Car & Travel Navigation apps

[NomoneyNohoney]

I use various methods when driving. I have a satnav which I like, as its voice commands can be very loud, and are audible even above music playing, which I usually have at a high volume when driving. Yay for satnavs! The maps I download from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ and then load to an sd card, which plugs into my Garmin device. That way I have the most recent maps, free of charge. If I go abroad, just download the appropriate maps onto sd card and plug in when needed.

In addition to that, I'm a sucker for having map apps on my (Android) mobile. My favourites are-
Waze - for both Android and iphone. Live traffic updates.
Google Maps - Android & iphone. Live updates and very competent.

Driver Assist - the R.A.C. app meant for Barclays customers. Offline maps so no data consumed, but no live updates. Uses GPS for free location data.
Sygic - Offline maps so no data consumed, but no live updates.Uses GPS for free location data.
Offline maps & Navigation (Android app with 10m downloads). Looks to me like a clone of Sygic. Can't remember exactly why, but have a preference for this over Sygic. Offline maps so no data consumed, but no live updates. Uses GPS for free location data.

For public transport I use the Moovit app (Android & iphone) which shows live displays for bus/train/underground and integrates all comprehensively when planning a journey. Very impressed with this and use it often. Highly recommended.

[swill453]

I always have the voice muted on my satnav*, and just keep an eye on the screen. Contrary to what you might think, I find it far less distracting and easier to follow.

* - Google maps now, though I used to use Here Maps.

For walking I use Viewranger, specifically with the free Opencyclemap maps. I've used it for years, swear by it.

Scott.

[Watis]

For me it's a TomTom satnav with free map updates for life, but when it fails I'll switch to Google Maps.

But for walking around foreign cities I have found MAPS.ME invaluable. You download the maps for the areas you need to avoid data charges. And there's lots of links to amenities from the map.

Watis

[AF62]

For public transport I use the Moovit app (Android & iphone) which shows live displays for bus/train/underground and integrates all comprehensively when planning a journey. Very impressed with this and use it often. Highly recommended.

I completely disagree and found the Moovit app to be utterly useless. Stupidly it insists that you must select an area of the UK for it to provide details, and then only provides information for that area.

Utterly useless if you live in one area but work in another, as it won't do something as simple as give you commuting information between home and work.

Also just about all the information in it is already in Google maps (or at least it is on Android).

[Infrasonic]

Also just about all the information in it is already in Google maps (or at least it is on Android).

I just use the Android facilities for most travel, the only specific apps I have are for the trains (to check on live timetables, engineering [bus replacement] works et al).
Plus a few web bookmarks for specific things like train / TFGM tram stops live feeds (again for issues/engineering/industrial action).

Apps aren't foolproof.
I've had Trainline report limited hourly services due to industrial action and then found out 'limited' meant 'none' for my destination.
Trainline blamed the data feed from the providers.

[tjh290633]

My view is that Google Maps is by far the best navigation facility, working in real time and capable of rerouting to avoid situations that arise en route. Google Maps is also good for looking at bus information, sometimes in real time if the bus company uses tracking. It will tell you where the bus you are awaiting is at the moment.

For rail travel I find the National Rail app gives me up to date results on the progress of trains and on planning journeys. I believe that you can also purchase tickets through it, but I have only dealt with the train companies.

TJH

[jonesa1]

Google Maps (via Android Auto) in the car. Citymapper when using public transport (which only happens near home, which is covered, or in London).
I have a VW car and just like the one it replaced, the satnav is utterly useless at handling road conditions, either warning me about non-existent hold-ups or even better telling me about the one I'm already in when it's too late to do anything about it. The only issue I have with Google maps is that I haven't found an option to reroute when the road ahead is blocked (usually works on minor roads), it's then a case of picking another direction and hoping that 1) it's not a bad decision in terms of the journey I'm trying to make and 2) that maps will redirect on a route that doesn't include the blockage. I've been disappointed on both counts a couple of times in the last year, on one occasion I had to drive several miles away from my destination before a route was offered that didn't include the closed on-way street I needed to avoid. I'm sure it was more fun trying to reroute using a road atlas open on my knees, back in the stone age.

Andrew

[NomoneyNohoney]

I completely disagree and found the Moovit app to be utterly useless...

One man's meat is another man's poison...

Just to check, I asked Moovit for details from my home to a place in Central London. It gave me a route involving walking, bus, train, underground and final bit of walking, it provided estimated timings, ticket prices and a selection of earlier or later alternatives. For my purposes, that's excellent. At least flagging it up gives people the chance to check for themselves if it suits them or not, if they didn't know of it before. If it is as buggy for them as it is for you, then at least they checked it out.

[AF62]

I completely disagree and found the Moovit app to be utterly useless...

One man's meat is another man's poison...

Just to check, I asked Moovit for details from my home to a place in Central London. It gave me a route involving walking, bus, train, underground and final bit of walking, it provided estimated timings, ticket prices and a selection of earlier or later alternatives. For my purposes, that's excellent. At least flagging it up gives people the chance to check for themselves if it suits them or not, if they didn't know of it before. If it is as buggy for them as it is for you, then at least they checked it out.

Sure, but what does it do that Google Maps does not do? Especially important since Google maps will already be installed on Android phones already (and any Apple phones where there user doesn't want to use the appalling Apple maps).

[paradigm]

I tend to favour a stand-alone satnav facility, e.g. an app running on an android phone, etc. rather than a built-in unit in a vehicle.

My other half has a TomTom NVA-SD8110 (Sanyo) unit built-in to her Mazda MX5. This initially worked well but rapidly wanted us to register and make regular payments in order to receive map updates. We would have been reasonably content to continue with the original maps however problems developed and the unit is often unusable (showing an incorrect location some distance away).

After spending some time looking into this I concluded that it has been made rather 'difficult' to update the maps (on an SD card). This is annoying as many satnav apps running on android, etc. have free map updates.

paradigm

[tea42]

My SEAT Ateca connects with Google via an App called Android Auto on my phone connected to the car with a cable. So I get Google Maps sat nav guidance on the centre console. Its terrific, all voice controlled. Calls, directions, traffic delays, rerouting around jams, accurate arrival times, music...and Siri type answers to questions.

[paradigm]

Thanks for the interesting recommendation - unfortunately the Mazda MX5 is not on the compatibility list for Android Auto.

paradigm