Do you know 5 steps to have a free offline city map while exploring a new city?
A city map is often necessary for travelers to visit a city. It helps you not to be lost in a new town with a handy map. In case you can’t find a paper city map, an offline map that I am going to introduce below will be a good option. You will not be afraid of be lost in a new city. One thing you need to have is a smart phone or a tablet without wifi/ cellular data connection.
I often try to find paper city maps for cities I planned to visit during my trip. There are many ways to have them such as taking brochures and city travel maps at the arrival airport or can buy one for myself in the city center. Besides, some hotels provide their guests with a A4 size copy of city center map including location of the hotel on the map.
However, it’s sometimes hard to buy a city map because I arrived too early before the opening time of shops or post offices. That was the time when I traveled to Venice. My train from Bologna to Venice arrived too early at around 5am. No time to waste, I decided to take the first ferry to explore the city without a map. In fact, the city with the similar bridges crossing small channels around the city looks like a matrix. I lost more than one hour just go around, around an area to find the way to a coffee shop that my friend told me. I asked some local people and travelers there and even made a phone call at a public telephone booth. At the moment, of course, I had no idea about a tip to have an offline travel map.
I just found out a very useful tip to visit the city for those who have a smartphone, a tablet without internet connection during my trip in Bangkok. In fact, I didn’t have to take a paper map of Bangkok in my backpack. All I need is a smartphone, or a tablet only. There is no need to buy a 3G/4G prepaid sim card having Internet access. The following steps are the way I have done, and it works really well 😊.
5 steps to have a useful offline city map.
Here are 5 basic steps to have your own offline city map when travelling to a city and you don’t want to buy a paper travel map.
Step 1: First, use your smartphone or tablet to connect Wifi at a hotel where you are staying or at a coffee shop or any where you can connect Wifi. Then, open Google Maps application on your smartphone or tablet screen.
Step 2: Click on My location symbol to download automatically the maps of areas where you are.
Step 3: Zoom in, zoom out every corner, every street of the area you want to explore. Even you can zoom out a map of the whole city. Zoom out function is to clearly show streets’ name, attractions, even coffee shops, restaurants and hotels. Meanwhile, zoom in function helps you expand your offline map that you want to use. This would help you to have a clear offline city map without Wifi/ 4G cellular data connection
First, zoom in the map to cover areas of the city you want to have in an offline map
Then, zoom in the map further to expand areas of the city you want to have in an offline map
Next, zoom out the areas that you want to see details on an offline map such as sightseeing, hotels, restaurants.
Then, zoom out maximum each area until you can’t zoom out
Zoom out another areas
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Zoom out further areas
Step 4: When you finish downloading the offline map of some city areas as you want, you can use the offline map to explore the city without WiFi/ 4G connection. My location symbol still displays on an offline map each time you move. You won’t be afraid of be lost in the new city anymore.
It is an offline city map without Wifi/4G connection. A My location symbol displays when you move
Step 5: Don’t turn off Google Maps application when you go out of a Wifi connection area. This helps offline maps not to be refreshed to become a blank offline map.
Google Maps application still runs
Please note that in case you download an offline map today, this map would maybe lose tomorrow due to a long Wifi disconnection. Therefore, you should re-download that map again if you want to use an offline map. If not, you will see a blank map when clicking on Google maps application.
To be honest, it is a useful tip that I often use during my trips. I hope it is also useful for you during your next vacations. Please feel free let me know the result of this tip by leaving a comment under the post when you use it. 😊
