Multipoint Navigating With Google Maps

Discussion in 'Touring' started by johnny, Jul 2, 2025.

  1. I used to be able to load multipoint routes onto my (android) phone as a back ups for my Garmin.

    Naturally I can't do it now.

    I have the routes and can see them both in Maps and Drive but no idea how to open and start them.
    At one point Drive said it could not do them and was switching to browser but it could not do that either.
     
  2. If this is for your forthcoming Span/Portugal trip you might want to consider a trail of MyRouteApp Navigation Next. They offer it fully functional for 14 days as a trail. Not really recommended to try something like this out whilst, or in the the few days leading up to being, away though. A month at £3.95 might be more prudent so you could try it before your tour.

    To load your Garmin GPX routes you would need to also use the MRA Routeplanner, there's a free version called 'Basic' that lacks some of the bells and whistles but will allow you to load your routes and then subsequentially load them into Navigation Next. All routes are in the cloud so once in the MRA Routeplanner they're available in Navigation Next to navigate.

    I was something of a Garmin evangelist, had Garmin devices from the small mono screen Quest all the way through to the Zumo XT. Used MapSource and then Basecamp, steep learning curve and the latter made matters worse, not better. Managed to mater using both but had to use other software supplement missing functionality. Started using MRA Routeplanner in 2021 and went fully MRA a couple of years ago having run my phone alongside the XT on a tour to Germany (at the time Nav Next was in beta, I was one of beta testers). The former was far better at keeping on route and there are none of those unwanted recalculations that mess up your route. The Planner is far more intuitive than Basecamp and has a lot of useful tools.

    Have just completed a tour to the Dolomites and myself and buddy were both using Nav Next, worked very well.

    Other than a user who signed up as a beta tester I have no affiliations with MRA. They work hard to keep adding new functionality to their software and listen to user feedback via their active forum. I have paid for lifetime subscriptions to both Routeplanner Gold and Nav Next, they frequently have sales where these can be bought, as lifetime subs, for around £150.
     
    #2 Bumpkin, Jul 2, 2025
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2025
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  3. We used the Calimoto App when we did Spain and Portugal. You just need to experiment with the various route options in known home areas before you get over there (motorway, non motorway, twisty and winding) as it can send you down some unexpected roads/tracks. Easy to upload gpx files to it though.
     
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  4. I would not dare try something like this at this notice. I would need a good time to settle in.

    I was looking for a short term back up, and I did have success with Maps once upon a time.

    Medium to long term I may have to look at some of the options you mention, particularly MRA.

    My problem is that from working in the industry for some many years I have developed a sort of tech loathing. Secondly depending on time of day and circumstances my meantime to interruption varies from 5 mins to 20 seconds. I just can't appear to concentrate if I am interrupted and that means long swathes of the day when I can't do the simplest of things.

    I went through a lot of pain with Garmin/Mapsource/Base camp and can get it to work most times.

    When I used it from A to B it did not show the quickest route so lots to do.
     
  5. I recently travelled from Barcelona to Porto on my classic MV Agusta. 1200miles on mainly small roads.
    My route was on 6 sheets of A4 paper which you can put on a roller device or tank bag window.

    Personally I find sat nav technology too stressful as I don't really trust it, and I lose any real sense of where I am, just following instructions.
    I look at the route before travelling on google maps on my PC (not a phone). Street view is great for looking at road junctions and noting direction signs.
    On the rare occasions I take a wrong turn, I then stop and look at maps on my phone, which tells me where I am, compared with the route I thought I was taking.

    Not for everyone, but works fine for me.
     
    #5 Geoffrey Lebowski, Jul 2, 2025
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2025
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  6. I completely hear you on trying something new immediately before a trip, without referring back to the other thread I wasn't sure how long you have prior to departure.

    Given this I would suggest an old school solution; a Michelin map, 591 of the Regional series, as your backup. If you use a tank-bag with a pocket then either the folded map or a slip of paper with some notes (road numbers and towns) will, as @Geoffrey Lebowski has alluded to, suffice. As previously mentioned in my post above the green edged roads are usually ideal. This was the backup for my Garmin back in the day and also ideal for the bigger overview. After all you're on a solo tour, you have the luxury of taking your time with no one to answer to.

    I have a pretty large collection of the Michelin regional map series that I still use for the initial planning stages of my tours.

    20191020_135652.jpg
    My old 1260s passing through the Duro.
     
    #6 Bumpkin, Jul 2, 2025
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2025
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  7. OMG does she look a picture. I would love to know the exact location Bumpkin. Its a good idea. My first ever tour was to the Cotswolds with a taknk bage and what I called pace notes.
     
  8. Works for me too, I think the trick with the satnav options is to use it a guide but don't slavishly follow it if you don't have to ;)
     
  9. It's in the cobbled layby here. Villa Real bridge in the background. It's a little north of the Duro, not by much though and a nice road.

    That solo trip was in 2019 and was to Serra da Estrela National Park, pretty well in the middle of Portugal, from Santander and back. Crossed the Duro on the way down to the east, next to Spanish border, and coming back crossing back over, about half way across Portugal. On the way down did the N221, nice road, crossing the bridge at Barca de Alva.

    This trip was in October, was a bit cold crossing the Picos on the way home...
    76747495_180308486443238_8783239791408840704_n.jpg
     
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  10. With MRA I did try and managed to get a fair way.

    I uploaded routes and it all looked good. Then it told me I needed a subscription to run them so I gambled 3.95 (whooho) But To run them i "think" i Need Gold and MyRouteplanner as well?
     
  11. If this has been said or is no use, sorry. I’ve scanned the first post and scrolled down to reply.

    I convert Google maps files to gpx using mapstogpx.com. I usually do this when downloading a route that someone else has planned using google.

    I then load those into my little Beeline.
     
  12. Thanks Basecamp will convert to KML. i used to do that and it worked fairly well but no more !
     
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  13. I am here to vouch for MRA tools, both planner and navigator. Bit the bullet, bought lifetime gold level for both. IT was some bundled deal, I recall costing me £150 or so. But looking long term, if I was subscribed, after two years would be at a loss. So bit of a gamble on my part, but so far I have not been let down. Some learning pains, but isn't that always the case with new things. I've been well settled into this by now, and from my point of view, gamble payed off. I use phone with quadlock mount. I'm exporting GPX files for my mate who runs tomtom on mobile, works for both of us. Planning on PC, opening a phone, and route is there automatically - that is well seemless. No hitting save button, so export, no import. None of that friction. Prepare it on PC, open on phone, and ride. Priceless.
     
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  14. I didn’t think you need Gold to export and save files?

    I export them from MRA app on my phone (either .gpx 1.0 or 1.2 work best and then use Garmin Drive app to transfer it to my Garmin XT.

    @Bumpkin an probably advise more.

    I used to use Basecamp a lot but I’ve found MRA to be far superior.
     
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  15. Pretty sure that with the basic route-planner on your PC, (not the non committal non signed in version, you'll need to create a free MRA account. This side is completely free) you should then be able to load your Garmin GPX files and then see and navigate them on MRA Nav Next.

    In Nav Next, signed into the same MRA account as the planner, you need to go to Routes & Tracklogs via the top left hamburger menu to find your routes.
     
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  16. Some great input, thanks to all.

    I cooled down and had a go this morning MRA converts file and shows routes. I have my 3.95 monthly for Myplanner and found that my files would open and a route started. I walked down the lane and found it all worked.

    Easy to follow and by tech standard light years ahead of anything else. Thanks to Bumpkin and all others I now have a backup that my OCD demands if something goes south with Garmin. Really appreciate the patience shown by all
     
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  17. Glad that you managed to sort it out. Just tested a free MRA account that I have for texting purposes by logging out of Nav Next on my old phone and back in under the free account. All seems to work OK.

    One thing of note, if you're that bothered, check that the GPX file from Basecamp is faithfully replicated in Nav Next. The basic route planner uses OpenStreetMap routing which may differ from Garmin Basecamp and your Garmin GPS. They use HERE mapping which is available in the Gold version of the MRA route planner (and is used by Nav Next). This will mean, if you have Gold, that routes in the planner should route as expected in Nav Next. I see from your Basecamp screen grab that you've used plenty of routing nodes where it appears to matter so you should be OK on the road but there could be differences in the Basic planner. I hope that makes sense.

    Once you're back maybe try a month of MRA Routeplaner Gold and check out what it's capable of. A worthy successor to Basecamp and with things like Google Streetview built in along with many other useful tools really help with trip planning.
     
  18. All this makes my head hurt !!!!!
     
  19. Don't look then :joy:

    Totally get the navigate using a map method, we all used to do that, well those of us old enough...

    Though the ability to plan routes across lesser roads using planning software and a phone or GPS makes progress and thus distance more viable in the limited amount of time I have available for touring. For me the trip is not necessarily the destination area but in the getting there too. Doing this with map is possible, I used to do it, but you inevitably arrive later or cover less ground.
     
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