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I've used TrekRight, Wise Pilgrim and Buen Camino.
I like Buen Camino best because it's really well integrated. I don't understand why you say that the map feature is strangely hidden. It's easy to access the map from almost every screen that you are on. You can always tell how far from the next stop you are from the bar at the top that tells you how many km to the next place. Also, I can't test this at home, but if you continue to swipe the screen to the left it will tell how far the subsequent stops are from your current location.
Going forward the offline capabilities of the Wisely Maps will be incorporated into the full app, though your comments with regard to the zoom levels are limited in their fixability. It is not just a balance of keeping the size of the maps to a minimum, the reality is that the highest zoom levels would not fit onto any phone regardless of the storage capacity.... the camino covers a very large area. Bigger cities are included, but the countryside only includes enough to keep you heading in the right direction.
Michael here, publisher of the Wise Pilgrim app and books. I wanted to thank you for the feedback.
In fact the Wise Pilgrim Apps are undergoing a complete rewrite to make them better than ever and your review helps me to get there.
Going forward the offline capabilities of the Wisely Maps will be incorporated into the full app, though your comments with regard to the zoom levels are limited in their fixability. It is not just a balance of keeping the size of the maps to a minimum, the reality is that the highest zoom levels would not fit onto any phone regardless of the storage capacity.... the camino covers a very large area. Bigger cities are included, but the countryside only includes enough to keep you heading in the right direction.
I would like to add that when I set out to make the first camino app I decided early on that it should be as basic as possible while providing quality information. I have kept up with that philosophy and to this day the app is free from logins, sharing buttons, high tech directional navigation, and predefined stages. My fondest memories of my earliest caminos (pre app, one book on the market) was of sitting down after dinner with fellow pilgrims and doing a bit of napkin math to plan the next day. I like to think that the app functions in much the same way, and it doesn´t keep you un-necessarily engaged in the digital world.
It has been 6 seasons now and I am grateful for all of the pilgrims who have supported my little indy operation over the years. Keep an eye out for the end of year update!
This part will definitely be fixed this Autumn, as will the maps that crash on some Android devices.I love Wise Pilgrim and used it on the Camino Portugese. My only issue was that it often crashed at startup on my iPhoneX. I had to be very persistent to get it to work. Not unusual to have to start it 10 times to get it to work.
I will give that a try, though from a technical standpoint it is not so easy.Thanks Michael. I understand that there has to be a limit on the Wisely map resolution. My issue wasn't that there was a limit, it was that the map totally disappeared when you crossed the limit. Could you instead lock the zoom when you reach the highest level and just scale/pixelate like other apps do?
Could not rate any app. Have wise pilgrim and of course google maps and earth but you know what, I never have the time or inclination to use while walking. Seldom even use my guide book. The only apps I must have are my banking app and an airline one to book my flights homeThere are so many Camino apps available now but I’ve not read any round-ups, so I’ve put my own one together which will hopefully be of use to pilgrims.
It's not possible to review every app out there but these are my in-depth reviews of four of the most popular ones available for iOS. (Some of these will also be available on Android, but these reviews are based on iPhone and iPad use as that’s what I own.)
My comments are based on real-world Camino use on both the Francés and Norte -- warts and all -- and each review goes into a lot of practical detail.
A Camino app just needs to do a handful of things, but it needs to do them well and reliably. These are the functions I've rated each app on:
- MAP: Show a map indicating your GPS location and any nearby places of interest and accommodation. Elevation profiles are a huge bonus here too. Optionally, it is an advantage if the app also has an offline function for users without mobile data in Spain.
- MEASURING / PLANNING: Be able to tell you how far it is to a certain location ahead of you. It’s important this is measured by foot along the Camino route. Optional points earned if the app usefully lets you plan stages.
- GUIDEBOOK: Offer information on points of interest, history, tourism, gastronomy and terrain.
- ACCOMMODATION: Have an up-to-date directory of nearby accommodation, linked to your current GPS position. Pricing and dining indications are a big advantage here.
- ROUTES: Offer you different Camino routes and variations. All apps service the Francés, but only some handle other routes. Within routes there may also be variations and detours, and it’s useful to have these marked as well.
- RELIABILITY: However feature-full an app is, it’s useless if it crashes often or certain functions work unreliably.
I’ll give each app I review marks out of ten in each of these categories, and then give an overall summary based on my experience of using the app on the trail.
These are the apps I’ve looked at:
... with hopefully more reviews coming soon once I get back out on the trail!
- Buen Camino (Francés and Baztan free, other routes paid)
- Wise Pilgrim (paid)
- Guthook Guide (paid)
- TrailSmart (free with paid offline maps)
Because the reviews are about four pages each, I've had to put them in a separate PDF for you to view, so please click the download icon for the attachment on this post.
On the last page I've made a few one-line suggestions for different circumstances, if you think sixteen pages means "too long; didn't read"
You know that Buen Camino has offline maps too?Big advantage is off-line maps. The second would
sure be "Buen Camino".
Some words for Android-applications:
Of many available I ended to" "Camino Companion" for
Frances. Big advantage is off-line maps. The second would
sure be "Buen Camino".
Benny
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