My backup: Navigation using Organic Maps

While I mainly use a Garmin navigation device on my journeys, I need a backup just in case it breaks. With the mobile app Organic.Maps I found a great solution. Organic.Maps is a fork of Maps.me that was formed when Maps.me started offering paid services.

Characteristics of Organic Maps

Organic.Maps is available for iOS and Android, uses Openstreetmap Data and is free.

Tracks can be displayed in colour and in different line widths. This allows routes with alternatives to be shown crisp. See example in the colours magenta / cyan where magenta represents the main route and cyan the alternative that you can follow if you like.
Waypoints can be displayed in colour – but without icons. A distinction of meaning can therefore only be made by colour coding (see Izmir area: blue pin = transportation, red = sights and orange = accommodation).
Organic.Maps can handle GPX. BUT: To make full use of Organic.Maps’ capabilities, all data should be transferred in a proprietary KML format. I have written a program that converts the Basecamp GPX data to Organic.Maps KML (see below).
There are different ways to import your KML into Organic Maps.
1) My preferred way: Using the “share” function within an application (see example later).
2) iOS user can use “File Sharing” (drag & drop) within iTunes. The KML data must be stored in a “bookmarks” folder on your PC that can be drag & dropped at Organic.Maps (not Maps.me!).
Android user may copy the files directly or use “Wifi Pro FTP Server” to do so.

The share way:

The easiest way to use your KML with Organic.Maps is to share it from a chat app like whatsapp or signal. Both apps have a function to send yourself a message. Use that to send yourself the KML.
Whatsapp is used on an Apple mobile in the following example. Using Android mobiles, it shouldn’t work much different.

1) On your PC, convert your GPX file using GPX_2_KML_4_Orga. Find the program later here.
2) Drag & Drop that new KML file onto “Whatsapp Web” by sending yourself a message.

Send a KML to yourself using “Whatsapp Web” on your computer

3) Now use your mobile:

Import a KML file into Organic Maps on your mobile. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The iTunes way:

Drag and drop “bookmarks” folder via iTunes / File Sharing

Route planning

The planning of the routes (tracks & waypoints) is done as usual in Basecamp.

Screenshot from Basecamp. Planning data for a trip through west of of Turkey. See mainroutes in magenta, alternatives in cyan or green.

From Basecamp, the planning data is exported as GPX and converted into KML using my program GPX_2_KML_4_Orga.exe. Exporting directly from Basecamp to KML will not fully suit colors etc!
In the end it looks something like this:

Screenshot from my mobile showing the planning for a trip through the west of Turkey. See the different colors for the tracks as well as for the pins!

Best Practice

To increase readability, it is a good idea to divide a longer tour into individual routes (e.g. by day). This gives you the possibility to switch on/off the individual routes (days) in Organic.Maps. In addition, you can see immediately where the day’s stage starts and ends.

The Program

To convert the GPX data into a meaningful KML for Organic Maps I wrote this program.

GPX_2_KML_4_Orux.exe (The program. No installation necessary – just use it.)
GPX_2_KML.json (A control file that you can customise – but you can also leave it as it is).
You can find instructions on how to handle the program on Github. Read them before using the program!

Download GPX_2_KML_4_Orga

The program is published on Github.
Select the green button “<> Code”
Select: Download ZIP
Unload the ZIP File to a working directory.
On Github follow the readme.
If you want to know more details, see the readme-licence.pdf.