Seeking advice on getting a SIM card in Europe primarily for GPS use

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Another option for (off-line maps) is OSMAnd on Android. You can download maps in advance (up to ten on the free version. After that you can log the data, or get directions without an active internet connection.

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For the iPhone: The "NavFree" navigation app comes with UK and Northern Ireland maps for free (about 500 MB), and you can download other European countries for £1.99. Do that at home with a good WiFi connection!

Pocket Earth is more for tourist information, town maps etc. Enter places you want to visit anywhere, it downloads nearby maps, and it downloads information for sightseeing from Wikipedia articles.

Both apps don't need any data connection at all if you come prepared, or you can use WiFi at a hotel if you need to download more information.

In the UK, O2 "pay as you go" Sims are available with £10.00 or any other amount preloaded, and with that you can make phone calls (£0.35 min I think), use 3G data (one day for £1.99, officially 50MB but I think they don't stop you). Good news is that it is pay-as-you-go so once the money runs out, it stops working instead of creating surprise charges.

Upvote:1

Since your primary use for the SIM is for navigation, I would strongly advice you to get an offline maps app for your phone as other have suggested. From my personal experience, OsmAnd is perfect for Android devices. If you use iOS, consider buying the Pocket Earth app. I have used it on all my trips and found it to be the most accurate. It even has Wikipages integrated on the map. You can download individual countries, regions, and cities. It also allows you to track your movements and save and export them as GPX files.

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the developers or development of these apps. I am just a happy user.

Upvote:2

As @MeNoTalk mentioned in the comments, you don't need a SIM Card for GPS usage. I've done this several times in Germany or France.

The cheapest option would be to visit any place with a public wifi connection (in your hotel or hostel would be best) and use that to cache maps on the Google Maps app.

While this service is not available in some countries, France and Germany are not one of them.

Then you can simply turn on your GPS in flight mode and your maps will show you your location just fine. Note however that searching or mapping of routes will not work and you have to navigate manually.

It would be a good idea to buy a cheap SIM card from T-Mobile in Germany and Orange in France which would provide you with enough data for a small amount (typically 10 to 20 EUR) so that you can enable searching and routing and use that while biking alongside the offline maps.

These SIM cards are readily available at retail stores or even at the airport and it shouldn't be a hassle to find one.

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