It’s no surprise that Waze is one of the best GPS navigators, and one of the reasons for this is its active and generous community that alerts you practically in real time of milestones such as traffic jams, construction work, accidents or radars (yes, the alert must be properly configured from the radars). Another popular and very useful function of Waze is the speedometer, which can tell us both the speed of the road and the speed we are going (don’t worry if it reads something different from the car’s speedometer). However Waze has trump cards that will make a difference.

There are those who limit themselves to using it to get from point A to point B without getting lost, and that’s not bad, other people benefit from the two features mentioned above and that alone is worth it, but I insist: There are many more functions hidden in Waze, and I use some of them every time I get in the car. Of course, some are hidden and not enabled as standard, so they require some research and experience, but they’re worth it.

I know how much the highway will cost me

Although I admit that I generally avoid toll highways as much as possible, there are times when there is no option but to use the toll highway, and here Waze beats Google Maps by telling me how much I have to pay.

It is corrected in the health details that the cost is approximate, but the truth is that it fails very little because this price says so, taking into account the route and adjustments as well as the information provided by the community. And it seems stupid, but These are the euros I saved: I just need to add the destination and when I click on routes it shows up right below the estimated time.

Better without difficult transitions or unpaved sections

I said above that I usually avoid tolls, and I know this because I have it ticked in the navigation settings; This is a section worth taking a closer look at because it has many interesting options for someone who doesn’t drive much and has urban transportation. A compact and compact car like Volkswagen Polo: Avoid difficult intersections and unpaved roads.

Be careful, because these are two different options (one comes right after the other), but they save me the trouble by minimizing these no-visibility joins as best I can, or risking the underside of the car because I’m going down the goat path (he won) by having Google Maps take me onto a dirt road (Not the first time he took it).

Helps me refuel with gas stations and prices

Even though I checked a few gas stations in Pamplona where I refueled, I was like, ‘Where are you going?’ There’s no harm in tapping the ‘Fuel’ option on the box. In addition to showing you on the map where the nearest gas stations are in relation to your location, an important thing if you are traveling to an unfamiliar place, it also gives you the following information: If that service station is open and its price.

How do you know? Thanks to your amazing community. Meanwhile, Instead of having a combustion car, yours is electricTap the three dots and select ‘EV Charging’ to see charging points, charger types and even what’s available.

Finding a parking space is now much easier

Parking also appears in the section with gas stations, and it does something similar: it shows parking spaces that are close to your location (or another location of your choice); Something that will come in handy if you are traveling and have nowhere to go. Do you know places to park or where there are usually empty spaces? It’s much faster than using Google, although unfortunately it doesn’t offer a price.

Tells me the best time to travel

I usually have some flexibility when traveling, which allows me to leave at different times, so before going on a moderately long trip I usually ‘Check it out later‘ is a graph showing the best time to set off, considering traffic conditions and location.

Cover | Álex Alcolea (Xataka Mobile)

Xataka on Android | Google Maps vs Waze, detailed comparison: which app has the best navigation options?