[SS-Traveller]

I just came across this rather interesting but old-fashioned set of directions to reach a resort.



We are so used to punching in the name of our destination on Google Map on our smartphones, that the thought of following directions like these seems almost blasphemous, We follow the GPS directions, at times so blindly that we sometimes land into more trouble than we bargained for (Harrier stuck | Google Maps terror | GoDigit RSA for rescue), or even imperil our lives,

Yet, even as late as at the beginning of the 21st century, we depended on paper maps, landmarks, and local pedestrians & shopkeepers to tell us where to go. Road trips involved possessing bunches of paper maps, which included Survey of India maps, TTK maps, and the mother of them all, the Automobile Association of Eastern India's Motoring Guide of India.

As someone who had begun embarking on roadtrips well before GPS and GMaps were household words, I am used to looking at paper maps and asking truck drivers as well as locals for directions to specific landmarks. The latter option (asking locals) may not be possible in many First World countries today with their freeways and lack of habitation along these roads, but it still has its uses in India. Today, I depend on Google Maps for most of the directions to an unknown destination, but I am not averse to asking locals either. Paper maps have all been stored away at home, and I don't even know where my copy of the Motoring Guide of India is - to me, paper maps nowadays are a cumbersome item to carry around and refer to.

So let us hear from you: when travelling to an unknown destination, how do you find your way?

Also, tell us anecdotes about your unique experiences while searching for directions, using whatever means (GPS, paper maps, asking locals).

Incidentally, the credit for showing us the directions to the resort goes to BHPian ALTIMAed. He asked the owner what stopped him from marking the place on Google Maps. Apparently, the last 250m of unsealed road to the resort have not been mapped by Google, and GMap consistently tries to send drivers through some other route if they follow a pin dropped on the place.

[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!

[Keeleri_Achu]

I'll have navigation running on my phone almost all the time to get an idea of the traffic ahead. If it's a known destination, I'll judge whether to take the main route or alternate depending on the traffic information. It it's an unknown destination, after I get to the general vicinity, I'll look for sign boards or stop and ask a local. Especially when navigation tries to route you through a questionable road that'll supposedly save you 2 mins.

Over the years, I've ended up at an under construction fly over, a check dam and a flight of stairs at a temple to name a few. In all three instances I could see the main route I was supposed to take once I got there. All of them happened at night and between 2011 and 2014. Thankfully, I had space to make a U-turn join the main road.

Navigation systems have come a long way in the past decade. But they are still not 100% reliable. It's still a wise choice to keep humans in the loop (after considering the safety aspect). At the end of the day, if you drive into a river or get stuck on a hill, you only have yourself to blame. Don't put that on the navigation system.

[landcruiser123]

US: Mostly GPS if I don't the directions to my destination.

India: GPS + Ask Locals. The more remote the area, the more unreliable the maps. Having local intelligence helps in all cases. Heck, my uncles would suggest alternate routes in when I visited Chennai. Most of those suggested routes actually saved time compared to google maps.

Must say that Google maps keeps improving everyday

An alternate thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...wns-death.html (Man drives onto submerged bridge after following Google Maps, drowns to death)

[Sanidhya mukund]

Most of the time, I use either Google Maps or the inbuilt GPS system of my car. I prefer the inbuilt GPS system over G-maps as it is displayed on the screen itself, so doesn’t distract you from the road.
These work pretty well in Delhi-NCR and neighbouring areas:



However, on many instances, Google maps has been super unreliable and taken me to roads and areas where any sane person wouldn’t even think of venturing into. As far as the cars GPS is concerned, it has its limitations as it can only access map data that is already stored in it and since the car is 7 years old, so is the map data. I have had situations where the inbuilt GPS went completely blank:


In such scenarios I only rely on directions from locals and my own instinct.
Thus, I voted for use GPS plus ask locals. In India, you can’t always rely on technology, can you?

[KiloAlpha]

There is another option that one can use to seek directions to a destination - use signboards that are put up on the road side.

I find that Google Maps is fairly reliable, as long as it is used as a map on the computer/smartphone screen. Its algorithm for plotting a route is quite suspect!

If I am going to an unknown destination, I will first just look at the map and plot the route myself. Since I have plotted the route manually on a map, I will follow signboards (if available) for turn offs. Signboards are particularly useful when one is going to a well known hotel/resort in a remote location - they (mostly) put up large signs directing people on the correct road towards their property. I also find that if I get close to my destination (like, say, a prominent landmark), and then start asking the locals about how to get to the destination, I almost always reach my destination correctly and with minimum drama.

I do switch on GPS also, but I choose to ignore the directions whenever the lady insists I drive into small lanes. I use the GPS as a redundant system - primary is my own route planning plus signboards and asking locals for directions. The backup system is GPS. GPS has directed me correctly sometimes, in the absence of signboards and whenever I miss my own planned route.

EDIT: Adding an anecdote.
As late as 2014, while in the US, I did two road trips - Atlanta GA to Boston, and Chattanooga TN to Austin TX. I did not have a phone that I could use for GPS, and my rental car did not have in-built GPS. So I had to resort to looking at Google Maps on the laptop and writing directions down on a paper to guide me. I also followed road signs. This meant plotting the main route and some alternates. I wrote it all down on a sheet of paper that I pinned to the passenger seat (driving alone has it advantages). In this case, when I was planning my routes, I would also look at the satellite view and street view to make notes of what to expect. That helped enormously. Net result? Two road trips completed without a hiccup.

[Bibendum90949]

Voted for Use GPS + ask locals. Reasons as below

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

I've been a google maps user since it's advent. My two cents from experience.

1. If you were to drive on an unfamiliar long route, always do your home work on the way points you'll need to pass through. Make a mental note of the towns you would need to touch etc. Have a fair idea on the distances between them and keep a note of it handy.

2. If you have followed point 1, we would never be confused even if Google suggests a detour off the highway and we can remain confident on our heading. One can ignore such suggestions and it will reroute back through the main highway.

3. It's better to add stops(after studying the places/towns you're supposed to touch during your journey) than setting the starting point and final destination. This to be done religiously if you're to drive in the night through an unfamiliar route.

4. When in doubt, follow the tried and tested method - roll down the windows and ask people. Having google maps at times gives us a wrong sense of security.

5. At nights, if we are forced to take a detour owing to a blocked highway, it's better to wait for few vehicles to join us and try and move in convoy. Even if you lose your way, you're not alone and hence much safer.

6. On very long road trips that spans weeks, follow the old school practice of carrying a physical road map. It can give much more information at a glance than any of our big screens can provide. It doesn't need any network connectivity to open that multi fold map/atlas

[GTO]

Unknown place within Bombay - Google Maps only. Works 99% of the time.

Unknown place while driving outstation - Google Maps + asking locals at major junctions. Have heard too many horror stories of Google Maps taking you the wrong way in smaller towns & villages. If Google Maps is taking me off the main highway or road artery, I will always ask the locals.

[Dr.AD]

I have been using GPS Maps since they became available. I was one of the early customers of MapMyIndia Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs). I used that extensively before Google Maps became so useful in India, and since about 2013 or so, I use Google Maps for every single drive. I simply love this GPS navigation technology and using GPS navigation is a fun it itself for me :-)

I also enjoy doing my research in advance about the routes and potential hazards. That includes reading team-bhp forums and checking the route suggestions here. That almost always gives invaluable advice. With this information, I make a mental map of the route, and then use Google Maps for the actual navigation. This combination has worked well for me in all the remote/unknown drives I have taken so far.

However, I do not trust Google Maps when it navigates me in a suspicious way, or asks me to take a diversion from the highway for no apparent reason. If this happens, I usually pull over, stop, and zoom in and check where the maps are taking me and if this will join the main road again. I do some manual plotting in such cases.

On a rare occasion I had to stop and ask locals, and I am OK with doing that on a rare occasion.

I have not used paper maps in India since almost a decade. I used to use the Rand McNally Road Atlas in the US before the GPS era, but I do not know if anything like that even exists in India? Do we even get sufficiently detailed paper maps if we need? I have not seen any paper map in India since 2010 or so.

In summary, over last 10 years, I would say my experiences have been approximately like these: 80% just follow Google Maps; 15% stop and manually add/modify Google Maps routes; 5% ask locals; 0% use paper maps!

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Also, tell us anecdotes about your unique experiences while searching for directions, using whatever means (GPS, paper maps, asking locals).

One time when I really had to use all my navigational skills was during my solo monsoon drive in 2016. I was stuck in flooded Kolhapur area. I had to find my way out of the floods, and I had to use everything - Google Maps, asking locals, my own common sense and some trial and error explorations to find my way out. I have written about that here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ml#post4023135 (My monsoon solo: 2000 km & 7 days of wandering through Konkan, Goa and Western Karnataka)

[ashis89]

I chose GPS + ask locals.However there's a catch.

Based on past experiences, Gmaps has misled me few times especially in rural areas, diverting me through narrow lanes or walking paths or even agricultural fields. I stick to the highway as much as possible. If I am being led off it, I check the map to see if the highway will continue towards my destination even if it's slightly longer and prefer to stick to it.

Similarly villagers, locals and even truckers have suggested routes where the road conditions were not the best. They can't gauge which is the best road fit for your car! In most of these cases, there was a slightly longer but much better road which they didn't suggest. Sometimes language becomes a barrier too, for me.

So before starting on any planned trip, I do research on our forum and HVK fb group for all recent road updates and have always been grateful for the information received!

When I come across as 'off' road path and don't have an alternative, I do a recce as much as possible before proceeding further.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

There is another option that one can use to seek directions to a destination - use signboards that are put up on the road side.

Good point there! Works pretty well in developed countries especially. For e.g.; whenever I drive in the US, relying on the road signs (even on B-roads) and Google maps via Apple CarPlay / Android Auto always worked perfectly.

In general I find Google maps pretty useful, even in some interior roads in Kerala it works pretty well. And otherwise there is always the option of asking the locals

[Thermodynamics]

Those days are gone, before every long journey, spread a map, workout a route and ask locals to affirm directions. Here we are today, start navigation and forget even the basic sense of how long have we travelled.

But IMO, even today asking locals has significance.

Examples:
- Want to know about road conditions, or if your vehicle can manage
- Any procession or local restrictions in place
- Is it safe to take in the wee hours
- When crossing a forest, tips can be life saving.

Even advanced countries aren't immune. For example, when I went to US, my phone got bricked in the middle of nowhere. It was the locals who helped me navigate, also due credit to the efficient signage system.

PS: It'll be interesting to look at this thread a decade later, when all those algorithms would have matured.

[anandhsub]

Voted for the first option since that's always the first preference but I do ask locals in case google maps leads me to some narrow alleys. Its been a few years since I had to do this though.

[paragsachania]

It has been pretty simple till now:

• Known circuits and known destinations: No need of navigation
• Unknown or new Circuits: Check with my network of friends and then use Googlemaps

I had picked up a dedicated navigation unit way back in 2012 when I first drove on the Golden Quadrilateral and it was indeed super helpful. However, the same device today is used to record and log my routes and get insights about various circuits that I drive, like this:





Diligent use of googlemaps:

There is no doubt that these online maps have been immensely helpful till now. However, I always assess the condition of routes based on the time the maps show between 2 points. Slower progress between 2 points is due to:

- Road work in Progress (Maps will generally alert and mark this)
- Single carriageway with lot of traffic (You will see amber for steady slow-moving traffic)
- Single carriageway with bad road conditions (no hints about traffic)
- Twisty Ghat roads

Conversely, you can easily get all the hints on how good and fast the road is likely to be when you see google estimate really lower time for large distances: Eg: 3.5 hours for 300 Km

I also don't give my final destination based on fastest route all the times. If at all alternate routes exists and they are shown, I compare the 2 routes by plotting via points and see how much difference 2 non-common sections of the alternate routes is making vis-a-vis the distance and then take the conscious call to pick the desired route.

As an example, when I was driving to Bombay from Aurangabad last week, a section showed more than 75 minutes for a distance of mere 28 Km and the reason was this:



Road work for almost the entire length of this stretch with almost zero traffic and no wonder maps never showed any traffic on this too.

I think, overall, with a lot of experience and using maps, one gets to learn saner usage of such technologies and how often we can rely on them. But above all, having a good network of friends always helps to know the latest conditions.

I would regularly get in touch with a friend at Bharuch and check on the traffic pattern on the then dreaded Ankleshwar-Bharuch stretch on Bombay-Ahmedabad highway and then take a call whether to take the regular highway to cross the bridge or take the route inside towns via Golden Bridge.

[narayans80]

I spend a lot of time on routes study all over India (mostly on places I've been and those I'd like to visit) and read up experiences from those who've driven. So bulk of the routes I chart are from mix and matching these experiences and leveraging Google Maps to take me through it.

And mine prioritize my own sanity/peace of mind while driving over distances, like this 60 km detour (Chennai - Kumbakonam : Route Queries) on a 300 km drive. So ask any taxi driver, and he will not suggest routes I ever take.

On familiar ground I tend to be experimental like this route (Chennai - Kumbakonam : Route Queries) to ECR destinations south of Chidambaram-Sirkazhi, or taking the ECR to Chengalpattu from home.

The only time I ever ask locals or call up the destination is for absolute last mile destinations that are hidden from plain sight like Hubli Hotel Metropolis (that's tucked on the 1st-2nd floor) of a mall.

So my vote is on Google Maps, with a whole lot of browbeating to navigate the route I have in mind.