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Waypoints in Directions

  • This example showcases the functionality of theDirectionsService object in the Google Maps JavaScript API to calculate and display routes with waypoints.

  • Users can select a starting point, an ending point, and multiple waypoints from dropdown menus to define their desired route.

  • TheoptimizeWaypoints option is used to find the most efficient order for visiting the selected waypoints.

  • The calculated route, including the total distance and directions for each segment, is displayed on a map and in a separate panel.

  • The example code is provided in both JavaScript and TypeScript for developers to understand and implement the functionality in their applications.

This example demonstrates the use of theDirectionsService objectto fetch directions for a route including waypoints.

Read thedocumentation.

TypeScript

functioninitMap():void{constdirectionsService=newgoogle.maps.DirectionsService();constdirectionsRenderer=newgoogle.maps.DirectionsRenderer();constmap=newgoogle.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map")asHTMLElement,{zoom:6,center:{lat:41.85,lng:-87.65},});directionsRenderer.setMap(map);(document.getElementById("submit")asHTMLElement).addEventListener("click",()=>{calculateAndDisplayRoute(directionsService,directionsRenderer);});}functioncalculateAndDisplayRoute(directionsService:google.maps.DirectionsService,directionsRenderer:google.maps.DirectionsRenderer){constwaypts:google.maps.DirectionsWaypoint[]=[];constcheckboxArray=document.getElementById("waypoints")asHTMLSelectElement;for(leti=0;i <checkboxArray.length;i++){if(checkboxArray.options[i].selected){waypts.push({location:(checkboxArray[i]asHTMLOptionElement).value,stopover:true,});}}directionsService.route({origin:(document.getElementById("start")asHTMLInputElement).value,destination:(document.getElementById("end")asHTMLInputElement).value,waypoints:waypts,optimizeWaypoints:true,travelMode:google.maps.TravelMode.DRIVING,}).then((response)=>{directionsRenderer.setDirections(response);constroute=response.routes[0];constsummaryPanel=document.getElementById("directions-panel")asHTMLElement;summaryPanel.innerHTML="";// For each route, display summary information.for(leti=0;i <route.legs.length;i++){constrouteSegment=i+1;summaryPanel.innerHTML+="<b>Route Segment: "+routeSegment+"</b><br>";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].start_address+" to ";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].end_address+"<br>";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].distance!.text+"<br><br>";}}).catch((e)=>window.alert("Directions request failed due to "+status));}declareglobal{interfaceWindow{initMap:()=>void;}}window.initMap=initMap;
Note: Read theguide on using TypeScript and Google Maps.

JavaScript

functioninitMap(){constdirectionsService=newgoogle.maps.DirectionsService();constdirectionsRenderer=newgoogle.maps.DirectionsRenderer();constmap=newgoogle.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map"),{zoom:6,center:{lat:41.85,lng:-87.65},});directionsRenderer.setMap(map);document.getElementById("submit").addEventListener("click",()=>{calculateAndDisplayRoute(directionsService,directionsRenderer);});}functioncalculateAndDisplayRoute(directionsService,directionsRenderer){constwaypts=[];constcheckboxArray=document.getElementById("waypoints");for(leti=0;i <checkboxArray.length;i++){if(checkboxArray.options[i].selected){waypts.push({location:checkboxArray[i].value,stopover:true,});}}directionsService.route({origin:document.getElementById("start").value,destination:document.getElementById("end").value,waypoints:waypts,optimizeWaypoints:true,travelMode:google.maps.TravelMode.DRIVING,}).then((response)=>{directionsRenderer.setDirections(response);constroute=response.routes[0];constsummaryPanel=document.getElementById("directions-panel");summaryPanel.innerHTML="";// For each route, display summary information.for(leti=0;i <route.legs.length;i++){constrouteSegment=i+1;summaryPanel.innerHTML+="<b>Route Segment: "+routeSegment+"</b><br>";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].start_address+" to ";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].end_address+"<br>";summaryPanel.innerHTML+=route.legs[i].distance.text+"<br><br>";}}).catch((e)=>window.alert("Directions request failed due to "+status));}window.initMap=initMap;
Note: The JavaScript is compiled from the TypeScript snippet.

CSS

/* Optional: Makes the sample page fill the window. */html,body{height:100%;margin:0;padding:0;}#container{height:100%;display:flex;}#sidebar{flex-basis:15rem;flex-grow:1;padding:1rem;max-width:30rem;height:100%;box-sizing:border-box;overflow:auto;}#map{flex-basis:0;flex-grow:4;height:100%;}#directions-panel{margin-top:10px;}

HTML

<html>  <head>    <title>Waypoints in Directions</title>    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="./style.css" />    <script type="module" src="./index.js"></script>  </head>  <body>    <div>      <div></div>      <div>        <div>          <b>Start:</b>          <select>            <option value="Halifax, NS">Halifax, NS</option>            <option value="Boston, MA">Boston, MA</option>            <option value="New York, NY">New York, NY</option>            <option value="Miami, FL">Miami, FL</option>          </select>          <br />          <b>Waypoints:</b> <br />          <i>(Ctrl+Click or Cmd+Click for multiple selection)</i> <br />          <select multiple>            <option value="montreal, quebec">Montreal, QBC</option>            <option value="toronto, ont">Toronto, ONT</option>            <option value="chicago, il">Chicago</option>            <option value="winnipeg, mb">Winnipeg</option>            <option value="fargo, nd">Fargo</option>            <option value="calgary, ab">Calgary</option>            <option value="spokane, wa">Spokane</option>          </select>          <br />          <b>End:</b>          <select>            <option value="Vancouver, BC">Vancouver, BC</option>            <option value="Seattle, WA">Seattle, WA</option>            <option value="San Francisco, CA">San Francisco, CA</option>            <option value="Los Angeles, CA">Los Angeles, CA</option>          </select>          <br />          <input type="submit" />        </div>        <div></div>      </div>    </div>    <!--       The `defer` attribute causes the script to execute after the full HTML      document has been parsed. For non-blocking uses, avoiding race conditions,      and consistent behavior across browsers, consider loading using Promises. See      https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/load-maps-js-api      for more information.      -->    <script      src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=AIzaSyB41DRUbKWJHPxaFjMAwdrzWzbVKartNGg&callback=initMap&v=weekly"      defer    ></script>  </body></html>

Try Sample

Clone Sample

Git and Node.js are required to run this sample locally. Follow theseinstructions to install Node.js and NPM. The following commands clone, install dependencies and start the sample application.

gitclone-bsample-directions-waypointshttps://github.com/googlemaps/js-samples.gitcdjs-samplesnpminpmstart

Other samples can be tried by switching to any branch beginning withsample-SAMPLE_NAME.

gitcheckoutsample-SAMPLE_NAMEnpminpmstart

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under theApache 2.0 License. For details, see theGoogle Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2025-12-11 UTC.