Problem: a cost-efficient phone for google maps
 

Hi All,
Have any of you used a burner phone (overseas) for google maps or ViaMichelin? Going to France for a month, alot of driving, and need a cost-efficient way to manage a data guzzling map app. Was thinking about a burner phone, for just this purpose. Likely cheaper in France, but then wouldn't it be all in French? Any tips on vendors or how to figure out the length of the contract I should buy?
All suggestions welcome and I'm interested in what your experience has been.
Thank you.

Moved to Europe forum

I have a memory of downloading Google maps in the morning at our apartment or hotel and then being able to use it as I walked through Paris without using Wi-Fi. If you’re driving long distances that may not work, but I also remember for our last couple trips to Europe before Covid getting unlimited data for my phone had gotten a lot more reasonable.

Use WiFi and download the maps you need. You do not need data for navigation.
Some map apps allow you to download an entire country (Here We go for instance) and on Google Maps you can download areas you will be visiting, and they are automatically deleted after a certain length of time.
The only advantage to data with navigation is if there is a big jam or something, and it will give you a diversion though those diversions are sometimes very odd.
If you buy a phone you can set it up in any language you want. Or you could buy a sim for your phone.

Pray tell: what/where can I get a sim card to load in my ATT (unlocked) phone, that will give me google maps in real time. Want step by step directions: will be in the countryside.
Or has anyone used a prepaid burner phone? That can download google maps. Finally, how many data gigs would you buy for 30 days of constant traveling sim. And...is there a menu on google maps for changing language?
Sorry about being so clay-footed here...Thank you!

Moderator!

How do I find this thread???? Could not use it on the Europe forum? Should I repost? Would appreciate a few instructions: was not clear where to post this type of thread .

Downloading maps to view offline, at least with googlemaps provides very limited functionality. IME it is way better to either bring a phone and buy a local SIM card, assuming of course that you have an unlocked phone. If you don’t then a cheap smartphone is the only option (other than asking the rental company for a satnav in the car). In the UK you could probably pick up a cheap Nokia smartphone or similar for £100 / 120 euros.

All smartphones can be set up in any language - Chinese, French even American ;-)

Not sure I understand the question? You obviously 'found' the thread since you posted to it. Do you mean you can't find the Europe Forum? If so - Europe is one of the many Forums listed if you click on Fodor's Travel Talk Forums at the top left side of the page. Or you can also see it if you click on 'FORUMS' at the top right of the home page.

edit: Now I'm even more confused - just took a quick look at your profile and you have more than ten threads on the Europe Forum so I'm really not sure what you were asking.

You can get turn by turn directions without needing data. Most if not all navigation apps offer the ability to download maps, and pre plan routes if you want to so you don't need data - not everywhere has good data coverage anyway, especially parts of France in my experience.
I have never needed to buy a sim in France but I am sure you can buy them at the airport or in any decent sized town. Do ATT not offer you a roaming package? That would be the easiest if not the cheapest solution.

To: Moderator

MEA CULPA!
I tried posting the same thread to Europe, but my "reply" to my posters wouldn't load. Once a post is removed, how long does it usually take to have it functional in the "moved to" forum?

Yes, a new sim card: but what carrier? A new sim card would have the same rates as the usual suspects (ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile etc) wouldn't it?

Now I can't post to the NEW thread now...wow. What's going on there Mr. M

We buy an Orange Holiday sim card (order on Amazon) and switch out the sim cards when we land. Or we buy a sim card after we land, but Amazon is pretty easy.

Buy a month's coverage from T-Mobile. You'll have a different phone number, but you'll get unlimited low speed data. I have always found that adequate.

Why not just a good map app ( ie not Google maps) with full functionality and just GPS. No need for a contract or sim at all.

When you say you "could not use it", what exactly do you mean?

The new thread was deleted as a duplicate. Please continue on this thread.

Data gives you traffic updates. But the main thing you gain with downloading the maps is that's the bulk of the data. Turn by turn and live traffic use up very little data. The Orange tourist package mentioned above is likely way more than you need.

Language isn't an issue. You set up your phone when you get it. If you log into your Google account almost all your info will automatically show up. Things like you email contact list.

Budget? Various Xiaomi phones can be had for fairly reasonable prices.

Or you could buy the TomTom app but that's not much cheaper than a low end phone.

Whether you decide on a new sim, a new phone or download maps make sure you have a 12v car charger for your phone. And yes a US one will fit in a European car.
The chances of needing traffic updates are low. Why not try downloading a map of your area turning off data on your phone and trying to navigate with it. See how you feel about it.

Or get a phone with 2 simcard slots and switch between your regular card and the one use use while abroad. While if France, use the French card for data.

I disagree that needing traffic updates is a low need. The longer the trip the more likely there will be a jam ahead of you or an accident. Plus it lets you just wander off course if you see something you like along the way.

I haven't checked lately but the Here Map (the one that used to be Nokia IIRC) has some weird routing at times. I mean really weird.

The TomTOM I think has speed cameras support built in. But is that legal in France? If not it'll be turned off. But the app acts just like a standalone GPS.

Having a SIM will also let you make calls of course. Late for check in? Needs to book dinner?

Speed camera support is turned off in France. Always, no matter which app you use.
Here We Go (as it is now called) does have an audible warning if you go over the posted limit, which Google doesn't. In fact until relatively recently Google never even told you the speed limit.
Google has some stupid routing too, to save you a nano second or two it seems, and when they reroute you because of a jam or whatever they don't always take you on roads that are roads, but are forest roads or farm roads. We have also found sometimes it just doesn't direct us to where we should be but to somewhere vaguely near it. On a local roundabout it always tells you to exit one exit too soon. Strangers are always caught out by that.
Having data on does mean you can search for a petrol station or a shop or whatever along the way, but you can also put these in when you download the map.
Make sure you turn off tracking if using Google Maps. It can get really annoying and I am not sure Google really needs to know your every move.

Paper maps are always needed in my experience if you want to find more interesting routes or stops along the way. Apps just can't give you a "lets meander through the countryside to get from A to B" route. Even with no motorways option turned off they still choose the fastest/shortest route.

We worried about this problem before our last trip just before the covid plague. It turned out to be a big nothing. We picked up an Orange sim chip for our phone at a kiosk in the airport. They put it in, set up the phone, and we were good for two weeks at a reasonable price. All the stuff on our phone worked like before but now we had a French phone number. You can get another two weeks for a smaller add on fee. The amount of data and calls was far more than needed.

As for GPS in the car, all my planning for using the phone for that was wasted worry, because the car had GPS. The rental agent set it up for English and put in the location for our first stop.

I guess we all use sat nav and mapping apps in different ways.

"Apps just can't give you a "lets meander through the countryside to get from A to B" route. Even with no motorways option turned off they still choose the fastest/shortest route.”

There is no need to follow them slavishly. I just identify individual places I want to visit and set them step accordingly, step by step. If I choose to go off piste, then the apps will try to re route and I just ignore the instructions until I am ready to listen again.

I have tried using downloaded google maps and whilst they are useful for planning, I do find them very unresponsive and lacking in functionality.

Using a purchased SIM card with a data bundle in an unlocked phone is a no brainer. It doesn’t cost much and is way more useful than downloading maps and trying to muddle through. Why risk missing turnings on highways because you don’t receive instructions in time or spend hours in traffic that could have been avoided.

If you don’t have an unlocked phone then I suppose teh only alternative is to buy one or borrow and old one form someone.

I use Here for my cycling holidays in europe. I'm not really interested in traffic jams. I find it finds all the local restaurants pretty well and step by step to my next hotel. Power consumption on my existing cheap phone is enough for a 6 hour ride at full use of more if I'm going for a long day.

If you have too much money, then give it to the Ukrainians rather than just more money to the Chinese.

This is what I use: https://maps.me/

Just download maps while you're connected to wifi and you can navigate without using data or needing an internet connection.

Yes! I use this on all my France trips, and it works faultlessly and data-cost-free.

We have bought different companies’ SIM cards in different places in Europe. In Puglia we bought a TIM card because the clerk at another SIM store was rude.