How to Manually Add a Location in Travel Animator
Jaseel S7 min read
In this article 10 sections
Every travel story begins with a starting point, a destination, and the journey that connects them. In Travel Animator, the way you add these locations defines the foundation of your travel animation video.
While you can import routes via GPX files or Google Maps links, many creators prefer the manual method, entering each location step by step. This approach gives you complete control over your travel route.
In this blog, let’s clear why manual location adding is important, when it’s the best choice, and how to do it step by step.
Why is Adding Locations Manually Important in Travel Animator
Manual location adding gives you creative flexibility. It ensures your animation reflects your real journey or the way you want your audience to experience it. By adding each destination yourself, you gain full control over your trip, showcasing exact stops, adding images, labels, and customizing stops to personalize them.
When importing GPX files or Google Maps links, you’re limited to the predefined route; you can’t easily add extra stops or adjust curves. Manual adding, on the other hand, gives you the freedom to get creative: you can bend paths, fine-tune waypoints, and craft smooth, cinematic flows that make your animation truly stand out.
When Should You Add Locations Manually – Use Cases
- Personal Travel Videos – If you’re highlighting your family trip or vacation, manually adding helps you to add key stops and images in that.
- Content creators and Influencers – For Instagram reels or YouTube vlogs, you can make creative edits by choosing unique routes rather than auto-generated paths.
- Business and Professional use – Tourism boards, travel agencies, or educators can plot organized routes for clients or students, highlighting chosen destinations.
- When Data Isn’t Available – If you don’t have a GPX file or don’t want to deal with third-party apps, manual input is the simplest way.
How to Add a Location Manually in Travel Animator: Step-by-Step
- Open the Travel Animator app to start a new animation.
- Tap on the starting point to add your first destination.
- A search bar will appear to search for the location you need.
- After selecting your first destination, tap on the End point to choose the next destination.
- A search bar like before will appear to search for your destination.
- Click on the + icon to add multiple routes.
- Tap and drag the route line to create smooth, natural curves.
- Long-press on any location or stop to customize by adding models, images, and labels.
- If you need to remove any point, Double-tap on that point.
- Preview your video and check how the paths look.
- Adjust the points until they match your journey.
Pros & Cons of Manual Location Adding in Travel Animator
Pros
- When adding locations manually, you have full creative control to plot exactly the route you want.
- There is more flexibility to add as many custom stops as you like.
- No need for third-party apps or tools. You can use your travel videos within the Travel Animator App.
- Adding destinations manually is Perfect for Storytelling. So, it allows personalized storytelling to make your animation unique.
Cons
- Adding multiple routes and adjusting curves can be time-consuming.
- While adding long routes manually, there is Less accuracy when importing GPX, which might capture exact recorded data better.
- The risk of errors is higher when adding manually. If you’re not very careful, points may be misplaced.
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Adding Locations Manually in Travel Animator
- Adding too many stops or waypoints can make the map look cluttered.
- Skipping to preview your animation may lead to uneven routes and models.
- Sharp turns or awkward lines can break engagement. So make sure the curves feel realistic and make the animation attractive.
- Switching between random vehicles can confuse viewers. So make the models consistent and align with the route.
- Ignoring Animation Speed: Too fast or too slow movement disrupts storytelling.
Finding Places the Search Bar Doesn't Recognise
Manual adding is only as good as your search results. City names come up easily, but a trailhead, a beach without a name or a campsite in the mountains often won’t. Two tricks help.
First, you can type coordinates straight into the same search bar. Decimal degrees work best, like 40.834779, 140.214622, and direction letters such as 20.0000 N, 77.0000 E work too. Copy them from Google Maps or your GPS app. Our guide on searching by coordinates covers the supported formats.
Second, for flights, type the three-letter airport code. DXB, JFK or LHR brings up the right airport without spelling out the full name.
Straight Lines, Curves or Real Routes
By default, manual stops connect with a straight line. That’s fine for flights, but a road trip that cuts straight across hills looks wrong. You have two ways to fix it.
Drag the line yourself to add curves. This suits sea crossings and hiking trails, like a 12 km ridge hike where you want the line to follow the ridge roughly without being exact.
Or turn on Real Routes. Long-press a stop and tap Enable Real Route, and the segment from that stop to the next follows actual roads. It works one segment at a time, so repeat it at each stop for a full road trip. Tap it again to go back to a straight line. The Real Routes guide explains when each option looks best.
Fixing a Misplaced Stop
If you drop a stop in the wrong town or drag a curve too far, don’t start over. The undo button on the map screen reverses your last route change, and redo brings it back if you change your mind. For a stop you don’t need at all, double-tap it to remove it. Once the route looks right, save it so you don’t lose the work. Free users can keep one saved route at a time.
Is Manual Location Adding Right for You?
It depends on your animation. If you’re creating a quick route with an accurate route, importing GPX or Google Maps might be better. But if you want control, flexibility, and creative storytelling, manual adding is the way to go. Every travel video has a story to tell. By manually adding locations, you ensure your animation reflects your unique journey rather than a general route animation. So if you need to create a personalized, unique video, try adding locations manually to get customized output.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Adding Locations Manually Important in Travel Animator?
Manual location adding gives you creative flexibility. It ensures your animation reflects your real journey or the way you want your audience to experience it.
When Should You Add Locations Manually – Use Cases?
Personal Travel Videos – If you’re highlighting your family trip or vacation, manually adding helps you to add key stops and images in that. Content creators and Influencers – For Instagram reels or YouTube vlogs, you can make creative edits by choosing unique routes rather than auto-generated paths.
How do I add a Location Manually in Travel Animator?
Open the Travel Animator app to start a new animation. Tap on the starting point to add your first destination. A search bar will appear to search for the location you need. After selecting your first destination, tap on the End point to choose the next destination. A search bar like before will appear to search for your destination. Click on the + icon to add multiple routes. Tap and drag the route line to create smooth, natural curves. Long-press on any location or stop to customize by adding models, images, and labels. If you need to remove any point, Double-tap on that point. Preview your video and check how the paths look. Adjust the points until they match your journey.
Can I add a location in Travel Animator using coordinates?
Yes. Type the latitude and longitude into the normal location search bar, for example 20.0000, 77.0000, and tap search. Travel Animator recognises the coordinates and shows the matching spot, which you can add as a start point, stop or destination. It’s the easiest way to add trailheads, islands or remote places that don’t have a searchable name.
Why does my route go in a straight line between stops?
Manually added stops connect with straight lines by default. To change that, either drag the route line to create curves, or long-press a stop and tap Enable Real Route so that segment follows real roads. Real Routes apply one segment at a time, so enable it at each stop if you want the whole journey to follow roads.
