Does Takeout Tools work with Google Maps lists?

Yes. When you export via Google Takeout, your lists come through as named collections. Takeout Tools geocodes the places in each list and lets you export everything together or filter by list.

What happens if Google Takeout doesn't include coordinates?

It never does. Google strips coordinates from the Takeout export, so Takeout Tools geocodes each place by name and address to recover them. Accuracy is high for named places with clear addresses.

Which format is best for Notion or Airtable?

CSV. Import it directly into a table and add columns for day, notes, confirmed status, or any other fields your planning workflow needs.

Can I load the export into Garmin directly?

Yes. Export as GPX and transfer the file to your Garmin device via USB or Garmin Express. Each saved place becomes a waypoint.

Export Google Maps Saved Places for Trip Planning: GPX, KML, CSV

The problem with planning trips in Google Maps

Google Maps is where most trip research happens. You drop pins as you find restaurants, bookmark hotels, save landmarks, and build out lists over days of research. By the time you're ready to plan the actual trip, you might have dozens of saved places across multiple lists.

The problem is those places are stuck inside Google Maps. You can't export them with coordinates. You can't route through them in a separate app. You can't hand them off to a colleague in a format they can use. The data you spent hours collecting isn't portable.

What trip planning actually needs

Most travel planning workflows eventually need location data to leave Google Maps:

Routing tools like Gaia GPS, OsmAnd, or a Garmin device need GPX files with waypoints to build routes or load stops offline.
Itinerary builders like Notion, Airtable, or spreadsheets need coordinates and place names as CSV rows so you can sort by day, filter by type, and assign to people.
Mapping tools like Felt, Kepler.gl, or Google Earth need KML or GeoJSON to visualise clusters and share a custom map with the group.

None of those tools can read a Google Maps saved-places list directly.

The Takeout Tools workflow

Google Takeout includes your saved places as a CSV file, but it only contains place names and categories, not coordinates. That makes the export nearly useless for anything location-dependent.

Takeout Tools solves that. Upload your Takeout export and it geocodes each place, recovering the coordinates Google stripped out. From there you can export to GPX, KML, GeoJSON, or CSV depending on what the next step in your workflow requires.

Which format to use

GPX

Use this when the next step involves a GPS device or outdoor navigation app. Garmin, OsmAnd, Gaia GPS, and Komoot all import GPX natively. Best for hiking itineraries, cycling trips, guided tours, and any route-centric planning where you need offline access.

CSV

Use this when the next step is a spreadsheet or itinerary builder. A CSV with name, address, latitude, and longitude is the most flexible format for analysis, tagging, and building day-by-day plans in Notion, Airtable, or Excel.

KML

Use this when you need to share a visual map or open places in Google Earth. KML preserves list structure and supports custom icons. Best for sharing shortlists with clients, building presentation maps, and loading into Google My Maps.

GeoJSON

Use this when you're working with web maps or developer tools. GeoJSON is the native format for Leaflet, Mapbox, Felt, and Kepler.gl. If you already have a file in another format, use the free GPX to GeoJSON or KML to GeoJSON converter.

Before you export: organise your Google Maps lists

Google Takeout exports all your saved places at once, but you can filter by list after export. If your trip spans multiple destinations or themes, it helps to organise places into clearly named lists in Google Maps before you export, "Paris restaurants", "Tokyo day trips", "Hotels shortlist". Those list names carry through into the export, making it easier to filter by destination or category once you're in your planning tool.

What to do with dropped pins

Some saved places don't have a business name or address, just a pin you dropped on the map. Google Takeout exports these too, but without address data the geocoder has nothing to work from. For important dropped-pin locations, the simplest fix is to add a note in Google Maps before exporting. Something like "52.3667,4.8945" in the notes field is enough to keep the coordinate, even when there's no address to geocode from.

Handling places saved abroad

If your trip covers multiple countries, expect some variation in geocoding accuracy. Places with consistent international addresses, hotels, major restaurants, tourist landmarks, geocode reliably regardless of country. Lesser-known local spots in countries with informal addressing may produce less precise coordinates. Review the output before loading waypoints onto your GPS device, especially for remote hiking starts or unmarked viewpoints.

For multi-country trips it helps to export by list rather than all at once. Grouping places by destination or leg of the trip makes it easier to load only the relevant waypoints onto your device for each stage, rather than scrolling through hundreds of mixed locations.

Convert between formats

Already have a geo file and need it in a different format? Use the free online converters:

Google Maps to GPX, CSV, and KML for Trip Planning