[kraken]

Voted : Use GPS + ask locals.

I used to depend only on maps to reach places, especially after messaging platforms came with share location feature. But a really scary yet so funny incident during a Bangalore - Goa drive made me want to check in with the locals everytime.

My dad shared a very wise tip during a trip to Munnar. Ask taxi/auto guys if you are unsure. They know the place and the way out. It's such an obvious yet an overlooked life hack !

In metros and places where stopping for a second will invite an orchestra of various horns, I make sure to ask someone at a signal. And I don't mind driving an extra couple of kms to ask or make a u turn to find a spot to park the vehicle safely and inquire.

[kamilharis]

Google maps - Always ON &

Asks to locals randomly on the way, and more frequently while nearing the location if the roads look congested or remote.

[Redex]

Hi SS Traveller,
the problem I have with directions is not so much how to get there, but how to find the exact house, building, shop, garage or whatever I am trying to find. (especially if they are not on a printed map or Google Map).
I have found a very useful, (especially when I am in India), app. It works by dividing the entire surface of the planet including the sea, into 3 metre squares.
The "what3words" location never goes out of date.
Just get someone to give you their "what3words" location and it will pinpoint exactly where you need to be.
Enter the 3 words separated with a full stop "."

For example, the "3 words" for one of may favourite bars when I am in Goa.
"Honey Beach Shack" Arambol is :

suspense.redial.thawed

You can use it without loading the app, just go to www.what3words.com and enter the address or search for your own location. Try it.
It is best to pinpoint the location using the Google Earth satellite image rather than the map image. It makes it easier to identify the exact location (satellite and map images vary slightly).
It is also very useful if you need "way points", for example, "take the left turn about 500 metres from from the temple, simply use the "what3words" location to pinpoint the junction. !!!

I have recently used "what3words" to provide an exact location to receive a parcel delivery, saves the driver the frustration of trying to find your house.
Best use was when the injection pump of my Ford Focus failed on an expressway in the U.K. I was able to give the exact location of my car to the recovery company. Saving them the problem of trying to work out where I was on a long stretch of anonymous road. Saved a lot of wasted time.

Regards Neil

[r0ckstar.1]

Great thread! well, for most of the time Google maps work and I haven't been disappointed. Although Google can send you to roads that doesn't exist and make life quite difficult , especially when you are with family

Reminds me of a specific trip that me and my friends took to Leh/Ladakh couple of years ago, when we drove from bangalore in 2 SUVs and we covered more than 9000Kms in 14 days. A particular leg of this trip was a drive from Pangong Tso lake (entry area where the 3-idiots final scene was filmed) to Merak. This looks like a shorter drive of about 30kms. We left at around 5:30pm towards Merak and soon we found ourselves driving along the lake side without any visible roads and in complete darkness. There was only GPS signal and nothing else in sight. It was terrifying Sometimes we were just driving on water and had to stop to make sure we were not driving deep into the lake by flashing torches and move slowly. THat's the scariest drive i have had till now. We had no clue how far we were from Merak camp and literally were in crawling speed, when we saw lights of another vehicle (a bolero) coming in the opposite direction. He saw us, stopped and asked in sign language where we are going? we just said Merak. He turned around and asked us to follow him. Next 5 kms we just drove behind him. He stopped at someplace in the dark and indicated us to take a right turn on a dirt road and left back. An angel that night, without whom we would never have figured out that place or even worse would have driven into Pangong Tso lake

So, the learning for us was never to drive in darkness in unknown territory without any known/available routes.

[SRM]

Within Bombay - Google maps to keep a check on the traffic

Outside Bombay - the preference is as below:
(1) Car in-built navigation by MapmyIndia - As this has been the most reliable in ensuring that I reach the correct address
(2) Google Maps - intermittently mainly to check traffic status on the route to see if there are no unforeseen delays waiting, have had many mishaps following only Gmaps so can't trust it completely anymore
(3) Locals - if the above 2 do not provide a definitive answer or stuck in a jam, the locals always have a way out for you

[Vishal.R]

In theory my preferred option is "Use GPS + ask locals"

But in reality, many times I still ended up making same mistake again of going for "Use GPS (Google Maps, Waze etc.) and coordinates only" and ended up with typical issues with this option again.

[TrackDay]

Voted for the most popular option in the house : Use GPS + ask locals.

A lot also depends on where (City to City) and in which country I am driving. In Nations with proper sign boards, one can easily catch on the exit & entry ramps off/on highways/expressways without GPS. Whereas travelling between districts one can miss crucial by-pass or exits on some roads in our country. In such scenarios a GPS is a must to inform us in advance due to lack of proper before hand information.

I do wonder how it must have been to travel in the old days with your passenger doing the maps and keeping track of one's location. I do envy that and hope to replicate that one day. Perhaps a road trip in the USA, the old fashioned way one day.


As for using GPS (mainly Google maps) the reason I rely on a mix of locals is also due to the embarrassing or tight situations I have landed in. I have actually reached roads where only two wheelers could further proceed and could not turn the car. Had to reverse the whole distance .

Almost close shaves

One can also land in an unfamiliar area, even within one's own city where the local folks keep staring at you making you want to get out of the area as soon as possible.

Another advantage in asking locals once in a while could be to be pre-informed about the road conditions. This could be during the tea break or in the fuel depot. They can tell us the kind of roads ahead. Perhaps that could be a feature added to G-Maps later on. Although we get warning about road works & traffic jams we never get an idea about the kind of road surface, water logging etc.


(All images are from Google Images)

[supremeBaleno]

Having started inter-state driving in the 90s, the lifesavers were paper maps & asking locals for directions.
That has mostly stayed the same, though I now lookup the route online and prefer a printout with notes, than Apps.

Last month I was driving wifey from Kochi to her election duty booth (St.Joseph's school, few kms from Aluva) with
the GMaps lady on her phone guiding the way as I drove - take left in 200ms, then right, then left.
With all those turns through interior roads, I had lost track of the route & was wondering how I would return after dropping her.

She suggested I use GMaps on my phone so that I can return home without issues. Since I don't like & am not comfy with these Apps,
I said I will just ask a human the way home. "You should use the latest tech. See how easily we reached our destination".
Just as she says this, the GMap lady says, "Your destination is on the left".

The only issue is that we are at the dead-end of a residential colony & there's no school there. Luckily a human is around
who says, "You have come the wrong way. Get back to the main road & the school is further down on the main road".
Total thug-life moment for me as I look at her.

After dropping her, I ask a guy how I can get back to Kochi. "Drive straight on this road for 6kms to reach Aluva, then take a left to Kochi".
Totally simple. No left & right through paddy fields like we did on our way there. Wonder how much time/fuel we wasted on our onward journey going through winding/crowded interior roads, instead of taking the main road.

Sometimes, humans trump the best Apps. Atleast in India.

[Aniket Verma]

After covering almost 70% of the country by Road & staying 10 years b/w Mumbai, Hyderabad & Bangalore, my reliance on Google Maps is now absolute.

I have now completely abandoned the fine old art of asking the Locals for Unknown destinations, as it saves you from embarrassment & frustration after engaging locals through a mix of Key words & sign language. Nothing feels as bad as coming back 30/40/50 Km as some send you in wrong direction, or you miss a local landmark. Name of important places in vernacular languages (small Govt. office / Post Office / Pick-post ) are also of no help to non-natives.

So this is now my SOP for visiting new places now:

1) Study the route on Google Map (Desktop Version)
2) Check on online forums & blogs, Team-Bhp forums are goldmine
3) Map best possible route using way points on Google Map (Desktop Version)
4) Re-confirm with people from destination
5) Whenever in doubt stick to NH / SH
6) Send the final route to mobile device & email (as backup)
7) Download the route & concerned maps on mobile, to avoid no/poor network scenarios.
8) While en-route, keep checking your progress with general direction sense.

Till now, this has worked flawlessly for me .

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Route/Travel Queries. Thanks for sharing!

I have voted for Use GPS + ask Locals. You have asked for unique experiences while searching for directions - I have had so many over the years that it will need a separate thread Some of them have been scary and a few absolutely hilarious!

Thanks Black Pearl. I completely agree with you. I once tried Map My India and it was Hilarious as most of the time I was driving in Space .

My preferred mode is asking locals and the cops. This was you get real time updates and the best directions.

Regards
RoS

[whitewing]

For Local travel, it almost is always google maps and find its traffic routing is quite good.

For unfamiliar routes involving longer drives. Post having a horror experience with google maps, some years back, I do not rely on google navigation during long drives. Though it is used to cross check my location awareness. However for most of the times during a drive, it is not even turned on.

My general approach is
Planning Stage
a) I check Google maps on desktop
b) Check for route information online
c) Take a print out of specific legs of the route (if it is a longer drive or drive in rural area)
d) Kind of memorize the preferred route

During the drive
a) Ask locals (this is a hit and miss, lot of judgement comes to play )
b) Recheck on location in google maps during pitstops, re-calibrate by asking locals and compare with my planned route

In short, I try to put in some effort in getting a route plan and largely go by that. And the co-passenger gets to look out for landmarks/signposts like an old fashioned navigator.

[Wanderers]

Voted none. I wanted to vote for third option but gone are the days, when you can rely on people on road or it may not be safe due to heavy traffic, highways and unknown place or local conditions.

What about using GPS (google map) with some common sense as one of the option for voting.

I always use google map, both for direction and traffic. When I am visiting unknown place, before I start, on mobile phone I try to locate the place with reference to some known location or highway. Look for alternate route option if available and now days I also look for rivers, canal and bridges if visiting some tourist location. But I know we cannot review entire route so common sense should prevail.

[luvDriving]

Google maps is fairly reliable but I also have been misled multiple times by the google lady. Once it directed me to drive straight into the Arabian sea ! Maybe the sea level rose after the last google maps update.

I prefer to set the exact location on google maps (if available) else I set the closest location that I can find and then depend on the locals to guide me correctly. This is specially useful in konkan areas where the connection is also sketchy and mapping can be incorrect.

The last time I travelled, both google maps and the locals failed to direct me correctly. But thankfully my Vista took me safely through slush / broken roads and even through outgrowth (3 feet high) to reach the highway.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by Redex

I have found a very useful, (especially when I am in India), app.
For example, the "3 words" for one of may favourite bars when I am in Goa.
"Honey Beach Shack" Arambol is :
suspense.redial.thawed

This seems more like a marketing pitch than a sensible reply. Maybe this works great in U.K, but in India if I go on searching for a place with 3 words "sparseness.oblivious.nightly" , my journey will take forever.

[PaddleShifter]

The strategy I find best is to:

- research on Google Maps and drop pins at important locations.
- discuss in forums, facebook travel groups to seek info on road quality etc as those who have traveled on this route recently will be of much help.
- select best route option and proceed.
- ask locals in case of doubt. I generally have got request for lifts in such scenarios and therefore I tend to avoid this as much as possible.

I have started using Apple CarPlay now as it offers a split screen view and you can use Siri voice commands to play music via Spotify (I dont have Apple music subscription and Amazon Music is only compatible with Alexa). Navigation using Waze and Google Maps offers similar experience. I hope Waze catches up fast in India as it also allows adding report on speed cams, police, traffic jams etc.