46
votes
Accepted
Does Google Maps take into account hills/inclines for route times?
Surprisingly, it appears that the answer is YES, Google Maps does make a distinction between uphill and downhill.
I routed out a couple of bicycle rides from my home (in Germany) to a city either 90 ...
- 3,934
34
votes
Accepted
What is this peculiar line on Google Maps?
That is the International Date Line. It's roughly on the 180 meridian. It would, as you can imagine, be very challenging for different sides of an island to be on different days, so it originally ...
- 79.8k
34
votes
GPS when flying over the ocean
There are some things you have to be aware of. For example, you might think that it's enough to turn your GPS on, start your app, and see your position, as simply as that. Well, not really!
First of ...
33
votes
Does Google Maps take into account hills/inclines for route times?
No. Google Maps works a different way.
Google Maps learns travel times by monitoring the pace of other riders.
The Google Maps app "constantly" sends data about your location back to the Google ...
33
votes
How can I find out where to buy uncommon (for the location) items while traveling?
As you've mentioned in your question, online searches work best when you know the name of the store you're looking for, or what kind of store is likely to carry your item. I recommend instead you talk ...
- 79.8k
32
votes
Accepted
Google Maps: Directions: Are time zones my local browser, or local to where I am searching?
I did some testing and it seems to be the time of the start and ending points you provided. I chose a route which passes a time border (between Spain and Portugal) and this is what I get:
As you can ...
- 12.6k
30
votes
Accepted
How to find location on Cambridge-Mildenhall railway that still has tracks/rails?
Update: following comments I asked a friend who lives nearby to get up-to-date information. He took a picture of the actual Barnwell junction, which shows that @DavidRicherby and I are both right: the ...
- 12.1k
27
votes
Accepted
Why does Google Maps show a boat route as a European road?
This happens in a number of places, due to the way European Routes are numbered. They're more of a concept than an actual road, and as such, they're often disconnected.
For example the E20 consists ...
- 2,085
27
votes
Accepted
GPS when flying over the ocean
I use OsmAnd for this sort of thing. There's a base world map that's not super detailed at the city level, but is certainly more than adequate for tracking the location of any passenger flight. It's ...
- 37.6k
26
votes
Accepted
Map showing what parts of an Amtrak route are traversed during daylight
I found a non-official map of the Amtrak trains that ride during the night or the day.
Since daylight changes every day, the day picked for this map is the autumnal equinox.
This map was published ...
- 20.9k
24
votes
How to tell Google Maps to avoid bad neighborhoods in San Francisco?
It's not likely that Google Maps, Apple Maps or similar apps would ever include a feature to avoid bad neighborhoods, because it could be labeled racist and attract lots of negative publicity.
In ...
- 3,384
21
votes
Where to get offline maps for Cairo?
While Google Maps may not provide offline maps for this area, OpenStreetMap has mapped Cairo pretty well.
There is a large number of apps for offline maps based on OpenStreetMap. My favorite so far ...
- 3,005
21
votes
Tourist / simple city maps to print
If you have a phone, you can download the maps (offline maps in Google Maps).
Often you find some tourist information with maps on airports/bus stations/train stations, but it doesn't seem your case. ...
- 8,610
20
votes
How can I learn map reading for navigation?
Maps are simply a representation of the physical world. IMHO the skill of map reading and navigation is simply being able to view your surroundings, identify distinct features and then relate theses ...
- 15.1k
19
votes
Is there a map of all the Umweltzones (environmental zones) in Germany?
The most official source is the Umweltbundesamt (UBA), the Federal Environment Agency. You can use the GIS website of the UBA, which provides nice PDFs of each Umweltzone. Example: Berlin (Euro 3). ...
- 839
18
votes
Accepted
Are there sources in Prague that have hand-held, printed maps?
Are there for sources in Prague that have hand-held, printed maps?
Maps are easy to obtain in Prague, no matter how you come to the country.
Airport: A free map is available at the airport's public ...
- 82k
17
votes
Where to get offline maps for Cairo?
My favourite app for exactly this purpose is Maps.me.
They allow you to download countries or provinces/states, depending on the area. You can add your own locations.
They recently added driving ...
- 24.2k
17
votes
Accepted
How do I decipher this hotel address in Greece?
The correct address is the one in Patra. The other one in Athens is most probably a mistake on Google Maps. Here is my reasoning:
The address is basically the same - EO stands for Ethniki Odos, and ...
- 52.5k
17
votes
Does Google Maps take into account hills/inclines for route times?
At least for bikes it does (assuming the topographical information mentioned in the comment is available).
I just checked with two cycling routes near my home, both 4,2km long according to Google, ...
- 4,296
17
votes
Tourist / simple city maps to print
There are various third-party services offering free printable maps based on OpenStreetMap. Many of these services are listed at OSM on Paper. There you can find, among others:
MyOSMatic
Inkatlas
...
- 311
16
votes
Where can I find a global heat map of travel spots?
Here's what I'm aware of:
Sightsmap (which I think comes closest to what you are looking for)
Heatmaps of Flickr photos and Twitter tweets
Flickr heat maps
Flickr heat maps distinguishing between ...
- 24.2k
16
votes
Accepted
Japan Map App. How to get around?
I have spent about fifteen months in Japan over the last few years (mostly Kansai) and I have never found a need to use anything except Google Maps for finding out how to get anywhere.
You can plot ...
- 1,212
16
votes
Is there a Google Maps like app that shows directions and other people's progress along the same route?
Yes, for Google Maps you can share your position (Location sharing) with others (and they with you). I assume a Google Account is needed for both parties. This can be turned on and off when needed. ...
- 24k
15
votes
How can I see all routes flown by a given airline?
The interface is a bit inconvenient and it has a limit on the number of routes shown simultaneously, but you can do it on Kayak's list of airlines. Click on an airline and you'll get a map of where it ...
- 82k
15
votes
Accepted
Is there a Google Maps like app that shows directions and other people's progress along the same route?
One can use the phone application Waze to see one's connections on the same map: https://youtu.be/hGDrzDw2a7s
Note: https://www.waze.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=243565
It's not really live, it'...
- 53.6k
15
votes
How to tell Google Maps to avoid bad neighborhoods in San Francisco?
If you're traveling on foot in the touristy bits of San Francisco, just about the only rough neighborhood you're likely to stumble into accidentally is the Tenderloin, west of Union Square and north ...
- 99.7k
13
votes
How can I see all routes flown by a given airline?
Between the Star Alliance route map, the oneworld route map, and the SkyTeam route map, you can see the vast majority of existing flights. For any given airline, just choose the map corresponding to ...
- 61.8k
13
votes
Why does Google Maps show a boat route as a European road?
It's because E 840 is a route, not necessarily a road.
You will find the same in Washington State where some Washington State Ferries carry route designaters as well such as between Southworth and ...
- 32.6k
12
votes
How are Scottish hiking trails marked?
The short answer is that paths are rarely marked well, and it is generally necessary to have a map and to know how to read it.
Scotland has a long-established right to roam, meaning you can walk ...
- 1,930
12
votes
Japan Map App. How to get around?
I have lived in Tokyo for 18 months now and Google Maps has served me well 90% of the time. It has complete bus, train, and subway service in large cities and it seems to know the speediest exit to ...
- 849
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible