Alltrails app

[BarbC]

Hi
I did a search but didn't see anything so just wondered if anyone has used the AllTrails app to navigate any parts of the Camino. We use it in Canada for our hikes and I found the route we are doing in Spain and downloaded them - so that all looks good - just thought I would see if anyone had experience with it on the Camino. Thanks

 

[trecile]

All Trails wouldn't be my first choice of app for the Camino. There are several Camino specific apps that have gps and also additional information about accommodations, culture, and history.

Wise Pilgrim and Buen Camino are the apps that I use.

A Complete Guide to the Caminos to Santiago de Compostela

A complete guide to the Camino de Santiago, including accommodation on the Camino Francés, Camino del Norte, Camino Portugués, Camino Primtivo, Vía de la Plata, Camino de Invierno, Finisterre & Muxía, San Salvador, Camino Olvidado, Caminho Nascente, Camino da Geira, Camino Inglés, Vía Podiensis...

wisepilgrim.com

APP del Camino de Santiago Buen Camino 2014 - 2024

Aplicación del Camino de Santiago profesional, con mapas, perfiles, alojamientos, planificador de etapas, a pie o en bici (Btt), en idiomas y actualizada.

www.editorialbuencamino.com

Mapy.cz is also good since it has all the Camino routes already built in.

 

[CWBuff]

agree with @trecile - I initially got AllTrails with a purpose of using it on the Cmino and then found that it was more headache than not.
Yes - pretty good for local hikes (in US - totally love it) but I eventually downloaded Buen Camino and it got me quite nicely through both Frances and Finisterre
One of the things I did like about it is the ability to set up my own stages so the whole daily walk was "right at the palm of my hand"
and all one has to do is 'follow the yellow <brick> road'

 

[woody66]

WisePilgrim

 

[BarbC]

agree with @trecile - I initially got AllTrails with a purpose of using it on the Cmino and then found that it was more headache than not.
Yes - pretty good for local hikes (in US - totally love it) but I eventually downloaded Buen Camino and it got me quite nicely through both Frances and Finisterre
One of the things I did like about it is the ability to set up my own stages so the whole daily walk was "right at the palm of my hand"
and all one has to do is 'follow the yellow <brick> road'

yea - AllTrails can still get you lost in your own backyard

 

[Tincatinker]

I guess it’ll be down to whether any given app contains up to date information on accommodations, trail diversions, tiendas and refreshment spots.

If I used that kind of thing I think I’d go with a specialist

 

[dougfitz]

I generally use a combination of a general purpose mapping app that I use at home (OSMAnd+) and a specialist Camino app. I have several camino apps loaded, but find WisePilgrim suits me. Any mapping app using the Open Street Maps data set (OSMAnd+, MapyCZ, etc) will have a walking routes layer that includes the Camino routes in Spain, so it might be possible to use those by themselves. The specialist apps provide much more detail about services (accommodation, food, groceries) in a more convenient way than a general purpose mapping app might.

 

[PrayerPose25]

I primarily used the Buen Camino app, but there were a couple sections that seemed to stretch on forever, with minimal signage. In those rare instances I did use the AllTrails app just to verify my location and direction.

 

[Graham Skinner]

Hi
I did a search but didn't see anything so just wondered if anyone has used the AllTrails app to navigate any parts of the Camino. We use it in Canada for our hikes and I found the route we are doing in Spain and downloaded them - so that all looks good - just thought I would see if anyone had experience with it on the Camino. Thanks

I am on day 24 on the Frances and have used AllTrails throughout with Strava as a backup. It’s been perfect and recorded more accurate distances than what the guide books and apps have said.

 

[dougfitz]

I am on day 24 on the Frances and have used AllTrails throughout with Strava as a backup. It’s been perfect and recorded more accurate distances than what the guide books and apps have said.

That is an interesting observation. Would you mind explaining how you were able to determine that.

 

[MaxHelado]

I use AllTrails and think it’s brilliant. I have AllTrails Pro so I can récord and personalise my routes. I can make them door-to-door and over time I can personalise them with Waypoints - the places I want to stop and eat or visit or simply shelter.

 

[Graham Skinner]

That is an interesting observation. Would you mind explaining how you were able to determine that.

No. I trust modern technology and also carry a military GPS (as I’m still serving) and trust that equipment implicitly. When I look at the apps such as Wise Pilgrim and Buen Camino both have different distances. Plus the Camino distance markers on the route can say that I am 355km from Santiago and 5 km later, I’m now 360km from Santiago!!

But hej! The Camino is “my way” and not what others say on this forum. I note you always tend to have a lot of advice to give to other pilgrims but they must decide what is best for themselves. No requirement for further comment.

 

[dougfitz]

No. I trust modern technology and also carry a military GPS (as I’m still serving) and trust that equipment implicitly.

I found that I reduced my total distance significantly when I went back and cleaned up my GPS tracks after my Camino. For example, I didn't bother turning it off when I stopped for a coffee, and it would 'hunt' around the location where I had put my pack down. This increased the distances for those legs. Narrow streets are also a problem for a standalone GPS unit, perhaps less so for a smartphone which can also triangulate from WiFi devices. The equipment might be working perfectly, but it operates in a system with known sources of technical 'errors' that might affect the accuracy of any distances measured.

 

[Bradypus]

I trust modern technology and also carry a military GPS (as I’m still serving) and trust that equipment implicitly.

The moment when I was finally convinced of the accuracy of my handheld GPS was when I followed the arrows on a wet cloudy moonless night in a Polish pine forest and literally walked face-first into my Land Rover.

 

[dougfitz]

The moment when I was finally convinced of the accuracy of my handheld GPS was when I followed the arrows on a wet cloudy moonless night in a Polish pine forest and literally walked face-first into my Land Rover.

This is the type of navigation challenge that I think even handheld units are really good at. My map and compass skills were never much better than getting me within 100 m unless there was a well defined point to find, and that would have been more than enough to miss that Land Rover with a substantial margin!

 

[BillW]

Does Wise Pilgrim support off-line (airplane mode) tracking?

I used Map.me with downloaded maps from Gronze for my Le Puy and Camino Frances pilgrimage.

 

[trecile]

Does Wise Pilgrim support off-line (airplane mode) tracking?

Yes, Wise Pilgrim has GPas tracks that you can download for use offline.

 

[dougfitz]

Does Wise Pilgrim support off-line (airplane mode) tracking?

Both the tracks and a map set are downloaded when you choose that option. I have also used tracks/routes from Gronze to use in another mapping app, but I didn't realise they provided maps as well.

 

[MethaV]

Hi
I did a search but didn't see anything so just wondered if anyone has used the AllTrails app to navigate any parts of the Camino. We use it in Canada for our hikes and I found the route we are doing in Spain and downloaded them - so that all looks good - just thought I would see if anyone had experience with it on the Camino. Thanks

I tried the AllTrails, but no thanks.
I just love the Wise Pilgrim. Accurate,, easy to use and all the functions you may need.

 

[David Tallan]

I haven't used AllTrails, so I can't comment from experience on that. If it is very familiar to you, that certainly may be an advantage for it. Wise Pilgrim likely has the advantage of also including information about albergues or other accommodation and other forms of pilgrim infrastructure.

For me, given that apps weigh nothing and that Vamino apps are generally incredibly inexpensive in the context of your Camino cost, I would be inclined to take both. For my recent set of Caminos I used the Wise Pilgrim apps for the routes I walked, downloaded those routes in the Buen Camino app, used the Organic Maps app sometimes, and Gronze.com. I like having a wealth of information and options at my fingertips.