Smartphone app for maps, pre-planning, and real-time routing/guidance

Thanks for sharing your research, Jim! I think that we'll take advantage of it as it also meets our requirements.

How about "Here" maps from Nokia?

I used Pocket Earth Pro. It meets at least your first 3 requirements. I'm not entirely sure about the 4th since I didn't use it for routing -- just occasional GPS fixes to tell me where I am. For what I needed it was great, but can't answer the routing question.

Yes, offline routing will be the tough one. CityMaps2Go and plenty of others meet criteria 1-3. Google maps has great routing, but not offline. I sometimes route with it on wifi (at a cafe or hotel), then leave it up offline so I can refer to it. But it obviously doesn't update since I'm offline. So more often I just follow my gps location on citymaps2go. For rental cars, I get GPS from the rental agency, but for walking I haven't had much luck with routing.

Jim,

Did you check out Here from Nokia?

Also are you aware that you can save offline maps with Google Maps?
You can't start navigation when you're offline, but if you start a route before you leave wifi it will remember the route and keep guiding you as long as you don't leave the route while you're going.

Let us know!
Erik

Thanks to those that provided comments and recommendations.

The map application “HERE” was just recently released for iOS (iPhone) – my preferred smartphone. It may offer a more user-friendly interface, but has limited search features (no restaurants or shopping). It should be another good option.

REMINDER: When searching for information about mobile device apps, I use only recent articles. These apps are constantly being updated (repaired) to offer better performance. If a review is over 6-9 months old, it probably is not current. Something that had limited features 1-2 years ago could be very good now.

Also, it will probably be good to create and store most of your planned destinations in the mapping app as bookmarks (or favorites, et al) before you travel (go offline). Sometimes the app offline app search features are limited and some apps will not allow direct access to your smartphone’s contact list. Preparing ahead in this way might make your travel experience more pleasant.

I'm also a HERE maps user for the past few months and really like it. I use it offline all the time when traveling. Recent trips (within past four months) to two of your three destinations - UK and Italy.

And agree that the key is the time spent at home BEFORE the trip inputting my go-to spots (hotels, restaurants, museums, whatever) and then syncing so that everything's on my phone when I arrive!

BEFORE travel: I use an app called "GPS Toolbox" ($3, iTunes Store) to create multiple-destination logs. These can then be exported as KMZ files (pardon the IT lingo ~ this is very easy to do as described below) and then imported into your map app. This process requires an online connection.

WHY do this? Because offline map apps sometimes cannot find the destination I am looking for or maybe I am not using the exact, correct name for an item. For example, using some map apps, search for "St Pauls" in London and see what you get. You do NOT get "St Paul's Cathedral"! Better to sort out these issues beforehand.

ANOTHER bonus. I can access all my smartphone contacts directly from GPS Toolbox app; no need to reenter them.

This pre-trip planning is handled by first finding the desired destination site using GPS Toolbox. This app can then be used to create an email with my destination "logs" in an attached KMZ file (send the emil to yourself). Open this email on the iPhone; the attached KMZ file is then "shared" with MAPS.ME (or equivalent). My destination GPS coordinates then load automatically as individual bookmarks in MAPS.ME. Each group of emailed imported destination bookmarks appear in their own folder. Then, I can manually move my bookmarks to other folders and/or edit them for pin color, name, and user-added notes. The actual export/import process described above takes only a few seconds.

I am months away from our planned trip; doing research on areas/sites to visit. When I find candidate destinations, I load them as bookmarks into my map app and organize by folder. Later, I decide which to use for the trip. This helps to remember past research ideas and eventually plan day-to-day logistics on the ground.

I've used HERE too. It's pretty good, but I have a SIM that does data, so don't care about offline maps.

I prefer Google Maps because I think it works a little bit better and also you get live traffic data too.

Changed my mind. Dropping Maps.ME in favor of HERE Maps. The user interface is far superior.

One of my colleagues is planning to test the CoPilot app. No reports, yet.

Thanks for the feedback.

Proposed test criteria for your colleague :

• Offline tracking: find you on the map in real time using downloaded map
• Offline routing: some apps (e.g. CityMaps2Go) require data or wifi to actually calculate routing
• Offline Point-to-Point routing: most app offline routing is from your current position to some searchable (or "bookmarked" aka "collection" stored location
• Capability to import KMZ (or equivalent) file. These files are industry standard and can be created from Google Maps, other apps (e.g. GPD Toolbox) or exported from competitor Apps (e.g. MAPS>ME). This is very important to your work flow as it allows bulk importing of multiple locations. The alternative is to manually load each item one at a time.

I used MAPS.ME for 2 years as it evolved and found ways to work around some quirky issues. Then, I used HERE Maps and found it to have everything I want with a cleaner interface, better graphics but no KMZ import (as far as I know).

My first post.

Before my last trip, I created a custom map with Google's My Maps for my android phone and tablet. I added pins on the map for places I was interested in. For each pin, I entered notes, such as cutting and pasting a restaurant's review from some source. I used different icons and colors for different categories of pins. The final step was creating layers to separate the categories, such as restaurants, museums, etc. Each layer can be turned on and off to display or hide the pins. Great when there are dozens of pins cluttered together. No problem navigating with the map. But it needs an internet connection. Too bad Google still does not support My Maps offline.

I then created an offline version of the custom map using maps.me. First I downloaded the country's map, and then imported the pins and notes from My Maps, as described by Jim. Voila, an offline custom map, with navigation! One annoyance was that the layer function was lost, and all the pins were displayed with the same icon and color. The only way to distinguish the icons was by changing their colors. A laborious effort if there are many pins. I'll have to try HERE Maps to see if it is any better in this regard.

I like to research extensively and keep notes before a trip, so these custom maps are somewhat of a game changer. With them, it significantly reduces the amount of paper (books, maps, notes) I have to lug around. And I can share them with those traveling to the same destinations, saving them a bundle of time and effort.

These two links were very helpful for me:

https://support.google.com/mymaps/answer/3024396?hl=en&ref_topic=3188329

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/travel/create-a-custom-travel-map-with-google-maps.html

Thanks for the response.

I tried to use maps.me on our last trip and had some problems. Could have been "operator error" :)

After evaluating options for 4 months, my current game plan for our next EU trip in April is as follows:

Using the HERE app (while on line) load all key points of interest and download associated maps for areas we will visit. I am also including basic support entries like taxi stands, train stations, rents car offices, self-service laundry, etc. Many of these taken from the RS travel books, online searches and tips picked up for forums or articles. Doing in-depth searches for venue we know we want to see. When possible, evaluating logistics alternatives.

With all of this pre-loaded, the HERE app work OK offline. Does a good navigation job for the car (tested it several times on auto trips).

I will also plan to use the app "Day One". Is was designed to serve as a journal. As I plan ahead for each travel day, I'm "pre-loading" restaurant, train station maps, hotel information, rental car reservations, etc on the date I expect to need it. This app syncs between mobile devices and computer. I can to the heavy lifting on the computer and then have it with me on the trip. Any day-to-day notes or amendments to the "plan" can be handled on iPad or iPhone. With care, I'll have what I need on my iPhone always.

I think the HERE app has more practical uses than maps.me - hoping it works better.

I also moved up to an iPhone 6 (bigger screen, easier to use). On the last trip we tried to use an iPad but it was difficult to stow on day trips and I was paranoid about theft -- thinking the iPhone will serve my needs better.

Jim -- I agree, I use HERE maps - have used both here in Paris and always when I go to London. It works as promised -- I hope you'll like it!

The app that you are looking for is www.pretty-streets.com

I use for travel and visit all the cities in Europe and Usa and it's great.

About the requiriments that you are looking for, is free and easy to use.

I work there, so if you have any other question will be a pleasure to help you.

Regards

Thanks for the idea. Some questions:
- how does your app work offline?

- Where do I go to download maps?
- how do I preload destinations while planning a trip?
- how do I add a metro layer to your map?