Adventure Bike Rider Forum

One of the best (I think still free) apps with an excellent built in map and route planner, is the viaMichelin app.

Due to its detail, it's probably best to run the app on something like an iPad mini, though I have fired it up on my iPhone, too.

Its advantage is that it has multiple scale maps, with assorted detail built into it. Ask the app to plot you a route from A to B, I have just done my home in central London to a small village I know in deepest Provence in the south of France. The app will also search through your address book, handy if you have destinations stored.

The app crrated two suggested routes, displaying them both at once, giving the total distances, likely door-to-door nonstop time and estimated costs. I could then zoom in along the suggested routes, to see if there were any likely better country roads I could take.

Could I have done the same on my paper maps? Yes, of course. Could I have done the same sitting in a cafe in Provence, if I didn't have paper my maps of Scotland or Germany to hand? No, of course not. Do I really want or need to plot a route from Provence to Aberdeen or Berlin in a hurry? Not every day, that's for sure.... But if I suddenly have the pressing urge, I can.

Thanks for that one Wapping, going to have a gander the now.

Archies Camping Guide

Google translate. The latest version allows you to simply point your phone or tablet's camera at any script (menu etc) and it translates it for you without using data (ie offline) unbelievably useful! (except for road signs while riding :laugh: )

OSMand - another free routable mapping service that is also offline so long as you download the map tiles (regions/country depending on size of data) of your destination/path before heading off. Map tiles are best downloaded over wifi due to size.

Google maps - set your route while on wi-fi and it will guide you while off-line as well. Not so helpful if you drop off the route, otherwise it works well enough. I use this as a last resort backup.

Flashlight app - obvious really.

Compass app - sometimes handy.

Ulmon produce free city guides and I used one for Berlin the other week - incredibly useful as it downloads information of the sights in the city from Wikipedia. It also produces walking routes and suggestions for food. I am not sure how many other cities that they have produced, but worth checking. All of the above was not using data either (ie working offline) (thumbs)

Stickcricket and Hill Climb Racing are my timewasters :silly:

Wapping, that ViaMichelin app sounds like a good one! I like their website planner for knowing toll costs etc.

Umpteen thousands of European campsites from web - "www.archiescampings" for your satnav ... for just about any satnav ever made:-)

"openandromaps" for phone tablet gives you downloadable off-line maps of all Europe for when you want to be indoors planning with the SatNav off and either none or limited roaming (especially if you don't want to pay for roaming).

As others have said "maps.me" backup satnav for phone.

Chrz Mul.

I've just loaded the Michelin app onto an iPad mini and it's a good tool to have. It's got a motorbike option for route planning (I don't know if it's got a twisty roads option), shows petrol stations and accommodation along your route and all in all is good for planning your day out.

I'll delete it in a minute because planning is for wimps :whistle:

well thank you one and all (thumbs) that's loads of apps for phone tablet. plus 2.99for archies camping. and a acsi camping card for year. hope other peeps got some help on app front aswell. THANK YOU (thumbs)

"Word Lens" is useful as if you see a printed word you don't understand you just snap it with your phones camera and it translates it for you.

Works on road signs, menu's etc

One thing to watch out for is data, if you are not going to have data roaming turned on, try all your apps here with data turned of to see which still work and which require online data to work. For translation googles own is amazing, point to anything and the printed language changes on your screen as if it's been retyped but again it requires internet access which = data.

Maps.me, dowloadable, routeable and KML file loadable OFFLine maps for the world, worked well in portugal and spain