A deep dive covers the trip itself as well as the places: where to base yourself, what your month is like, what you need to know in the country, and a checklist for before you go.
Find your way around
At the top, At a glance sums up the weather, the busiest days, the money, the plugs and the language. Select one to jump to its section.
- On a wide screen, the map fills the height beside the text, and the sections follow each other: Places, Where to stay, Your month, Need to know and Before you go.
- Beside the chat and on phones, the sections are tabs: Places · Your month · Need to know · Checklist. The map folds away on the reading tabs to give the text more room. Select Show map to bring it back.
Every section has Ask about this, which opens the chat with a question started for you to finish. Each section lists its sources and when they were checked.
Where to stay
Where to stay suggests two or three areas to base yourself, each with what it's good for, its drawback and how long it takes to reach the main places. The same numbers mark the areas on the map. Select an area to highlight it there.
Deep dives made before Where to stay existed don't have it. To add it, update the deep dive with Start over.
Your month
Your month covers one month or, when the deep dive is linked to a trip with dates in that month, the trip's own days. It shows:
- Typical weather: highs and lows, rainy days and daylight, and the sea temperature by the coast. Areas with very different weather, such as mountains and valleys, get a line each. Switch between °C and °F beside the weather.
- Holidays and events: public holidays, festivals and events in those dates. Check dates means the date isn't confirmed for that year yet, so check it before you plan around it.
- Crowds and typical prices, what to book ahead, and what's closed or different that month.
- Pack: a packing list from the weather, your places and local customs.
When the deep dive is linked to a trip that starts within 10 days, Forecast for your trip days shows Google's forecast for each day, up to 10 days ahead, in place of the typical weather.
Pick another month
If no month was chosen yet, Your month asks When are you going? Select a month under When to go to research it. It takes about a minute, and the places stay as they are. Months already researched open straight away.
Only the deep dive's owner can pick a new month. Everyone it's shared with can open the months already researched.
Need to know
Need to know covers the country: money and tipping, plugs and power, emergency numbers, time, tap water, the language with a few phrases to copy, customs, and the apps people use there. The same information appears in every deep dive in that country, and it's checked again regularly.
- When an area spans more than one country, select a country at the top to switch between them.
- When it looks like you're already in that country, Need to know is folded. Select Show all to open it.
Check before you go links to the official pages for entry, safety and health. Entry rules depend on your passport, so Platix.io links the official page rather than stating them. These are pointers to official pages, not legal or medical advice, and they can change, so check them shortly before you travel.
Before you go
Before you go is a checklist sorted by when to do each thing, from 2–3 months before to When you arrive. When the deep dive is linked to a trip with dates, each step shows its date.
Tick items off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device, and only you see them. The tab shows how many are done, for example Checklist 3/9.
When the deep dive is linked to a trip, the owner can select Add to my trip to copy the checklist into the trip's notes, for everyone on the trip. Adding it again updates the same note.