Looking for road trip planning software that doesn't ever need the internet.

[iPutz]

For the last fifteen years or so I have been using Delorme's Street Atlas USA for planning road trips but I have run into a problem. Garmin has bought Delorme and the Street Atlas software is no longer being produced. While my current Delorme software is still working I am looking for a replacement and cannot find anything that can be fully installed on a computer or laptop and doesn't have the occasional or constant need for an internet connection. Everything out there these days is either totally online or is just an app for a smartphone or tablet. I'm looking for computer software that has the maps installed on the computer and never needs an internet connection to function. I find it much faster and easier to plan a road trip on my computer and then transfer the finalized trip to my laptop and GPS. Many of my trips are on U.S. back roads and therefor many times I have limited or no access to the internet, hence the need for software that can function without it.

 

[liftedpsd]

Can’t you download full maps on google maps? You are going to want it to update every so often.

 

[iPutz]

If I can download the whole country for use offline later it might work. Will look into it.

 

[scifan57]

The Garmin apps have the ability to download maps for offline use. For example, you can get the Canada/U.S. maps in one package but just download the maps for whichever provinces or states you plan to visit. The maps include detailed street maps for cities and towns.

 

[zstairlessone]

The Garmin apps have the ability to download maps for offline use. For example, you can get the Canada/U.S. maps in one package but just download the maps for whichever provinces or states you plan to visit. The maps include detailed street maps for cities and towns.

I think the app is just like a standalone Garmin GPS (and mine still needs to connect to the internet quarterly to update the maps) or very close to it.

 

[applexman]

I use CoPilot, I have the whole of Europe and bought the whole of North America, you download the maps on wifi and choose how to get updates, on wifi only or through the phone. You can also get speed camera and live traffic on it, and there is a choice of voices in different accents, so if you don't want a cranky woman you can have a male voice that gives you more confidence

It is a great system, I have used it for about 6yrs, this is the website but you can also go straight to the App store, make sure you choose the map option suitable to you, any questions just ask, does walking, cycling, car e.t.c. with optional voice navigation

NOTE: The system ALSO works on an iPad WITHOUT buying the iPad version but clarity is not as good e.g. HD, but still excellent (so if you have an iPad try first with the phone app and you may well find its good enough, it is for me), ALSO NOTE that ONLY iPads with SIM cards have built in GPS so the system WILL NOT work with an offline SIM iPad! You can have the system on more than one device as long as its on your apple ID account.

CoPilot GPS - Navigation for Android, iPhone and iPad

Maps choices here (sometimes cheaper to buy a bigger area just in case as its not that much more expensive):
ALK Technologies Ltd. Apps on the App Store

P.S. They do updates on a regular basis but what has pissed me off is that they are slow bringing out the iPhone X update so I am having to use a much smaller screen than I have on my 7 Plus, I have just finished a 2,000 nile tour of California and would have liked the bigger screen, but then that is my fault for buying the crappy small skinny screen iPhone X

 

[iPutz]

Thank you all for the information. Being retired, I enjoy extended motorcycle trips on the back roads of the US and as often as not I don't have internet or cellular access. The combination of the Garmin GPS and Street Atlas USA software installed on my laptop, has met my needs and requirements perfectly for the last 15 years but based on everyone's suggestions it looks like I will have to settle for occasionally needing to use the internet to accomplish what I want to do. That was the nice thing about the Garmin/Street Atlas combo, I could go for weeks without needing to use the internet for trip planning, especially for the occasional last minute route or destination changes during a trip when I don't have access to the internet. Granted, changes can be worked out on a GPS, but it is infinitely easier to work out all of the numerous details on a laptop with all the mapping software already installed using keyboard and mouse and then transfer the trip to the GPS than it is to do all of that on the small screen of a GPS unit. I may need to resort to a much older technology..........paper maps. LOL
Again, thanks Y'all.

 

[applexman]

Have I just been writing in invisible ink?

CoPilot DOES NOT need internet to use it, only to download it the first time and update it every few months.

 

[iPutz]

Thanks applexman, I appreciate the effort. I was able to download and install the CoPilot software for Windows 7 64 bit but could not get past the screen requiring a product code which I'm guessing cannot be obtained except by purchasing it. I'm not going pay for something when I haven't had a chance to at least take it for a short test drive first.

 

[applexman]

Very strange, I just got this email this evening, I am in the UK but the company ALK Technologies are based at 1 Indepen‌‌dence Way, Princet‌‌on, NJ 085‌‌40, USA, so maybe the discount works in the US as well, hope it helps someone.

 

[NSquirrel]

Can I suggest that you have a look at Pocket Earth. I think it may well cover your needs using the free version.

 

[iPutz]

I thank everyone for all of their suggestions but it seems that many of those suggestions were for apps to be used on mobile devices and that is not what I need. I am looking for mapping software that can be installed on a personal computer or laptop computer which includes all the maps and data needed as part of the installation. For eight or ten years I used Street Atlas USA for initial trip planning, laying out a possible route, planning gas stops, getting point to point mileages, finding accommodations along the way and after doing all of that on a full fledged computer, I would manually transfer the trip onto the GPS. While it's possible to do this on a GPS, it is significantly easier to do the initial planning on a computer's bigger screen with multitasking and a full keyboard and mouse rather than on the small screen of a GPS or mobile Device. Again, thanks to all those who took the time to reply but I'm guessing that with the current push to do all computing in the cloud, what I'm looking to find is the dinosaur of the mapping/trip planning world.