I am going to Paris in June. And- we will be driving around France. I have an iphone 8 and AT&T. What is the best GPS travel directions? On previous trips we used a Garmin, but I would like to use my Iphone- but I don't want to run up a big bill.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Google Maps "offline" is free if you download maps ahead of time for France ahead of time on WiFi. Keep your iPhone in Airplane Mode then turn on WiFi.
Try it out at home first - download the maps for the area where you live, put your phone in airplane mode, and go for a spin.
Bring a car charger for the phone as it will eat up the battery quickly using the GPS.
Posted by
824 posts
Another option is the Map.Me application which is free. It works just like a dedicated GPS unit and works fine in a connection-free environment as long as you download all your maps beforehand. I've used it successfully on both IOS and Android devices while disconnected from any data network (once from Las Cruces, NM to Tucson, AZ).
As mentioned before, just leave your phone in airplane mode to ensure you're not using cellular networks.
Posted by
Franklin, TN, USA
898 posts
I always forget to download ahead of time and then when I get there I should have remembered to download something I didn’t. For our last 2 trips we have rented a 24-7 wifi service from hippocketwifi.com.......the unit is waiting for you at your first hotel on your itinerary. It is the size of a large credit card.....stays with you everywhere and you always have wifi no matter where you are. We got tired of hoping our hotels would have free wifi....and then getting there and realizing we needed to sit in the lobby in the perfect corner to get service......especially after you have showered and have your pj’s on! It also afforded us wifi in the smallest towns and rural areas as we drove......we love using too and do not worry about changing SIM cards, etc. You re-charge the battery at night while you sleep.
Posted by
Florida
1446 posts
What sort of international data plans does ATT offer? Sprint has free international data but at 2G speeds. Works perfectly fine for me for GPS purposes - mayhaps AT&T has something similar?