I am a big fan of the GAIA smartphone app when hiking, particularly because it doesn't require connectivity to cellphone networks. My wife and I just spent 10 days in Italy and used it for urban navigation for the first time. I decided to not extend my cellphone service to Europe so I kept it in airplane mode the entire time. GAIA worked very well. So long as I opened the app using the hotel wi-fi, the map set would update and I could do our planning. Just drop a pin for your hotel as a center point and you can easily navigate anywhere by foot. The urban maps are very detailed, often marking individual restaurants, hotels, and tourist sites. Alleyways and pedestrian paths are easy to find. We used it throughout Rome, Florence, Siena, and on the trails of the Cinque Terre without any navigation issues.
Eye candy from the Cinque Terre.
GAIA app for urban navigation
Re: GAIA app for urban navigation
I haven’t done this specifically with Gaia, but a handful of other programs. Google Maps is surprisingly thorough abroad and I download their offline maps for the places I’m visiting if I won’t have constant service. You won’t get full details of restaurants/businesses/attractions, but we usually make a saved list of places to visit beforehand and then use offline maps to get us there.
I sometimes even download offline Google satellite view just to have with me while hiking… you never know when it’ll help.
I sometimes even download offline Google satellite view just to have with me while hiking… you never know when it’ll help.
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