Good map apps for El Norte?

[MarkyD]

Good morning, afternoon, evening to everyone who has been on El Norte and found good ways to reduce/avoid too much tarmac crunching, especially the more dangerous sections.
I'm interested to find out information from anyone who has any good tips or could recommend an app that shows not only the official route, but also the options that might take me away from the roads more.
I've seen some people use Wikiloc, but that seems to give you a library of actual walks recorded by people. Alternatively, I've seen people like Efrén Gónzalez use Google maps to just plot his own path as and when he needed to.
Alternatively, I could use a guide book with decent maps.
What sayest the knowlegeable and experienced folk out there in the Caminodom? I hope to be starting from Villaviciosa in about a week's time (assuming the other regions in Spain will allow people like me from Madrid to even enter their regions, let alone walk from Asturias to Galicia)

 

[JoroAtanasof]

Good morning, afternoon, evening to everyone who has been on El Norte and found good ways to reduce/avoid too much tarmac crunching, especially the more dangerous sections.
I'm interested to find out information from anyone who has any good tips or could recommend an app that shows not only the official route, but also the options that might take me away from the roads more.
I've seen some people use Wikiloc, but that seems to give you a library of actual walks recorded by people. Alternatively, I've seen people like Efrén Gónzalez use Google maps to just plot his own path as and when he needed to.
Alternatively, I could use a guide book with decent maps.
What sayest the knowlegeable and experienced folk out there in the Caminodom? I hope to be starting from Villaviciosa in about a week's time (assuming the other regions in Spain will allow people like me from Madrid to even enter their regions, let alone walk from Asturias to Galicia)

Have you tried Buencamino app ?

 

[MarkyD]

Have you tried Buencamino app ?

Thanks Joro, I've downloaded the app. I'll see how it performs on the trail.

 

[pelerine]

Peregrina2000 has produced lots of alternatives to asphalt on the norte. I think you find them under Resources.
Buen Camino!

 

[Jbirk]

We used maps.me and had no problems whatsoever. Works great offline. Search for GPX tracks on this fourm. Someone posted links for all Caminos and alternate routes. Open them in maps.me or google earth and your set.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

We used maps.me and had no problems whatsoever. Works great offline.

I like maps.me but I want to point out a limitation here.

With maps.me you will need to download a track of the route also (besides base maps of the area(s) you will walk). You will be able to see trails and roads that you may want to use instead of the track you downloaded but they will not be highlighted for you unless you find and download those tracks too. It is a good app but if you are looking for one that shows you ways to go and helps you decide whether it is worth it to go that way you will want a different app.

 

[Jbirk]

I like maps.me but I want to point out a limitation here.

With maps.me you will need to download a track of the route also (besides base maps of the area(s) you will walk). You will be able to see trails and roads that you may want to use instead of the track you downloaded but they will not be highlighted for you unless you find and download those tracks too. It is a good app but if you are looking for one that shows you ways to go and helps you decide whether it is worth it to go that way you will want a different app.

is there an app that does that? I would be definitely interested.

 

[trecile]

Check out this thread on coastal alternatives on the Norte. There's discussion of GPS tracks within it.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/coastal-alternatives-to-the-nortes-asphalt.49578/

 

[andycohn]

QUOTE="MarkyD, post: 874582, member: 82926"]
Good morning, afternoon, evening to everyone who has been on El Norte and found good ways to reduce/avoid too much tarmac crunching, especially the more dangerous sections.
I'm interested to find out information from anyone who has any good tips or could recommend an app that shows not only the official route, but also the options that might take me away from the roads more.
I've seen some people use Wikiloc, but that seems to give you a library of actual walks recorded by people. Alternatively, I've seen people like Efrén Gónzalez use Google maps to just plot his own path as and when he needed to.
Alternatively, I could use a guide book with decent maps.
What sayest the knowlegeable and experienced folk out there in the Caminodom? I hope to be starting from Villaviciosa in about a week's time (assuming the other regions in Spain will allow people like me from Madrid to even enter their regions, let alone walk from Asturias to Galicia)
[/QUOTE]

I like maps.me but I want to point out a limitation here.

With maps.me you will need to download a track of the route also (besides base maps of the area(s) you will walk). You will be able to see trails and roads that you may want to use instead of the track you downloaded but they will not be highlighted for you unless you find and download those tracks too. It is a good app but if you are looking for one that shows you ways to go and helps you decide whether it is worth it to go that way you will want a different app.

I just stumbled on Windy Maps, which is free and is like maps.me, except that the caminos, and the alternatives, including those for the Norte, are already on there and marked as either the Camino itself or as an alternativo, meaning you don't have to download anything extra. In fact, if you have data, you don't even have to download anything at all. The map of Spain. and everywhere else, will show up right away when you open the app. Of course, if you don't have data, you can easily download any section of the world you need, and it will work fine. You can also plot a track, and the app will even give you voice directions (if you want such a thing), whether you have data or not. It also shows contour lines better than maps.me does.

The only (minor) hitch is that the camino you want won't be obvious in the long view. You'll have to close in on the area you'll be in before you see the camino. To see what I mean, download the app. and then focus in on Irun, the start of the Norte. Play with the magnification until you see the camino as a marked blue line heading north-north-west out of town to a point where it splits: the main camino goes left and its alternative is on the right. The same is true with all the other alternative noted by Peregrina 2000 (and others). They're all right there for you and you don't need to do anything further or play around with downloading other tracks.

Of course, you're probably also going to want some kind of guidebook or guidance on which alternatives are worth taking.

Finally, if you don't like mapping apps at all, you can get the Wisely / Wise Pilgrim app. for around $5. Its gps tracks also show the alternatives.

Overall, since Windy Maps and maps.me are free, and Wisely (or Buen Camino) are very cheap, you can just download all of them and use whatever works best for you.

 

[MarkyD]

Thanks fir

QUOTE="MarkyD, post: 874582, member: 82926"]
Good morning, afternoon, evening to everyone who has been on El Norte and found good ways to reduce/avoid too much tarmac crunching, especially the more dangerous sections.
I'm interested to find out information from anyone who has any good tips or could recommend an app that shows not only the official route, but also the options that might take me away from the roads more.
I've seen some people use Wikiloc, but that seems to give you a library of actual walks recorded by people. Alternatively, I've seen people like Efrén Gónzalez use Google maps to just plot his own path as and when he needed to.
Alternatively, I could use a guide book with decent maps.
What sayest the knowlegeable and experienced folk out there in the Caminodom? I hope to be starting from Villaviciosa in about a week's time (assuming the other regions in Spain will allow people like me from Madrid to even enter their regions, let alone walk from Asturias to Galicia)

I just stumbled on Windy Maps, which is free and is like maps.me, except that the caminos, and the alternatives, including those for the Norte, are already on there and marked as either the Camino itself or as an alternativo, meaning you don't have to download anything extra. In fact, if you have data, you don't even have to download anything at all. The map of Spain. and everywhere else, will show up right away when you open the app. Of course, if you don't have data, you can easily download any section of the world you need, and it will work fine. You can also plot a track, and the app will even give you voice directions (if you want such a thing), whether you have data or not. It also shows contour lines better than maps.me does.

The only (minor) hitch is that the camino you want won't be obvious in the long view. You'll have to close in on the area you'll be in before you see the camino. To see what I mean, download the app. and then focus in on Irun, the start of the Norte. Play with the magnification until you see the camino as a marked blue line heading north-north-west out of town to a point where it splits: the main camino goes left and its alternative is on the right. The same is true with all the other alternative noted by Peregrina 2000 (and others). They're all right there for you and you don't need to do anything further or play around with downloading other tracks.

Of course, you're probably also going to want some kind of guidebook or guidance on which alternatives are worth taking.

Finally, if you don't like mapping apps at all, you can get the Wisely / Wise Pilgrim app. for around $5. Its gps tracks also show the alternatives.

Overall, since Windy Maps and maps.me are free, and Wisely (or Buen Camino) are very cheap, you can just download all of them and use whatever works best for you.
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the helpful tips. I've downloaded Wisely app, as I found I had a version for Camino Frances already installed which I had used on occasions during my first Camino in 2018.
I have Windy weather app, which I use regularly and is very good, so I'll download the Windy Maps app you have suggested.
I've ordered a guide book from the Forum store, but l'm not sure if it will arrive in time. I have managed to borrow a Spanish guide book published by Rother series of "guia excursionista" to at least get info on towns and accommodation options.
I've made contact with a couple of albergues to check availability. One didn't reply and the other says they are open but can't guarantee that it will stay that way.

 

[Fromista]

AllTrails app?

 

[An Tincéir]

Good morning, afternoon, evening to everyone who has been on El Norte and found good ways to reduce/avoid too much tarmac crunching, especially the more dangerous sections.
I'm interested to find out information from anyone who has any good tips or could recommend an app that shows not only the official route, but also the options that might take me away from the roads more.
I've seen some people use Wikiloc, but that seems to give you a library of actual walks recorded by people. Alternatively, I've seen people like Efrén Gónzalez use Google maps to just plot his own path as and when he needed to.
Alternatively, I could use a guide book with decent maps.
What sayest the knowlegeable and experienced folk out there in the Caminodom? I hope to be starting from Villaviciosa in about a week's time (assuming the other regions in Spain will allow people like me from Madrid to even enter their regions, let alone walk from Asturias to Galicia)

Check out the “Trepidacious Traveller” blog. Magwood has some very good alternatives to the standard route.