Google Maps is a popular navigation app worldwide. But even so, there are a few valuable features missing from it.
For instance, Google doesn’t offer the ability to find a halfway point between two places in Google Maps. As such, if you need to find a fair distance that lies midway between you and someone you want to meet who lives far away, there isn’t an easy way to do it.
Fortunately, we have a few workarounds that can help you find the halfway point between two locations in Google Maps. Let’s check them out.
Method 1: Find the Halfway Point Between Two Locations in Google Maps Using Distance
A simple workaround to find the halfway spot between two locations on Google Maps is to use the measure distance feature. While this feature is available on both mobile and desktop versions of Google Maps, it isn’t effective on the mobile version since it doesn’t display different distance markings between two places, which is what we need to identify the midpoint.
Here’s what the process looks like on the desktop:
- Open Google Maps on your computer.
- Find and navigate to the starting point of your journey.
- Right-click on the starting point and select the Measure distance option from the context menu.
- Click on the ending point of the journey.
- Maps will now display the total distance between the starting and ending points. It will also show you the different distance markings between both points.
- Simply look at the midway point between your travel distance and note down a landmark in the area. Share this with the other person so you both can reach there easily.
Method 2: Find the Halfway Point Between Two Locations in Google Maps Using Coordinates
Any location you find on Maps has coordinates. Coordinates are a set of numbers that represent a location’s latitudinal and longitudinal position with respect to the Earth.
Here’s what a location’s coordinates look like: 18.629865241684065, 73.8910278976139. The former is called the location’s latitude, and the latter its longitude.
We can use this information to find the halfway point between any two places. Here’s how:
- Open Google Maps on your mobile or desktop.
- On desktop: Right-click on the starting point, and you’ll see its coordinates. Click on it to copy it to your clipboard.
On mobile: Long tap and hold on a location, and an information card with its coordinates will pop up on the screen. Tap on the coordinates to copy them to your clipboard. - Repeat the same step to find out the coordinates of the ending point in your journey.
- Now, carefully add the latitudes of the initial and the destination locations and divide the sum by two. Do the same for the longitudes, too.
- Once you do this, you’ll have a pair of new coordinates. This is the coordinate for the midway location between the starting and ending points in your journey.
- Copy the exact coordinates and paste them in the search box on Google Maps. Coordinates need to be separated by a comma (,).
- Maps will take you to the location associated with those coordinates.
- Again, note the area and nearby landmarks so both parties can find it easily.
Google Should Bring the Halfway Point Feature to Maps
Google Maps has several advantages over other map services. But, the inability to find a midway point between two places is a major missing, especially when you take into account the fact that many third-party services are offering the functionality.
However, thanks to the workarounds mentioned earlier, you should now be able to easily find a halfway point between two locations to meet your friends/family in Maps. And, in turn, save yourself some time, money, and fuel.
Sure, both these methods aren’t very friendly, but they are the only ones that work with Google Maps and, to a great degree, get the job done decently well. That said, if you want a simpler solution, you can try third-party map services to find out halfway points between locations and plan your commute/road trip better. Travelmath, MeetWays, What’s Halfway, and Trippy are a few popular services you can use.
Further Reading:
- How to Change Work and Home Address on Google Maps
- How to Drop a Pin in Google Maps on Mobile and Desktop
- How to Generate and Search Addresses using Google Maps Plus Codes
- How to Save Your Parking Location and Details in Google Maps
- How to Find Air Quality of a Place Using Google Maps