Can I use Google My Maps offline?

September 1, 2010 8:32 AM

My standard MO when I go on vacation is to plot out all of the locations I'd like to visit using My Maps on Google, and then I pull up the KML on my iPhone. Unfortunately, my next trip is in the UK where I won't have a data plan!

I've downloaded offMaps for street data and I'm pretty happy with it, but it doesn't allow me to import the waypoints on my map. Do you know of any other good tools to view my waypoints offline?

I'm willing to combine apps (one for streets, one for waypoints) or even just to print the waypoints if possible. Thank you!

posted by smurdah to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Response by poster: I haven't finished the maps yet, but here's an example I made for a different trip (that I unfortunately never went on): http://goo.gl/maps/cq9e
posted by smurdah at 8:34 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: MyMaps is a pretty good app for loading Google Maps waypoints. It doesn't have offline functionality but if you have access to Wifi and quickly browse around the area you'll be travelling in, that loads the map into the cache which works well enough.
posted by Gortuk at 9:17 AM on September 1, 2010

Give RoutePad (or RoutePad light) a try. I've found that even those apps that can import KML files can't handle a large number of waypoints on a map. I think RoutePad can handle up to 50 per file or something.
posted by adamrice at 9:18 AM on September 1, 2010

I use oMaps. It doesn't use Google Maps, but it does have very detailed maps and allow placemarks and GPS usage without data. I trip-plan by sitting in front of the computer, googling addresses and then adding the placemarks directly on my phone. Worked a treat in Hamburg last year.
posted by Happy Dave at 9:52 AM on September 1, 2010

Sounds like you want to use OffMaps. It is designed exactly for this type application.
posted by Keith Talent at 2:29 PM on September 1, 2010

And if I'd bothered to read the More inside before getting all smarty pants with my answer, I'd see you already have OffMaps. Sorry.
posted by Keith Talent at 2:33 PM on September 1, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for the responses! MyMaps was almost exactly what I needed. It will cache your custom map locations for use offline and it will also cache a large amount of Google Map tiles. I'm not entirely sure how much it will cache, but if it helps I was able to cache the entire area of London we visited in relatively high detail.

Caching the map tiles is tricky -- though I got good at it with practice. It's an undocumented and unsupported feature. I also couldn't find a compass tool.

Also, OffMaps worked well for finding things I didn't put on my Google Map - nearby restrooms, sightseeing destinations, and restaurants.
posted by smurdah at 10:44 AM on September 13, 2010

Response by poster: In case anyone else has this question in the future: the MyMaps author just released a new update on the App Store that allows you to cache map tiles (from OpenStreetMaps).
posted by smurdah at 7:43 AM on September 28, 2010