Waze is one of the most popular Google Maps alternatives and among the major companies owned by Google. It's predominantly community-driven, meaning most of the real-time information it offers, including traffic conditions, hazards, and road closures, comes from its users. However, that's just one aspect of its broader appeal: Waze is also known for its distinctive features, some of which aren't available on popular services like Google Maps or Apple Maps.
If you use Waze, you're probably familiar with these features. But even if you're new to the service, you'll discover them as you start using it for your daily commutes. That said, some Waze features may not be immediately apparent. From helping you determine the best time to leave for your destination and finding parking spots in an area to setting up a custom navigation voice and enabling coordinates to navigate to spots without formal addresses, these hidden Waze features can unlock a whole new experience on the app.
When you want to navigate to a place, you'd typically open the Waze app, enter the destination, and start navigation just when you're ready to leave. However, chances are high that, with this approach, you may end up getting stuck in traffic and reaching your destination late. Waze's Plan a drive feature solves this. As the name implies, Plan a drive lets you schedule your future trips, so you can get a head start on traffic. All you need to do is specify your destination and your desired arrival time. Waze will then show you when it's the right time to leave your location, based on real-time traffic on the route.
To plan a drive in Waze, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner and select "Plan a drive." Hit the "+" button at the bottom and enter your destination. Use the "Day" dropdown to set the day and, below that, your preferred arrival time for the destination. Hit "Save" in the top-right corner. Waze will now send you a notification when it's time to leave. This drive will appear on the main screen under "Upcoming." You can tap it to view or modify as required.
Plan a drive is great, but scheduling all your upcoming drives manually can feel tedious. Waze streamlines this process by allowing you to connect your calendar, so that it can automatically retrieve your upcoming trips and send you alerts, ensuring you leave on time and arrive at locations punctually. It syncs with your phone's default calendar Google Calendar (on an Android) and Apple Calendar (on an iPhone). But if you use one of the third-party alternatives to Google Calendar or Apple Calendar, you'll need to sync it with the default calendar first.
To connect your calendar to Waze, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner and select "Plan a drive." Hit the "Connect calendar" button in the middle of the screen. Tap "OK" and, when prompted, grant the app access to your calendar. Once it retrieves your calendars, you can tap on a calendar to configure what events the app can access. While here, you can also configure the time to leave notifications. Tap "Time to leave" reminder under "Notifications" and select your preferred option.
All your upcoming commutes will appear under the Upcoming section in Waze, and based on how you've configured the time to leave reminder, you'll get a notification when it's time to leave. For this feature to work, you'll need the commute events in your calendar to have both the destination and the arrival time set.
Waze's default voice for turn-by-turn navigation has a clear tone and is well enunciated, making it easy to follow directions. However, if you find it a little hard to comprehend and that's affecting your navigation the app lets you record directions in a custom voice and use that instead. You can also use this option to enhance your driving experience and make it more personalized.
To use a custom voice for navigation in Waze, tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner and select "Settings." Tap "Voice and sound," and ensure the "Sounds" option under "Voice directions" is turned on. Tap "Waze voice" and select "New voice" under "Custom voices." Hit "OK" to continue and allow the app access to your microphone. You'll now see a bunch of direction phrases. Tap on one, hit the record icon, and start speaking it. Hit the play button to preview the recorded phrase. Tap the record icon again if you need to re-record it, or hit "Save" to save the recording.
Repeat the steps for all the navigation phrases. Hit "Done" in the top-right corner when you're done. When prompted to name your voice, type one in and hit "Add." You'll be taken back to the Voice directions page. Here, select the recorded voice under "Custom voices" to set it as the default navigation voice.
Alongside helping you navigate to places on time, Waze also makes finding parking spots at your destination easy. This is a game-changer that can save you both time and the hassle of circling the area to find a place to park your vehicle safely when you arrive at your destination. In addition to parking lots, Waze also provides details like parking availability, rates, opening hours, and amenities (EV charging stations). The availability and accuracy of data vary from region to region.
Waze can help you find a parking spot before your drive, during your drive, or upon arrival at your destination. For example, when you search for an address in Waze, it'll show you a list of parking spots and garages. You can then tap on one and set it as a stop. Alternatively, Waze will display parking pins on your route to the destination, helping you find a more convenient spot. Both these options are location-specific and may not be available in some regions.
Lastly, you can manually look for a parking spot once you arrive at the destination. To do this, tap the search bar and hit the "Parking" button below it. Waze will give you a list of all available parking spots nearby, along with the distances from your current location. You can sort the results by price, distance, or best match. Tap on a spot to learn more about it, including the directions to get there.
Sometimes, you may need to navigate to a location without a formal address whether to meet someone or explore a spot during a countryside drive that's not indexed in the app. Waze's coordinate-based navigation comes in handy in such situations, allowing you to get directions to such places using their GPS coordinates.
To navigate to a place using its coordinates, open Waze, tap the search bar, and enter the coordinates in decimal degrees (DD) format, with latitude and longitude separated by a comma. Hit the search key on the keyboard. If the coordinates exist, Waze will display the corresponding location on the map along with the distance from your current location. Pinch out to view the surrounding areas. Tap the identified spot and hit the "View routes" button to view all the available routes. Select one and tap "Go now" to navigate immediately or "Leave later" to schedule the trip.
You can also enable real-time display of your current coordinates on the map, thanks to the GPS technology. This is useful for precise navigation, verifying route accuracy, and sharing exact locations with others to follow. Simply type ##@coord in the search bar and hit the search icon. Once enabled, you'll see the coordinates of locations you drive by in your route at the top of the screen. Type the code again to turn off the feature.
