drchris

We finally came into the modern era and bought a smart phone (Galaxy s5) and want to download offline apps to use while in Italy. We have found what appears to be a good app for the trains (Trains Timetable Italy by Paolo Conte) and have started looking for apps - preferably offline - with

city maps of Bellagio, Varenna, Venice, Florence, and Rome (would like to be able to plot the walk from one site to another)

finding restaurants and gelato shops near wherever we happen to be sightseeing.

We have several things loaded from Fodors and Rick Steves, including the audio guides.

Are apps available for the bus and ferry schedules in Lake Como area? Bus schedule from Florence to Siena?

Please suggest anything else that you have found helpful. We are new to the use of mobile apps, so all help will be greatly appreciated!

.

greg

I also hope you got it with t-mobile U.S.A. simple choice plan, so you can data roam at no additional cost in Italy so you can also use online apps although at 2G speed?

The offline map I like so far for Android is Mapwithme Lite, https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...apswithme.maps . The free version does not allow you to put makers on the map or search locations by address.

Most schedules don't come in offline form. The most useful form I found was to create PDF files out of the schedule by cut and paste, print to PDF, etc, then transfer to the phone memory and view them on the phone using Android version of the PDF reader.

drchris

Thanks! We have been on AT&T forever and it serves where we live the best. We'll check out that app.

greg

I presume you know how to disable data roaming while allowing voice and WiFi.

kybourbon

I've always like Mappy for directions in Europe. They may have an app that will work.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.mappy.app

Did you look for a Trenitalia app?

The larger train stations in Italy have an app (upper right corner).

http://www.romatermini.com/en/

I doubt the Siena/Florence bus has an app.

MaineGG

I like the Maps with Me Lite app recommended by Greg. There is a Pro version for a small charge if you want the additional functions it offers.

There are Trip Advisor apps for Venice, Florence and Rome that can be used offline.

We also use the Pocket and Kindle apps to save information we want to access offline (like bus and ferry schedules).

drchris

Greg - I know how to turn on "airplane mode" to stop roaming. By "voice," do you mean talking with the phone or tablet (like giving commands), or being able to talk on Skype or Viber? We are also taking a Kindle Fire and an iPad and have been practicing using those to communicate with family via but the phone should make it easier.

We were impressed with MapwithMe and will check Mappy and the other apps as well.

Thanks to all!

greg

The airplane mode turns off too many things once on the ground.

Airplane mode= <b>on</b> means:
Data roaming = <b>off</b>
voice/sms texting = <b>off</b> (no telephone calls, no texting)
Wifi = <b>off</b> (can't use Skype,Viber on hotel Wifi)
Bluetooth = <b>off</b> (can't use wireless headset)

You need to know how to turn on/off data roaming independent of other settings.

1. You can start with airplane mode=on, then turn on other components.
2. You can start with airplane mode=off, then turn off just the data roaming part.

Turning off the data roaming part can be done if you are ok with going down the setting menus. This is ok if you keep your mobile data off during the entire duration of the trip. If you, however, decide to use ATT's data package, and you want to ration your data usage, you would want a more convenient way to turn/off the mobile data on the fly using a widget like https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...roid.dataonoff .

While you can turn off just the "data roaming" part, there is little value in setting it that way overseas, so just turn off the mobile data completely using the widget or using the setting menu.

Sarah26

I traveled to Italy with MapWithMe Pro and I was impressed. The app saved me several times and big cities are impressively detailed. It worked offline and showed everything we needed - restaurants, banks, even WC!