GPS

Which country or countries?

When we were in Switzerland, northern Italy, and England last summer I used the "Maps" icon that came with my iPhone to navigate everywhere we went. I would connect to a wi-fi spot, enter the destination/route information, let the map load, disconnect from wi-fi, and then navigate using the map. I was able to zoom-in and navigate just fine this way. The only thing that I don't think I had, that I would have had at home, was the little blue dot telling me exactly where I was on the map since I turned off data. If you must have GPS I don't know how you would do it without using data since GPS requires connecting to the local networks to pinpoint your location. Maybe someone out there has a trick for doing this but I haven't found it!

hlindsey6,

The GPS is not linked to your data plan. Its a separate system.

If you mean you want a "map" to use with "GPS" then i can only speak for the android OS since its what i have and use.

you can try using "google maps". with the latest (android) update you can save and name multiple maps to use offline. There is a size restriction, but its a dynamic notation so once you get the map small enough, it will let you know and you can save it.

there are other "offline" map apps. you can try "mapswithme". there is a "free" version and a "paid" version. There are differences and you can readup yourself on what they are. You download the countries/cities you want and go from there.

I would download what you can for free and try them at home first and see how you like them. I bought the Mapswithme app since it wasnt expensive and i liked how it worked. YOu an also upload map files from your google "my places" but there are limitations.

happy trails.

In prior years some people have reported that their GPS doesn't work well for walking in large cities with tall buildings, apparently because the GPS can't see the satellites through the buildings. Maybe they've corrected this by now.

people have reported that their GPS doesn't work well for walking in
large cities with tall buildings

That's true of satellite GPS. There are other forms of GPS which work well in an urban environment, which are wifi based or triangulate distance from cell towers. For info on how to use Wifi GPS see this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/wifi-gps-with-an-ipod-touch

There isn't really a fail proof free GPS to use on your Iphone without a wifi connection. However, there are a couple apps that you could try in the meantime: Citymaps2go (Ulmon Pro) or NavFree. I hope this helps some.

Be careful if walking around following a route on a tablet of smartphone. If your head is down you may not see the opportunist thief coming up behind you or towards you. In London phone and tablet theft is on a sharp rise and | am sure it is elsewhere.

Funny, the thieves don't seem to take the paper maps....