Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite
5

Can anyone recommend an offline mapping application for Mac (something similar to Google Maps, but that works when not connected to the internet)? Ten years ago, Microsoft Streets and Trips worked well for Windows, but I'm looking for something similar now for Mac.

share|improve this question
Are you intending to use car driving, topographic, geopolitical, trails, or some other type of goal for filtering the world down into a map? – bmike♦ Jul 1 '12 at 14:08
@bmike My primary goal is twofold: car driving (actually checking maps while stopped at rest areas et al.) and pedestrian exploration at a destination without counting on having (affordable, reliable) WiFi at a hotel or friend's house where visiting. – Daniel Lawson♦ Jul 2 '12 at 17:03

5 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted
+100

Planito seems to be a good app for offline map viewing. It allows you to cache and view many different maps:

Planito does cost $4.99, but there is a trial available.

share|improve this answer
Actually, the app costs almost whopping 25% more than you've stated. – koiyu Jul 5 '12 at 15:52
@koiyu How so? The website says $4.99. – daviesgeek Jul 5 '12 at 16:02
I bought it for $4.99… – Daniel Lawson♦ Jul 5 '12 at 16:33
@koiyu Oh. I see. I forgot the .99 :-) – daviesgeek Jul 5 '12 at 16:36
up vote 3 down vote

RouteBuddy is a dedicated off-line mapping tool that seems to fit your needs. It's not cheap ($60 plus taxes) but it is very impressive.

I downloaded the trial version which comes pre-loaded with vector street maps of Santa Fe, NM and a topographic map of Yosemite National Park. You can (without internet) easily search addresses, navigate, set waypoints, etc. and their website also lists several other features such as route statistics/elevation data/GPS support, among others, which I presume is available only in the full version.

Since this is an offline mapping tool, you'll have to download the maps and check everything before your trip. Although it feels a bit slow to zoom in the first time, it's faster the second time onwards, once the data has been cached.

Below are a couple of screenshots of Santa Fe, NM and Yosemite as seen in the app. enter image description here enter image description here

share|improve this answer
But can it download maps for offline use? I can't find any mention of such functionality. – leberwurstsaft Jul 1 '12 at 16:18
@leberwurstsaft See this page: " This is an off-line mapping application which needs to build a cache suited to your needs." – rm -rf Jul 1 '12 at 17:01
up vote 2 down vote

OpenStreetMap Wiki

...has listed a large collection of software which uses it's data for Mac/PC or mobile devices.

enter image description here

share|improve this answer
The list, however, doesn't really tell you about the offline features, except for three of the entries in their descriptions. You'll have to check each of them out and will notice that most of them are not in development anymore. – leberwurstsaft Jul 1 '12 at 16:13
@leberwurstsaft Yeah, once I realized this I immediately deleted the question. But the OP saw it and wondered why I deleted it because he found it helpful. So, I undeleted it again. – gentmatt Jul 1 '12 at 16:20
up vote 1 down vote

This is a terrible cop-out of an answer, but the best solution I've found so far is to run Microsoft Streets and Trips under Windows on my Mac.

I tried Garmin BaseCamp with my GPS attached to the computer via USB cable. The software was slow, clunky, and unwieldy, compounded by the fact that I had a large item hanging off of my computer. So amazingly and unfortunately, the best mapping software I've been able to run on my Mac involved booting into Windows.

share|improve this answer
I'd love to see a better answer, and would be happy to unaccept this answer and accept yours if anyone can find online mapping software that works well on a Mac. – Daniel Lawson♦ Sep 8 '11 at 5:24
Actually, curated data is still superior to the open source mapping data in 2012. A scan or a paper map delivers the information needed better than opening a laptop, so unless you need detailed search capabilities or are not driving on even minor roads, it's hard to beat scanning paper maps into PDF form. – bmike♦ Jul 5 '12 at 15:53
up vote 0 down vote

This might be working for you. It's not been updated in a year, though, and requires a tiny bit of extra work upfront to get it up and running. Offline support is advertised.

http://code.google.com/p/maps4mac/

Then there's also http://www.mifki.com/planito/ which costs $4.99 but has a free demo. It's not open source.

share|improve this answer

We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.