Overlanding and road tripping in Africa present some of the best opportunities to explore the continent by car. There are countless remote national parks, mountain passes, villages, and scenic routes that you could visit. Unfortunately, there are still areas in Africa where the mobile network is poor.
This is why there are quite a few free GPS apps available today, which enable you to download the maps in advance and navigate offline.
Importance of Offline Navigation in Rural Africa
The most picturesque locations in Africa are often located away from the big towns and areas covered by cellular networks. It is not uncommon for tourists to experience stretches of roads that lack data connectivity.
Offline GPS apps provide solutions for the above challenges since they have stored maps locally on your device. Therefore, drivers, campers, and overlanders get access to offline maps with information about navigation and points of interest.
Top Free Offline GPS Apps to Use When Exploring Africa
Maps.me
Despite numerous competitors in the offline map sector, Maps.me has been among the favorites when it comes to navigation of rural Africa. The app is based on data from OpenStreetMap that gives you a detailed map of paved and unpaved roads, hiking trails, and local landmarks.
iOverlander
Beyond its role as a navigation app, iOverlander integrates offline maps with an online database of important places to visit or use while traveling.
You can find out about campsites, gas stations, water supplies, crossing points, garages, and many other useful things. As the information is being constantly updated by other travelers, the app iOverlander has turned into a must-have for those traveling off the beaten path in Africa.
Organic Maps
This application is designed to provide navigation services without compromising the user’s privacy. Similar to Maps.me, the app relies on OpenStreetMap datasets, yet focuses on providing an intuitive interface and being energy efficient.
You can download maps and follow your coordinates with the help of GPS, offline or online.
Conclusion
The ability to navigate well can be very beneficial while moving across the extensive rural regions of Africa. There are apps like Maps.me, iOverlander, and Organic Maps that offer free offline GPS tools which help people get around even where there is poor internet connectivity.
Before embarking on any adventure, it would be prudent to load maps, update app data, and save necessary routes beforehand. With an appropriate offline GPS app, one can move about Africa more easily.
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