Here's a link to a NY Times article published today on Google's off line map app. Right now available for Android smart phones and projected for iOS by year end.
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
1054 posts
I tried that current option to download/save over wifi last year and it didn't really work. I picked up maps.me and had all the offline features in it. It worked great while we were in Italy, Switzerland and Germany in September.
Posted by
NorthCarolina
930 posts
Rick Steves book recommended citymaps2go - we used it all over Italy last month and it worked great. You have to download here at home, but once downloaded - we were able to use in Venice, Rome, Florence, Sorrento, etc with ease without using cellular data.
Posted by
4510 posts
Also, even without cellular service there are some maps preloaded into iOS. We were able to see the streets everywhere in France and with a GPS located blue "you are here" dot, all without cellular service.
Posted by
California
1625 posts
Because I was familiar with Google maps I used them primarily when I was in Europe a few weeks ago. I had to find directions from a Wi-Fi connection, take a screen shot...then the screen shot worked for me (I don't know how!). I would just pull it up and start walking in the direction with the arrow following me. If I needed to get to the next place I would duck into a Wi-Fi restaurant, get a coffee and plan our next course (find, screenshot). I have Citymaps2Go but was not familiar enough with it to use in Europe. I suggest you play around with the app in your home town to get to know it before using in a foreign place.