know in advance when places are going to be busy so you can save precious time and also social distance.

So if you find yourself in need of a caffeine fix to tackle your holiday errands, make sure to avoid picking up coffee on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. when coffee shops across America tend to be most packed. And if you’re planning to shop for a holiday meal, stay away from the grocery store on Saturday afternoons between 1-3 p.m. when you’re likely to encounter long lines.

Chestnuts (or turkey or stuffing) roasting on an open fire ? 

In the spring, Americans were optimistic about cooking at home–searches for “easy recipes” were at an all-time high. But as we approach the holiday season (and dishwashing fatigue sets in), people seem to want to order in. Interest in “takeout” on Maps has gained popularity by 306 percent compared to the beginning of the pandemic, and restaurant reservations booked directly on Maps have spiked more than 200 percent–likely because more restaurants are requiring them as they work to maintain safe capacity levels.

As for what people are eating, Mexican, Chinese, and BBQ are the most-searched cuisines across the country, and we’re seeing local noodle wars and more:

• Seattlites and Denverites are pho lovers! Both cities have searched for “pho” twice as much as they’ve searched for “ramen.”

• In Philadelphia, interest in “cheesesteak” has decreased by nearly 40 percent compared to early this year—suggesting that locals are expanding their food horizons or that tourists were the ones searching for this Philly classic.

• Portlanders and New Yorkers are craving Thai. In both cities, interest in Thai food is up more than 100 percent compared to earlier in the year.

Spend time outdoors and deck the halls ?

From coast to coast, people are using Google Maps to have fun safely outdoors, searching for parks, waterfalls, beaches and gardens within driving distance. As the weather cools, searches for outdoor locations continue to remain higher than pre-pandemic. Even traditionally outdoorsy cities like Seattle (+56 percent), Los Angeles (+31 percent), and Denver (+135 percent) are looking for outdoor spots more than they were earlier this year.

When they’re not heading outside, people are sprucing up their homes. Searches for home and garden stores are increasing all around the country, with the highest spikes happening in Chicago (+77 percent), Detroit (+86 percent) and Cleveland (+96 percent).

No matter how you plan to spend the holidays, Google Maps is here to help you knock out your to-do list. Check out our favorite tips to keep your holidays as stress free as possible while staying safe, connected and organized.

For number nerds, here's a behind-the-scenes look on where the trends data came from.

This year, we’ve made it easier to find information that helps you stay safe, up-to-date, and connected. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve added nearly 250 new features and improvements to Google Maps to help you adapt to this new normal—from live busyness information for millions of places, to the ability to easily see critical health and safety information at a glance. And we’re continuing to invest in ways to keep information in Maps fresh, with over 50 million updates made to the map each day. Even as the holidays approach, we don’t plan on slowing down. If you need to be out and about this holiday season, here are four ways that Google Maps can help you get around safely and get things done.

Get around

Whether you’re heading out of town or staying local, keeping a pulse on the latest COVID trends can help you stay safe. Since we launched the COVID layer, it’s helped nearly 10 million people get critical information about COVID-19 right from Google Maps. 

We’re rolling out two new improvements in the coming weeks. The updated COVID layer on Android and iOS will soon show more information, including all-time detected cases in an area, along with quick links to COVID resources from local authorities. This is especially handy if you’re heading out of town and need to get up to speed about the local guidelines, testing sites and restrictions in another city.

Avoiding holiday crowds might have always been your thing, but this year, we’re making it especially easy for everyone. If you need to take transit, Google Maps can help you more easily social distance with live crowdedness information. On Android and iOS globally, you’ll start seeing how crowded your bus, train, or subway line is right now based on real-time feedback from Google Maps users around the world (wherever data is available).

The right information, at just the right time

You may be in the mood to cook an elaborate holiday meal—or you may not. If you fall into the latter category, we’re rolling out the ability to see the live status of takeout and delivery orders in the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil and India when you book or order from Google Maps on Android and iOS. Now, you can know when to pick up your food, or when you can expect it to arrive at your doorstep. You can also see expected wait times and delivery fees, and easily reorder your favorites right from the Google Maps app. And when it’s safe to head to restaurants, you’ll soon be able to quickly see the status of your reservation in 70 countries around the world.

Get more done

Even without a global pandemic, the holidays are busy and you may need to spend some time on the road. Last year, we shared an early look at Google Assistant driving mode in Maps, and today, we're starting to roll out an early preview of the improved experience to Android users in English in the U.S.—with more features coming soon. 

While the ways we make life easier for you have changed, our commitment to do this has been there all along. Over the past 15 years, Google Maps has used technology to bring helpful information about the real world right to your fingertips. To make sure that information is as accurate and up-to-date as possible, we rely on 170 billion high-definition Street View images from 87 countries, contributions from hundreds of millions of businesses and people using Google Maps, and authoritative data from more than 10,000 local governments, transit agencies and organizations. We also invest in technical approaches that power some of our most beloved and essential features—from the 20 million places globally that now show popular times data to AR-powered Live View. 

Even in a pandemic, more than 1 billion people still turn to Google Maps to navigate their new normal—and our work is far from done. We’re continually working to build new features and services to help all of us emerge from this challenging time stronger than ever. So whatever your plans are this holiday season and no matter how much they’ve changed, Google Maps can make them easier and safer for you.

This year, we’ve made it easier to find information that helps you stay safe, up-to-date, and connected. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve added nearly 250 new features and improvements to Google Maps to help you adapt to this new normal—from live busyness information for millions of places, to the ability to easily see critical health and safety information at a glance. And we’re continuing to invest in ways to keep information in Maps fresh, with over 50 million updates made to the map each day. Even as the holidays approach, we don’t plan on slowing down. If you need to be out and about this holiday season, here are four ways that Google Maps can help you get around safely and get things done.

Get around

Whether you’re heading out of town or staying local, keeping a pulse on the latest COVID trends can help you stay safe. Since we launched the COVID layer, it’s helped nearly 10 million people get critical information about COVID-19 right from Google Maps. 

We’re rolling out two new improvements in the coming weeks. The updated COVID layer on Android and iOS will soon show more information, including all-time detected cases in an area, along with quick links to COVID resources from local authorities. This is especially handy if you’re heading out of town and need to get up to speed about the local guidelines, testing sites and restrictions in another city.

Avoiding holiday crowds might have always been your thing, but this year, we’re making it especially easy for everyone. If you need to take transit, Google Maps can help you more easily social distance with live crowdedness information. On Android and iOS globally, you’ll start seeing how crowded your bus, train, or subway line is right now based on real-time feedback from Google Maps users around the world (wherever data is available).

The right information, at just the right time

You may be in the mood to cook an elaborate holiday meal—or you may not. If you fall into the latter category, we’re rolling out the ability to see the live status of takeout and delivery orders in the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Brazil and India when you book or order from Google Maps on Android and iOS. Now, you can know when to pick up your food, or when you can expect it to arrive at your doorstep. You can also see expected wait times and delivery fees, and easily reorder your favorites right from the Google Maps app. And when it’s safe to head to restaurants, you’ll soon be able to quickly see the status of your reservation in 70 countries around the world.

Get more done

Even without a global pandemic, the holidays are busy and you may need to spend some time on the road. Last year, we shared an early look at Google Assistant driving mode in Maps, and today, we're starting to roll out an early preview of the improved experience to Android users in English in the U.S.—with more features coming soon. 

While the ways we make life easier for you have changed, our commitment to do this has been there all along. Over the past 15 years, Google Maps has used technology to bring helpful information about the real world right to your fingertips. To make sure that information is as accurate and up-to-date as possible, we rely on 170 billion high-definition Street View images from 87 countries, contributions from hundreds of millions of businesses and people using Google Maps, and authoritative data from more than 10,000 local governments, transit agencies and organizations. We also invest in technical approaches that power some of our most beloved and essential features—from the 20 million places globally that now show popular times data to AR-powered Live View. 

Even in a pandemic, more than 1 billion people still turn to Google Maps to navigate their new normal—and our work is far from done. We’re continually working to build new features and services to help all of us emerge from this challenging time stronger than ever. So whatever your plans are this holiday season and no matter how much they’ve changed, Google Maps can make them easier and safer for you.