Travel apps
The map is the app you will need at the exact moment you have no signal: stepping out of an airport, walking out of a metro station in a city you do not know, or on a trail with no coverage. Everything here works offline in some form, and the differences matter — one is built for cities, one for hiking trails, one for reading a map when you cannot read the alphabet it is written in. Download the area before you land, not after.
The standard: navigation, place reviews, offline maps
Unrivaled for directions and place search; with stars and lists you can map your whole trip plan. Download the city offline before you go; "saved places" open even without internet.
Even offline on the plane, walk to the restaurant you saved on your downloaded Rome map.
Fully offline, ad-free, open-source maps
Runs on OpenStreetMap data; effectively the ad-free, privacy-friendly successor of Maps.me. Hiking trails, fountains and mountain routes are drawn with detail Google lacks. The insurance for places with no internet at all.
Trekking in Nepal, keep the phone in airplane mode; trails, villages and water sources are on the map.
The popular classic of offline maps
For years the backpacker offline standard; download country maps and navigate with no internet. Ads were added in recent years, pushing many travelers to Organic Maps; its place-bookmarking system is still practical.
No signal on the island: find the dirt road to the beach on your downloaded map without a hitch.
The detail monster of offline maps, advanced level
The most advanced OpenStreetMap-based map; contour lines, cycling/hiking profiles and a plugin system for power users. The interface takes time to learn but pays it back in the outdoors.
On a Balkan bike tour, plan realistic daily legs by reading the elevation profile.
The renter's traffic and speed-camera intelligence
Shows traffic, accidents and speed cameras live from driver-community reports. When driving a rental abroad, its speed-limit warnings save you from fines; in city driving it changes routes more nimbly than Google.
Drive intercity in Italy in a rental without falling into ZTL and speed-camera traps.
The smartest brain of public transport in big cities
Calculates metro+bus+walking combos down to which car to board to exit nearest the stairs. In the ~100 big cities it supports (London, Paris, Istanbul, Tokyo...) it is clearly better than Google Maps.
In London it answers "how do I get from home to Heathrow fastest right now" in real time.
The hidden gem of European hiking
This Czech-made map shows Europe's marked hiking routes (red/blue/green trails) better than anyone and works fully offline. It is the app locals use on Central European nature trips.
In the Slovak Tatras, follow the marked trails by color code up to the summit.
The world's largest hiking route library
450k+ routes; plan with difficulty, distance, elevation and fresh user reports ("trail muddy", "spring dried up"). Offline map downloads need the Plus tier; previewing the route and carrying it into Organic Maps is the free tactic.
In Cappadocia, filter a 3-hour moderate valley hike and learn the trail state from yesterday's comment.
The route-drawing master for cycling and trekking
Draw your own route with surface type (asphalt/trail) and difficulty analysis; voice navigation guides you turn by turn. The first region map is free. The planning standard of long bike tours.
Draw your own 5-day Aegean gravel tour keeping the asphalt share at 70%.
Describe places with no address in 3 words
Divides the world into 3x3 meter squares, each with a three-word address. Perfect for a beach meeting point, an emergency location in the mountains, or door directions in countries with chaotic addressing.
At a packed festival, send your friend the exact spot: "our tent is ///word.word.word".
For streets and public transport in a city, an offline-capable general map is enough — download the city before you arrive. For hiking, use a dedicated outdoor app with contour lines and trail data, because general maps show paths without showing how steep they are. Many travellers carry both and treat them as different tools rather than competitors.
Important: this content is general information
Visa rules can change without notice. Always confirm your situation with an official source before you travel: Also check with the embassy or consulate of your destination country in your own country. The information on this page is guidance, not legal advice.