Navigation has undergone one of the biggest changes in cycle touring over the past years. We remember how we cycled into the desolate high valleys of the Andes fifteen years ago, equipped with hand-drawn maps and compass. We felt like real pioneers, measured the distances carefully with a bike computer for following cyclists and made a note of each turn off in a small booklet. Over the past ten years, digital offline maps, easy access to satellite imagery and GPS technology on the smartphone have changed cycling trips forever and offer fantastic opportunities in route planning.

We use a simple smartphone for tour planning and navigation. Important are a long battery life, a relatively fast processor and a slightly larger screen. Suitable smartphones are already available for 120 USD. From our point of view, there is no reason to invest in an expensive GPS device anymore. The smartphone has and does everything (or more) what a GPS device can do. While using in flight mode it has a battery life of two days, it is cheaper and reduces the electropark in the bags for another device. Together with a small powerbank (former spare batteries for Garmin...) we can operate the smartphone for up to six days without a power plug. And this is usually enough even for remote tours.

On the phone, we installed GAIA GPS, OSMand+ and Soviet Military Maps for route planning and navigation. With these three apps we are able to plan and navigate remote wilderness routes and to find our way out of the urban jungle. The first two apps are available for Android and IOS, the Soviet Military Maps only for Android.

GAIA GPS: After we have tried many different apps, we are claiming that GAIA is currently the only usable app for off-road route planning on a smartphone / tablet screen. By using the touchscreen you can draw tracks in "snap to road" mode and measure distances quickly. If the routes are not mapped yet, you can seamlessly route them without the "snap to road" function. The track shows the total climb and descent along with the distance and the altitude profile. In addition, waypoints can be set and labeled in an easy way. The handling with the finger is intuitive and it works perfectly also on smaller screens. GAIA also offers a wide selection of offline maps, which includes the usual Openstreet maps as well as TOPO maps (for example, USGS). The unlimited map download is included in the app price. Offline maps can either be selected over a field, or you can just download the maps automatically along the drawn route. Maps can be downloaded in different resolutions. Disadvantage: Detailed offline maps are relatively large, so downloading with a bad internet connection can take a long time. We also use GAIA as a daily tracker because we don't use a bike computer anymore.

OSMand+: This app is especially useful for street navigation and AdHoc route planning in populated areas. It offers automatic bike route calculation, voice guidance and an excellent search function (and all of it offline!). Functions that GAIA does not have. On the other hand, no track drawing is possible, the menu is more complicated and the map selection is limited to Openstreet maps. OSMand+ uses vector maps. These keep the download small, hotels, restaurants, important tourist sights, etc. are mapped and allow a simple orientation in developed areas. It is possible to download whole country maps in a single step and if selected, the download includes contour lines and hill shading.

Soviet Military maps: The military map material of the former USSR remains an excellent source for regions (especially Central Asia), where openstreet maps or modern digital topo maps fail (or generally spoken to find small tracks or trails everywhere on the world). The "Soviet Military maps" app provides these maps as a digital, interconnected world map - including features for drawing a track, setting waypoints and offline usage. A valuable planning tool! However, the map material must always be compared and checked with satellite images, because the Russian maps have not been updated since the eighties. For this, the app has integrated satellite maps from Bing, google and Esri, to which can be switched easily during the planning phase. In addition to the Russian maps, the Esri satellite map can also be used offline - brilliant!

We often use satellite imagery not only for checking Russian maps, but as well for general planning. Sometimes it is difficult to see from the bare map, which route is the most scenic, if there are bridges or if a trail leads maybe further than on the map. We included the Esri Aerial map as a custom map into Gaia GPS. Esri Aerial is often clearer and more detailed than the one from google, Bing or the integrated standard mapbox satellite maps in the App. You can read here how to do this. The correct link to the Esri Aerial"TMS" map source is as follow: http://server.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer/tile/{z}/{y}/{x}

Viajerosmapas / Oruxmaps: For South America we use the maps of viajerosmapas.com. Incredibly detailed map material, compiled by a 4x4 community, constantly updated and expanded. These maps contain not only the smallest tracks and trails, but also water sources and refugios. The Viajerosmapa can be used with a Garmin device, or on Android in combination with the app Oruxmaps.

Triggers for visiting a region and to get into deeper tour planning are for us often some small pieces of information and pictures, which we have picked up or seen somewhere. Sometimes it is just an image on instagram, sometimes a tour description from a specialized adventure tour company or an inspiring blog that motivates us to explore a region. And so a tour planning begins for us often with an information and picture search over google and youtube. It is only after this first impression that we dig deeper into maps. In GAIA we draw a track, following mapped trails and closing gaps with the help of satellite images.

After we know distance and altitude profile, the next step is the planning of water and supply points. We know from experience how far we can ride a day. These knowledge and the finding of water sources and supply points (marked with waypoints) make it possible to calculate the food and water supply. We then download the appropriate maps for offline use in OSMand+ (and with a good internet connection also in GAIA).

Although tour planning often takes place digitally today, we still try to get first hand information on remote routes in the last step. Satellite images are not always up-to-date, some of the bridges can be torn away in the last flood. Even in the digital age a local still knows best if water sources are reliable and how the road conditions are. And what if technology fails? This has never happened to us. But when riding remote routes we make a backup on our tablet. So we have at least a spare device with all maps and tracks at hand. And if that is not enough for you, GAIA GPS Pro has a printing function.