How to Cache a Map for Travel and Vacations

Off grid? Offline? No service? How do you get where you need to go without a cellphone? Well, you don’t need to ditch the phone, just plan ahead a bit. It’s really important to not get lost — wasting time during a trip is the worst and frustrating. In today’s world, everyone has their cellphone on them but, unfortunately, when we travel we often times find ourselves off the grid unable to connect to the web and figure out how to get from point A to point B.  This lack of connectivity can result in a panic because we can’t get directions to the nearest gas station, restaurant, hotel or that special photo spot.

But, alas, do not worry. The key is to cache a map before you leave while you still have service.

I do this before every trip (unless I know I will exclusively be staying in a connected big city). It’s been a lifesaver because I don’t need data connectivity, to keep my phone on the entire time or to worry about how I will get to where I need to go.  Plus, as for traditional maps — they go out of date so quick that the cached maps are usually more accurate and it’s easier having the voice guidance capability.

So how do you cache a map anyway? Luckily, it’s pretty easy and the app (Google Maps) is free.

To Cache a Map on Google Maps:

• Open up the Google Maps app
• Turn on your wifi and make sure you have data connectivity
• Click the three horizontal bars in the top right corner
• Click on Offline areas
• Click on Custom Area (will open up a map screen)
• Move the map so that it includes and encompasses the area you are traveling to
• Click Download
• **If the area is too big, you’ll need to download each section in chunks until you cover the entire area. For New Zealand, since I was driving across the entire island I had about a dozen maps cached
• Enjoy offline maps in your downloaded areas

It’s that simple! Now you’re free to travel about in those areas and you don’t have to be in data connectivity to use directions or search features in your cached map areas.