This guide walks through exactly how to download an offline map, what still works (and what doesn’t) once you’re disconnected, and the small setup mistakes that cause offline maps to fail travelers most often.

Quick Answer

Open Google Maps while connected to Wi-Fi, tap your profile picture, select ‘Offline maps,’ then ‘Select your own map,’ drag the box over the area you need, and tap Download. Do this before you leave home — offline maps give you driving navigation, search, and GPS positioning without any data connection.

How to Download an Offline Map, Step by Step

There are two ways to save an area for offline use, and both require an internet connection at the time of download — you can’t create an offline map once you’re already disconnected. The first method: search for the city or region you want, swipe the info panel up until it takes over the screen (or tap the place card), tap the three-dot ‘More’ menu, and select ‘Download offline map.’ Adjust the highlighted rectangle to cover everything you need, then tap Download.

The second method works well if you want to grab a map without searching for a specific place first: tap your profile picture in the top-right corner, choose ‘Offline maps,’ then tap ‘Select your own map.’ Drag and pinch the map to frame the area, and tap Download. Both methods save to the same ‘Offline maps’ section, where you can rename each download (e.g., ‘Rome Trip’) so multiple saved areas don’t turn into a confusing pile of place names.

Storage matters here — a downloaded area can run up to roughly 1.5 GB depending on how much territory you select, so download over Wi-Fi rather than mobile data. On Android, you can also redirect offline maps to an SD card instead of internal storage: from the Offline maps screen, tap the gear icon, then ‘Storage preferences,’ and switch from Device to SD card (note that anything already downloaded needs to be re-downloaded after switching).

What Works Offline — and What Doesn’t

Once downloaded, an offline map gives you turn-by-turn driving navigation as long as your entire route stays inside the boundaries you downloaded, plus the ability to search for addresses and places, view basic business info, and see your live GPS position on the map. This covers the core use case for most travelers: getting from the airport to a hotel, or finding your way around a city center without burning data.

What it won’t do: walking, cycling, and public transit directions all require a live connection and simply aren’t available offline. Real-time traffic conditions and automatic rerouting around accidents or closures also depend on a data connection, so an offline route will get you there but won’t adapt to conditions on the ground. Satellite imagery and Street View are similarly unavailable without a connection.

Offline maps also aren’t permanent. Google periodically updates road and place data, so downloaded maps have a shelf life and the app will notify you when a saved map is within about 15 days of expiring. If you’re connected to Wi-Fi at that point, Google Maps refreshes it automatically — or you can turn on ‘Auto-update offline maps’ in the Offline maps settings so this happens without you needing to check.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Download more area than you think you need. A map covering just your hotel and one attraction leaves you stranded the moment you take a wrong turn or a detour pushes your route outside the boundary — pad the download well beyond your planned itinerary, including surrounding towns if you’re driving.

Download before you leave home, not at the airport. Airport Wi-Fi is often slow, captive-portal-gated, or unreliable, and a 1+ GB download can stall out. Do it the night before over your home network instead.

Don’t assume it replaces your data plan entirely. Offline maps are a backup for navigation, not a substitute for looking up new restaurants, checking reviews, or getting transit directions on the fly — those still need a connection.

Check your download periodically on multi-week trips. If you’re traveling for longer than a couple of weeks, connect to Wi-Fi occasionally (hotel Wi-Fi works fine) so the app can refresh the map before it expires, rather than discovering it’s stale when you actually need it.

In regions where core Google services are blocked or heavily restricted (mainland China, for example), Google Maps — offline or not — may not function reliably; check the situation for your specific destination before relying on it.

Explore more: More travel tech guides.

Google Maps offline mode FAQs

Do I need internet to download an offline map?

Yes. You need an active Wi-Fi or data connection at the moment you download the map. Once it’s saved, you can use it with no connection at all.

Can I get walking or public transit directions offline?

No. Offline Google Maps only supports driving navigation. Walking, cycling, and transit directions require a live internet connection.

How long do offline maps last before they expire?

Google doesn’t publish one fixed lifespan, but it notifies you when a downloaded map is roughly 15 days from expiring. If you’re on Wi-Fi at that point, it updates automatically — or you can enable ‘Auto-update offline maps’ in settings so you never have to check manually.

How much storage does an offline map use?

It varies by the size of the area, but downloads can reach roughly 1.5 GB. On Android, you can save offline maps to an SD card instead of internal storage if space is tight.

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This guide covers the offline maps apps actually worth installing before your trip, what each one is good (and bad) at, and how to set them up correctly so you’re not fumbling with downloads at the airport with spotty wifi.

Quick Answer

Organic Maps is the best all-around offline maps app for most travelers — it’s free, open-source, ad-free, and covers walking, cycling, and driving with turn-by-turn navigation and no data connection required. Pair it with OsmAnd if you’re hiking backcountry trails, and keep Google Maps’ offline downloads as a backup for driving in areas with excellent Google map coverage.

How Offline Maps Actually Work

Your phone’s GPS receiver doesn’t need mobile data or wifi to know where you are — it talks directly to satellites. What requires data is normally the map tiles themselves and the routing engine. Offline maps apps solve this by letting you download the map data and routing information for a region while you still have wifi, then using your phone’s built-in GPS to show your live position on that downloaded map with zero connection needed.

That means the whole workflow has to happen before you lose connectivity: pick your destination country or city, download the map pack over hotel or airport wifi, and only then head out. Trying to download a new area once you’re already offline obviously won’t work.

The Best Offline Map Apps, Compared

Organic Maps (iOS and Android) is a free, open-source app built on OpenStreetMap data, with no ads, no account, and no tracking. It supports offline turn-by-turn navigation for walking, cycling, and driving, plus offline search, bookmarks, public transport routing in many cities, and even offline Wikipedia lookups for places you search. Maps download per country or region and there’s no cap on how many you can store, so it works well as your single default map app for a whole trip.

OsmAnd (also OpenStreetMap-based) is the better pick if you’re doing serious hiking or backcountry travel — it adds contour lines, hillshading, and more detailed trail data. The free version limits you to a small number of downloaded map files, which is fine for a single-country trip; the paid OsmAnd+ or OsmAnd Pro tiers remove that limit and add more frequent map updates.

Google Maps has an offline mode too, and it’s worth keeping as a backup since its road and business data is often the most current. Open a place in the app, swipe up on the info sheet, tap ‘Download offline map,’ and confirm the area. The catch: offline Google Maps only supports driving directions — walking, cycling, and transit routing are not available offline — and downloaded areas expire after about 30 days, so you’ll need to refresh them if your trip runs long.

HERE WeGo is worth adding if you’re relying on public transit in a foreign city, since it’s one of the few apps offering offline transit routing (bus, tram, subway) for a number of major metro areas, on top of offline driving and walking directions.

Maps.me was the go-to app for years and is still usable, but ownership changes have added ads and slowed development. If you already love its interface, Organic Maps was built by former Maps.me developers as a direct, cleaner successor and is the better choice today.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Download your maps before you leave home wifi, not at the airport gate — international regions can be large files and airport wifi is unreliable. Search and save your hotel, key addresses, and any must-see spots as bookmarks while you still have data, so you can navigate to them by name later instead of hunting for pins on the map. If you’re using Google Maps offline, note the 30-day expiration and re-download if your trip is longer, and remember it won’t help you walk or take transit — that’s when a second app like Organic Maps earns its place on your home screen. Finally, keep offline map storage in mind on older phones with limited space; a few countries’ worth of detailed map data can add up to a few gigabytes.

Explore more: More travel planning guides.

Offline maps apps for travelers FAQs

Does GPS work without mobile data or wifi?

Yes. Your phone’s GPS receiver connects to satellites directly and works with no signal at all — you just need a map already downloaded to your device to see your position plotted on it.

Which offline maps app is completely free with no ads?

Organic Maps is free, open-source, and has no ads or account requirement. OsmAnd’s free tier also has no ads but limits how many map regions you can store at once.

Can I get turn-by-turn walking directions offline?

Yes, with Organic Maps or OsmAnd. Google Maps’ offline mode only supports driving directions, not walking, cycling, or transit.

Do offline Google Maps downloads expire?

Yes, downloaded areas in Google Maps expire after about 30 days unless you reconnect to wifi or data to refresh them.

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