Google Maps API v3: Can I setZoom after fitBounds?

I solved a similar problem in one of my apps. I was a little confused by your description of the problem, but I think you have the same goal I had...

In my app I wanted to plot a one or more markers and ensure the map was showing them all. The problem was, if I relied solely on the fitBounds method, then the zoom-level would be maxed out when there was a single point - that was no good.

The solution was to use fitBounds when there was many points, and setCenter+setZoom when there was only one point.

if (pointCount > 1) {
  map.fitBounds(mapBounds);
}
else if (pointCount == 1) {
  map.setCenter(mapBounds.getCenter());
  map.setZoom(14);
}

I’ve just fixed this by setting maxZoom in advance, then removing it afterwards. For example:

map.setOptions({ maxZoom: 15 });
map.fitBounds(bounds);
map.setOptions({ maxZoom: null });

I have come to this page multiple times to get the answer, and while all the existing answers were super helpful, they did not solve my problem exactly.

google.maps.event.addListenerOnce(googleMap, 'zoom_changed', function() {
    var oldZoom = googleMap.getZoom();
    googleMap.setZoom(oldZoom - 1); //Or whatever
});

Basically I found that the 'zoom_changed' event prevented the UI of the map from "skipping" which happened when i waited for the 'idle' event.

Hope this helps somebody!

Edit: See Matt Diamond's comment below.

Got it! Try this:

map.fitBounds(bounds);
var listener = google.maps.event.addListener(map, "idle", function() { 
  if (map.getZoom() > 16) map.setZoom(16); 
  google.maps.event.removeListener(listener); 
});

Modify to your needs.