Android app for offline GPS maps

Recently I had the same problem. I wanted to go on a long road trip where usually the internet is not available. I saw that Google maps do have the option to download maps for offline usage but it’s very limited. You can only download a certain range in offline maps. I needed to have a map for all that region so I found a few apps that were quite helpful.

The best one was All-In-One Offline Maps by pysberia. It does not have features like Google Maps but its good enough to guide you on road.

If you really need more information on the go then this guide might be helpful. Waze also has an option for offline maps.

You can also use Sygic. Sygic is known for its 3D offline maps that offer great details without any data charges. 3D maps minimize the chances of going into a wrong street, and the maps and details come from TomTom, which is known for its accurate guidance and traffic details.

Here are a few apps I have found which work offline by allowing you to download maps with regular updates. All you need is a GPS enabled android phone to install these apps and your phone will replace the regular GPS device many people use. They also provide maps to most countries, though it would be advisable to check for map accuracy before using the apps outside USA. Each one of them, except Navigon, is either free or freemium. I have used Maps.me and Here; both are pretty good.

1. Maps.me
2. Locus Map Free/Pro
3. Sygic
4. OsmAnd
5. Mapfactor
6. Here from Nokia
7. Navigon by Garmin

Google Maps actually allows you to save maps and use them while you don’t have WiFi. This article outlines exactly how to do it, you basically save a map of wherever you’d like. I actually did this in Montreal recently and it was a lifesaver! Plus, since it’s Google Maps, it should work just about everywhere.

Just for the record, I just bought/downloaded and investigated on both ipad, android

— Galileo Pro which is an OSM product

— I also glanced at some other OSM products

— Google Maps (these days has freely download to the cache feature)

— Maps.Me which is made by a german company. (five bucks)

In all cases you download the app. Then one way or another download the maps, for, the area(s) you want.

My findings and opinion in short:

— Galileo. Work fine BUT the maps are “all the same color“. The map are not clear, ie, large v. small towns are not distinct, large v. small roads are not distinct

— I glanced at some other OSM products, but they look the same. (Perhaps someone knows different?)

— Goog Maps. Fine BUT I find the download system is very annoying. You sort of have to scroll to where you want, and then download that: you have no idea what full area you are getting or how much detail. You just want a simple list with items like “download Iceland”. The scroll around thing is just annoying, and there’s no queue etc.

— Maps.Me. For me it works. 1, install the app. 2, a list of world countries appear. It says “download which countries?” You just click all the ones you want. it puts them in a normal download queue you can see and downloads them. You get absolutely total detail, for, all of, the item you download.

For example if you download “Austria” you get, as far as I can see, as much detail as is possible with online maps (I’m pretty sure as much as goog. maps).

Note – there is indeed “Iceland!”

{Annoyance: for some countries it breaks down to sub-regaions, which is just stupid. But that’s life.}

So for me the “maps.me” product works. I deleted the rest and use that now.

Hope this helps someone.

Footnote: everyone prefers the look of actual Michelin maps. I’ve bought a few of the Michelin map products (say “France” or whatever), which are, simply, the michelin maps of that country, offline on your ipad. Ridiculously though, they are only the high level maps, not the detailed maps! Almost every comment by purchasors on the app store complains about this. Michelin (I know you’re reading), just charge 10x more and make it the whole map.

I use Sygic for turn by turn navigation and Locus Pro with Open Street Map vector maps for everything else. Both worked abroad with roaming disabled and in places without cellular network. Both are paid apps though. There probably are lots of other options as well, but these two will surely work offline if you preload the relevant maps.

The past couple of months I’ve been travelling in the US, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. I didn’t want to pay for data for Google Maps (although I did in a couple of places).

I found two options:

1) Pre-cache google by moving the map around a bit while on wifi. Then when you go out, the maps work. However, this is only for the map – not for GPS navigation.

2) OSMAnd. This is a GPS map app that uses Open Street Maps, and has built in directions with voice as well. I used it in my car in the US, and as a pedestrian in other places, and it worked fantastically, and was definitely offline only as I had no data connection.

Official Site for OSMAnd

It was a bit of a drain on the battery, but when in the car I could have it plugged in anyway, so not too big a deal while driving.

It allows you to download maps for states or countries in advance, and I didn’t find any problems with the data, navigation or directions. It’s not the prettiest, but it is functional.

OsmAnd allows you to download the open map data for any country you wish. I find it to be fairly good map coverage for the areas I have traveled in. But I use it more to track where I am rather than as a source of directions for getting somewhere specific. It does have directions function, but I haven’t needed to use it, so can’t give feedback on how well that function works.

You might want to try MapFactor: GPS Navigator which is free and allows the usage of free maps from the OpenStreetMap (OSM) project, which I believe does have maps for Iceland available.

The app can’t quite reach the standard of a separate navi, but does a good job nonetheless.

You might also want to have a look at the OSM Android Wiki page which lists a whole lot of options that use OSM maps on android.

Note: live traffic information (via RDS/TMC) is pretty much never available on phones since the required hardware is not on board. Some apps offer live traffic data online, but usually at a premium – and it would return to the original problem of not wanting to pay for roaming.