How to never get lost again!

Now, I know that getting lost is half the fun of travel, but not always.  I knew I would constantly be getting lost in Japan & South Korea, but after 18 hours of flying the only thing I want to do is find my hotel and sleep.  When you first get into a new city, you're most tired and most disoriented.  That is the perfect time to use one (or both) of these awesome tools!

If you are paying for a data plan on your smartphone while overseas, this post won't be useful for you.  If you want the same GPS functionality without having to spend any money on it, then read on!

This should work on pretty much any Android phone and most likely the iPhone (although I've never tried on the iPhone).  Here's how it worked for me.

I brought my Android phone to Japan & South Korea, put it on airplane mode to avoid any roaming voice/text/data charges.  These phones generally have a SEPARATE GPS chip in them that works on satellite only and doesn't use any data to work.  When connected to data plan, it can locate you in a matter of seconds.  Satellite only takes a little bit longer and needs a clear view of the sky.  When first arriving in a new country, it needs a couple minutes for it to figure out where it is.  To check if your phone has this capability, disconnect it from Wi-Fi and put it in airplane mode.  Then open any maps program and have it try and detect your current location.  If it does, you're halfway there.

Just because it can locate you while being offline doesn't mean it can download map data offline (or via satellite).  You need to pre-download maps for your destinations.  For this, there are a variety of solutions such as OruxMaps, Google Maps Offline, Navigon, etc.  Personally, I would suggest you try out MapsWithMe (or MapsWithMe Pro $4.99).  These let you download entire countries ahead of time and while I use multiple apps for GPS, this is really my "Go-To" app for GPS.  It could even accurately tell me which direction I was facing.

The Pro version has a few extra features, such as allowing you to bookmark locations ahead of time.  I splurged and spent the $5 to buy it.  After 18 hours of flying, landing in Osaka, I loaded this app up, went to my pre-bookmarked hotel icon, and navigated the maze of Japanese streets to find it.

Check it out

http://www.mapswithme.com/en/home

 

-Jason of TWiBT