Is GPS a necessity?
 

Hello,

I am planning on riding from Ghana to the UK, leaving late Feb and travelling over about 4 months. I’ve never undertaken such an extensive trip and with this in mind, I have some questions I am hoping people might be able to answer/give advice on:

Is a GPS unit essential kit for this kind of trip? With services such as Google Maps (offline downloads) and Maps.Me, I was planning on using a phone as a GPS (charged from the bike battery), rather than buying a GPS unit. Am I being naïve in thinking I can do it without a GPS? My plan was to also buy SIM cards in each country to ensure I have internet access when required

How much foreign currency (US dollars / Euros) is it worth carrying on my person as I travel through West Africa?

My route is hopefully going to be; Ghana > Cote d’Ivoire (avoiding the South West corner) > Liberia > Sierra Leone > Guinea (avoiding the Mamou to Nzerekore road and surrounding area) > Guinea Bissau > The Gambia (assuming the current problems do not escalate) > Senegal (avoiding the bit between Guinea Bissau and The Gambia) > Mauritania (along the coast road only) > Morocco > Spain > France > UK.

Any other advice / thoughts are welcome.

Thanks

1. GPS offline is a must? Maps.Me or OsmAnd are very good but the nice thing about loading maps on the phone why not just download every one you can find?
Because some will be better than other depending on the country/area.

2. Just because you have a sim card don't guarantee you will get a signal.

Sorry, to clarify...

I would download offline maps (using a number of different services) and use the phone as a GPS throughout. However, should I also have an actual, specific, separate GPS unit? Or, is the phone a good enough substitute for a GPS unit?

Thanks

Opinion are like assholes everyone has one?

Some will say a GPS unit is best and some will say just download apps maps?
As a backup, I've taken a Garmin etrex 20X.

The best of both worlds


http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...pszxaaq0lx.jpg


link.......http://thelongwayhome.simplesite.com/428679943

Well you can do without GPS many people have dont it before but GPS is a very nice thing to have (specially when searching for an embassy in a big city or to find your way back to the hotel) im using it every day and wond go further then 2 km away from home without it Cheap GPS navigation systems for motorbikes + free maps

My vote is for smart-phone ... or two :thumbup1:.

Good vote ???? :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it?

GPS for primary navigation
Smartphone for phonecalls, email, web and backup navigation.

Just my 2 cents

We have been about 95% Maps.me in Africa and have found them about 95% correct. When it fails, it fails spectacularly -- usually on the last mile or two, or at a complex intersection (or at a fork it didn't understand was a fork) -- so be skeptical generally. Also maps.me has an annoying habit of "cutting the corner" in towns for a shortcut, and tossing you onto some seriously lousy side-streets, when the extra 0.5km would've saved you 10 minutes of bouncing through the washed out piste, the dark alley, or the goat trail it thought was a reasonable travel road. We've had it dead-end us twice (it wanted us to drive through a walled army compound once, and a private palm orchard once -- both serious non-starters), and it was rough trying to undo the mess it put us into.

Use it to get you to the town, and then self-navigate from there. Zoom out a lot to see the big picture and avoid the "shortcuts" which can put you in some sketchy situations.

You will spent a LOT of time not being near the road as-depicted. Don't freak, just zoom it out a bit and see the "big picture" to make sure you're trending the right way. This will happen in Guinea a lot, but we've had it in Cote, Senegal, Mauri, and even Morocco when not on the main roads.

We have both T-Mobile (USA) and Google Fi phones, and between the two, we felt the need for sims for data in Senegal, Guinea, and Cote due to ours being terribad and worthless for data. We did Orange in those three and found it great and cheap, being between $1.50 and $4 per GB at high speed and with very good coverage. A bonus is that several hotels have wanted to register our local number and would not book us in without one, so that was helpful to have.

It is annoying that you have to buy the new sim at a proper Orange/Mtn/Moov/Whoever agency, and show a passport -- once you do that, you can buy credit all over the place -- but finding the company store can be a headache. Bring an unlocked phone, as the $20 itel junk they sell, while cheap, are sold permanently locked (looking at you Orange). Lesson learned.

Hope that helps?

- Mike

I've travelled all over the world using only my phone with offline maps as gps. The only problems I had was my iPhone constantly overheating because of the waterproof case I had it in. I suspect that the iPhone 7 (being already waterproof) would be perfect for you.

I use a Samsung Note4 with Backcountry Navigator. With a 5.7" screen, it is so much easier to read than most of the dedicated gps units.

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You will be using the phone as the GPS.

GPS units used on motorcycles are waterproof and should be fairly rugged, is your phone?

Maps.Me, OSMAnd and other off line map apps use OSM data .. while free the quality is patchy ... and relies on people helping to improve the data. There is a reliance on people, such as schmookeeg, improving things they find wrong ... this works if they can be bothered to improve the data.

Some GPS units have maps created from other than OSM data ... for a fee. That can be a good thing ... if that data is better or there is more of it.

--------------------------------
I'd not travel anywhere without a GPS, a Phone (with various apps including GPS mapping). They are very handy, for any trip where I'm driving/riding I also want a paper map too.

When touring in first-world countries, you can live without some form of position-determining system and rely only on maps (old-fashioned paper, or displayed on an electronic device) because road signage is continually present to tell you what road you are on, and where and when roads diverge. If all else fails, you can stop at a gas station or other public facility and reasonably expect to be able to get directions from another person who has experience driving in that area.

In lesser developed countries, road signage is not present or not well maintained, and a much smaller percentage of people you might ask for directions are drivers.

For those reasons, I would suggest you get a waterproof GPS navigator (meaning, a Garmin, or Tom-Tom, or whatever) suitable for motorcycle use rather than relying on your phone for position determination and off-line maps on your phone.

Most smartphones can determine position without needing a GSM (phone tower) signal, and there are many offline map packages that are just as detailed as what is offered on motorcycle navigation devices. But, phones generally are not waterproof, and the size of the text, control buttons, etc. on phones is a heck of a lot smaller than that on a vehicle navigation device that has been designed to be used while the vehicle is in motion. The vehicle navigation devices - especially those designed for use on motorcycles - are also a heck of a lot more robust than smartphones.

Considering the overall length of your planned trip, and the budget it will require, I think you would be setting yourself up for unnecessary headaches if you set out with only a smartphone for navigation... especially if your smartphone breaks (due to water exposure, an unexpected tipover, etc.) along the way.

My recommendation is that you use a purpose-built motorcycle navigator as your primary navigation aid, and use your smartphone with internal maps as your backup device.

With respect to your other question about 'how much cash to carry', my answer would be 'no more than you are prepared to lose or have stolen'. There are ATM machines almost everywhere these days, and you will always get a good rate of exchange if you withdraw cash from an ATM (except, of course, in countries with government-imposed artificial currency exchange rates). Take along an ATM card from your home bank (a debit card), and two different credit cards (for example, one Visa card, one MasterCard), and once every 5 days or so, withdraw enough cash from an ATM to keep you going in the country you happen to be in.

Michael

I'm with those who have said bring both, the dedicated motorcycle GPS units are tough, waterproof, glove operable, and reliably sunlight readable. The smartphone is a great backup should the GPS fail or should the maps you have on it be unreliable in some way.

Not many smartphones are waterproof out of the box, the ones which are not are a pest - many will overheat when put in a waterproof case and left switched on. They're also not very tough, particularly the USB ports - charging on the go will be essential and rough terrain (and vibration, particularly on a thumper) will destroy your USB port eventually. Then you can't charge and you are lost. This only phone I know which gets around these problems is the Sony Xperia range, which is waterproof and can be used with a magnetic charger on the side. The mag charger falls off sometimes but that's a damn sight better than a broken USB.

Personally I consider my Garmin to be primary navigation, my smartphone has the same way points and one or more offline map loaded into it for the appropriate areas. If the GPS died I would be comfortable using the phone, but I would replace the GPS once I got home - it is that much better when on the bike.

The phone is better for finding services, helping work out where you are and for using alongside paper maps, which you should also bring. One unlucky off could kill both phone and GPS...

A GPS isn't a safety device unless you plan on doing any serious trans-saharan routes.

A big downside of a GPS (or a hard-mounted smartphone) is that it's one more expensive-looking thing that must be removed and secured at every stop.

I have never used a GPS or smart-phone for navigation while travelling. This is more difficult but much more fullfilling. You are forced to rely on and interact with the local culture dozens of times each day. All my memories around the world... almost none of them would have happened if I had any sort of navigation. Being lost is a good thing.

So whatever you choose, I encourage you to turn it off from time to time. Insert worn out travel cliche here.

Let's you and I be "bothered" together then. I have roads in my notes, particularly in Abidjan, which were depicted on maps.me which do not actually exist. How can I report these roads so that they are removed for future travellers?

The other issue I've run into often is the actual road as-depicted being off to one side or another, but not accurately placed. One segment in Guinea in particular was mapped at the base of a mountain, but the actual road went over it.

I would love to help correct these. Show me how. :)

You saved me from having to write the same.

I would say get a old car Garmin for 100 Euro from Ebay insted of buying an expensive iPhone. It does not have to be waterproof just put it in your tank bag if its raining...

I've been 'bothered' for some time :blushing:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Warin61

Over 3,700 edits .. so far, some bigger than others.

Too easy ..
Join Join the community - OpenStreetMap Wiki

Edit Beginners Guide 1.3 - OpenStreetMap Wiki

On deleting those 'roads' ... if you simply delete them ... someone else might just simply add them again .. thus the problem persists! I have taken the step of altering the 'tag' (the way in which things are described) .. a road will have a tag highway=something ... (something could be unclassified, track, motorway etc) ... I simply change the tag to, say, nonexistant:highway=something (keep what ever the something is) ... in this way the information is very obvious to anyone who looks .. yes it generates error messages for various people .. don't let that bother you .. as long as what you put in is correct and the description is obvious. Most OSM people are very good about things that don't quite follow some 'rule'. People who produce maps from OSM data use the official tags to do produce their map .. things that don't fit just get lets out of their maps - thus your retagged road won't appear.

Oh and :welcome: to the OSM community ... I have mapped in UK, Africa, India, Vietnam and Australia. Generally before I go somewhere I look at the OSM map and compare it to other maps ... then look to make the OSM one better ... if I do that some 3 months before I go I get a better map when I am there ... and once I return I can improve it further. :scooter: Sometimes there is not much I can add before the trip due to copyright reasons. doh

Whatever you choose, also make sure you have a good compass and paper maps - and are confident in using them. Much more adventurous looking at a map and tracking your progress than relying on electrickery gizmos

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One of reasons I only ride night is that it allows me to do celestial navigation. I also never leave the house without my sextant.

Try one of these Chris

https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8133/2...cd6274ff9f.jpg



Works with any Sun Compass and just plugs into the cigarette lighter.

Andy

Have you tried Here Maps. I usually take a gps unit (garmin ) and my phone as a backup, and last year, on my trip to Marrocos it was a life saver. My garmin died and i had to rely on my phone (worked fine). I installed two apps: Maps.me and Here maps, both free and with offline maps installed. For me, Here Maps was a little more accurate, complete and up-to-date.

I always (try to) take a dedicated gps unit because is much easier to use on the go. In my phone, with the wp cover is almost impossible to interact with the device without stopping.

I recently bougt a new garmin zumo 340 for this year adventure (aka trip somewhere) and it works fine. You can always spend much less and buy a car unit that costs 1/4 and does the same. If it rains you can always put it inside your tank bag or buy a cover (or even take some plastic bags and ties).

I also take a paper map with me everytime i leave home. Nothing replaces a true map when you have to plan or find a place, or if you get lost.

Hope it helps.


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Have you got the Touratech mount part number handy for your sextant Chris? :Beach:

Funny you should ask Bertrand, yes I do: 4r5374Lk1nG :innocent:

Tobias will along in a minute with a description on how to make one for 16cents ;) I'm still looking for that place in Thailand where he managed to rent a motorcycle with insurance for 10 dollars... Tobias any info please?

Not 10 just 5 dollars per day thats the normal price if you rent a local bike in Asia for a week or longer. Nothing special...thousends of tourists rent there every day. Just ask the locals they know the places. There are hundreds of plaes side by side in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Luang prabang, Pakse and Phnom meng etc etc etc renting out bikes to tourists. Same in Goa, India (with black numberplate) etc. Only on the islands in Thailand its a little more expensive...

http://schoene-motorradreisen.de/?re..._hong_son_loop

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2017...fb18abfe91.jpg

I still believe in GPS than just using a smartphone app. The good thing about GPS is the offline map, better sat signal, and better power management compared to smartphones. I used a Sony android phone to open Googlemap once in a while when entering cities because the chance of getting better phone signals and more updated maps compared to GPS. But my primary navigator is a cheap yet waterproof Garmin Nuvi 550.

At some part of this world having both is still the wiser option. Can't rely too much on maps especially when it is written in local letters like in India or Thailand. And relying on road signs also could make you travel to places beyond your plan, simply because you don't understand the language and very difficult to use Google translator like what I've experienced during my travel to Thailand.

Cheers!


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GPS
 

That's like saying is toilet paper necessary !!! They are handy but shit loads of alternatives !!!

Cheers
Paul

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This is no longer true and hasn't been for a while now.

My decade old GPS has better reception compared to my 2 year old smart phone. It is also much more rugged. Smart phones may have improved in those 2 years .. but I don't think they will ever be as good due to the wide frequency range required for phone operation, the small space and shape requirement for pocket compatibility. The GPS has a narrower band of frequencies to receive - thus the antenna can be made better and people might be more prepared to accommodate the more difficult shape of the GPS as a trade off for the specialist features.

A large portion of the accuracy of the GPS is the app that's using it I wonder. I've been using the S4 for 3 years now as my only nav tool in the Canadian Rockies during +30 and -30 temps no worries using topo maps where it's always accurately indicated my position without flaw. I'd be happy to navigate with it in a whiteout.
Haven't had it strapped to the bars much. Had an S3 before that that was strapped to bars for prolonged period, and it also didn't fail riding high speed gravel roads through the States. Until it started raining and I forgot to check if the headphone jack cover was still there on the case. I blame the case and myself, not the phone. Charging them is a challenge. But I'm ok with how it's working, also charging it during the night to get it to 100%. It only seems to loose 20% over the day with a few stops for fuel or a piss. Sadly they drain with them plugged in without power delivery. I have all my accessories switched. You can single out your USB lead and not switch that, but that makes me nervous.
For whatever reason they (S3, S4 and S6) do not accept >1 - 2amp going in from a 2amp charger. Not sure what that is all about. If it does I'm all set.

Reception: Under tree cover my S4mini duos looses satellite reception. My GPS 60Cx still has satellite reception in the same place. First hand practical information - no web search .. just first hand experience.

The android app GPS Status gives you the satellite reception ... I think you find all the apps use the same input data - the accuracy of the map may vary.

I lost my 60csx somewhere on the sunshine coast hinterland riding single track. Awesome machine.
There are areas with thick rain forest canopy where you can have signal issues I guess. Dunno myself. Didn't try in Oz. My mate did and I can't remember him suffering that too much if at all. Never had issues myself as mentioned. Not in tight B.C. forests with tall deciduous trees whilst mountain biking either.

For motorcycle travel it's a non issue anyway.

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Firstly clearly GPS is not essential otherwise none of us would have been going anywhere 20 plus years ago. The main requirement is a map preferably with at least 1:1m scale. IGN does maps of most of the countries you are visiting. Mauritania is at 1:2,5000,000 but all you need to do is follow the main road.

Some days when I'm being carefree I head off and navigate by the sun. If you know the time, you can roughly work out which is north from the position of the sun.

A smartphone running Google Maps will go a long way towards basic navigation. When you have wifi, download the map areas you will be going through. When you are offline, the inbuilt GPS receiver will pinpoint your position on the downloaded map. However, the unit will quickly overheat if mounted in sunlight, so this is best used as an in-pocket resource.

You can download a compass app for the smartphone, so that's one less bit of kit to worry about.

I use GPS extensively in Morocco for real remote off-tarmac stuff where there's tracks headed in all directions and you would have little idea where to go. In circumstances like that I sometimes just put a rough waypoint in of where I generally want to go, and then use this as aid, but in reality choosing my route from what I see on the ground.

Not if you have to find embassys to apply for Visa or want ot find a special place in a big city etc...

Agree with Tim, when you go off tarmac often and traveling to certain countries where phone signal are poor, then GPS is still the better option. With GPS I can easily and safely back track where the path ends. And what I love with Garmin maps are to find old roads no longer in use nor directed to by maps on phone app. I also have Garmin streetpilot app installed on my iphone, but then the gadget will easily overheat when riding under the sun and connected to power cord. Another thing I like from a GPS is the trip computer function, an awesome feature to track the journey.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4a1ef7aa3b.jpg


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This is where dedicated gps's suck. The ability to use any map you want. Some Garmin's allow this. But it's slow on the one I used it on. With a smart phone the world is your oyster. I scan in every paper map I want to use on the Android (iPhone can't do it). Prefer then now over vector mapping with routing. Never needed it. In cities I use Here maps or sometimes but rarely Google maps offline.
The technology is about the same but the low speed and narrow use that you get on dedicated equipment means it is a cost that's no longer required. Obsolete in my mind. The overheating is overstated. Had mine on the bars at 100f, no worries. Like any electrical equipment, it needs cooling so don't leave it in the sun stationary. But whilst moving no worries.

Adopting tech has always been slow in this activity. It was the same when Garmin popped up. Now the same discussion is being had.

I tend to use this tech to confirm. Do you really need it on routing when you're on a double track in the desert? I would argue that it's safe to say you're on the right track. If you see other tracks, check out if you're on the right one, sort of heading in the direction towards the landmass feature you're aiming for, or bearing, and look ahead instead of down.

In the end the new tech is actually what the old paper map fan boys of yesteryear were dreaming about. Having a device that told them exactly where they were on their paper map. It's here now guys. Use it!

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Sygic Gps
 

I recently went through Spain and Morocco ,but has the entire world ,only using Sygic from the app store on my smart phone it does not use your data plan but downloads the maps onto your phone it even navigated me inside the fez medina. have sold my Garmin Zumo as much better. give it a try!

Raster maps have quite a few decades of development in their paper form. As such they have reach quite a high level of usefulness.

Vector maps are still developing and don't have the same amount of development time as raster maps. That said they are still competing with raster maps fairly well. When the vector maps have the same information as the raster amps they do need more work ... because when zoomed in you are looking at one raster map ... when zoomed out you are looking at a different raster map - this is an advantage of the vector map - it can contain many raster maps in the one package ... and do it in less memory.

Both the above map types can be placed on an electronic device .. even your camera could be used to display the information, most cameras won't do vector but they should do raster.


The GPS/smart phone with map/s has the advantage of 'knowing where you are' and can display that info (usually by placing you in the center of the map/display). Routing can be another advantage of the GPS/smart phone map/s. And searching for a place can be much easier using a GPS/smart phone with map/s.

Given time (at least years) vector maps will surpass raster maps. Until then a good raster map at the right level of scale will probably be more usefull than a vector map.

What is the purpose of your quest - to experience the journey or to arrive at your destination?
I admit when I read the title of the first post, I expected a debate about maps vs electronica. When you follow the screen, your blinkers are set - tunnel vision. Isolated from your surroundings. It is very easy to take the simple course and be led by the nose. Where is the embassy? Ask someone! Take or follow a taxi (I'm sure Siri/Cortana could give you the address if you're desperate to go it alone)
I will admit it is nice to know exactly where you are and where you have to go, but as Tim points out many of us were travelling over long distances not so long ago without electronic assistance. (Lois Pryce in Iran most recently anyone?) Try it, it's quite rewarding.
As to the question, if you're relying on electronics, take 2 of them. Keep them separate (they're much more desireable than a map to thieves) And have a map and compass to keep track of where you've been and remind you of your place in the world:-)
Travel safe,
Simon.

You learn to make do with what is available. When I first rode to Africa on a motorbike in 1972 there were no downloadable maps, no GPS units, no tourist guidebooks. If you needed to find something, you stopped and asked someone.

I'm pretty sure my GPS Smartphone can't hold a gun to my head to make me use it. I use it when I need to. Actually enjoy trying to find "centre ville" without it.

Saying that though. A friend of mine runs a popular touring company where they give GPS's. Most of his clients rely blindly on it without considering their surroundings. I guess that's why they do tours though instead of doing it them selves.