5-10 MB
saved per navigation hour
50-150 MB
typical city-sized download
15 days
before Google Maps auto-expires

Across a 14-day trip with regular navigation, offline maps save 200-500 MB of cellular data. On a typical 5 GB travel eSIM plan, that is 4-10 percent of your total allowance, recoverable for the price of a few minutes of prep. The bigger win is reliability: offline maps still work in metro tunnels and rural areas where the eSIM signal does not.

Google Maps (iPhone and Android)

Same flow on both platforms. The download lives in your Google account, so any device signed into that account can re-download without re-finding the area.

  1. Open Google Maps on Wi-Fi

    Sign in to a Google account if you are not already. Doing this on home Wi-Fi is important; the download can easily run 100+ MB.

  2. Search for your destination

    Type a city, region, or specific address. For most trips, search for the city name (e.g. Lisbon, Kyoto, Mexico City).

  3. Open the area menu

    Tap the location name at the bottom of the screen, then scroll right through the action buttons. Tap Download. On some older Android builds, this is the three-dot menu, then Download offline map.

  4. Adjust the bounding box

    A rectangle appears over the map. Pinch to resize so the box covers everywhere you might want to navigate, plus a bit of buffer. Google Maps shows the storage size at the bottom; if it is over 200 MB, consider shrinking the box.

  5. Tap Download, wait, name the map

    Download takes 1-5 minutes on home Wi-Fi. Once complete, Google Maps lets you name the area (e.g. Lisbon trip). You can come back to this download from Profile, Offline maps.

Apple Maps (iPhone, iOS 17 and newer)

iOS added offline maps in iOS 17. Earlier iOS versions cache routes briefly but do not have a true offline download. Update iOS first if you are below 17.

  1. Open Apple Maps on Wi-Fi

    No account required. Apple Maps offline maps live on the device, not in iCloud.

  2. Tap your profile picture (top right)

    Then tap Offline Maps. If you do not see this option, your iPhone is running iOS 16 or older; update iOS first.

  3. Tap Download New Map

    Search for the city or region. Apple Maps suggests a default area; you can resize the bounding box by dragging the corners. The estimated storage size appears below the box.

  4. Tap Download

    Download runs in the background. You can keep using Apple Maps while it completes. Larger downloads (a whole country) can take 5-15 minutes on Wi-Fi.

  5. Manage existing downloads

    From Offline Maps, tap an existing download to rename it, see how much space it uses, or delete it. There is no auto-expiry; old downloads stay until you remove them.

Organic Maps and Maps.me (the OpenStreetMap apps)

Open-source map apps built on the OpenStreetMap dataset. Smaller downloads, work entirely offline, no account or tracking, and particularly good for hiking, biking, and small trails.

  1. Install Organic Maps or Maps.me

    Both are free on iOS and Android. Organic Maps is the more actively-maintained fork (community-led, no ads). Maps.me is older and still works but has drifted toward more in-app marketing. Pick one.

  2. Open, then tap the Download icon

    Usually a download/cloud icon in the bottom bar. Both apps split the world into regions (typically by country or sub-country). Tap a region to start the download.

  3. Pick the region

    Browse to the country, then sub-region if the country is large (USA splits by state; France splits by region). Tap to download. Sizes are typically 50-300 MB per region.

  4. Use offline immediately

    Once downloaded, the app works fully offline: search, walking directions, bike directions, even public transit in some cities. No internet needed at all after the initial download.

Managing storage and keeping things current

Once you start downloading offline maps regularly, four habits keep things tidy.

  • Download on home Wi-Fi, never on cellular. Map downloads can be 100 MB or more. On a travel eSIM that is 2 percent of a 5 GB plan, gone in seconds. All the apps default to Wi-Fi-only, but double-check the setting before each trip.
  • Update on home Wi-Fi a day or two before each trip. Map data changes (new construction, renamed streets, closed businesses). A fresh download for an upcoming destination is worth the few minutes.
  • Delete old downloads when storage is tight. City-sized downloads add up. If you take three or four international trips a year, you may have 1-2 GB of old offline maps sitting on the phone. Sweep through and delete the trips you finished.
  • Combine apps for redundancy on important trips. Download Google Maps for live transit fallback, Organic Maps for hiking and rural areas, Apple Maps for iOS-native sharing with travel partners. Total storage: maybe 500 MB. Coverage: complete.
Pair offline maps with the right eSIM

Once your maps are downloaded, the next step is the eSIM. Tell us your trip and we'll surface the right plan.

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Common offline-maps questions

The questions that come up most often when travelers set up offline maps for the first time. For broader prep questions, see the travel tips guide or the general FAQ.

How much data does an offline map save me?

Navigation is one of the heavier ongoing data uses on a trip. Live Google Maps with regular zooming and re-routing burns about 5-10 MB per hour. Across a 14-day trip with 3-4 hours of navigation a day, that is 200-500 MB of pure map data, before any photos or street view. Offline maps cut that to near zero. On a 5 GB travel eSIM plan, savings of 10 percent of total data is meaningful.

How much storage do offline maps take on my phone?

A city-sized download in Google Maps runs 50-150 MB. A region-sized download (a whole state or country in Apple Maps) can be 500 MB to 2 GB. Organic Maps and Maps.me, which use the OpenStreetMap dataset, are smaller per region: typically 100-400 MB for a whole country. If storage is tight, download smaller areas just before you visit them and delete after.

Do offline maps include public transit and walking directions?

Mostly yes. Google Maps offline mode supports walking and driving directions, but live transit (subway, bus) needs an internet connection in most cities because schedules change. Apple Maps offline supports walking and driving. Organic Maps and Maps.me support walking and bike directions offline, and they keep working in subway tunnels (just plan the route before you go underground).

Do offline maps work for traffic and re-routing?

No, real-time traffic and live re-routing both require an internet connection. The offline map shows you the road; the live re-routing logic lives on the provider's servers. If you go offline mid-drive, you keep the route as last calculated, but the app cannot offer you a faster alternative. The pragmatic mix on a road trip: navigate online when you have eSIM signal, fall back to offline in mountain stretches and rural areas.

Why would I use Organic Maps or Maps.me instead of Google Maps?

Three reasons. First, they work entirely offline, no account or internet required after the initial download. Second, they cover hiking trails and small footpaths that Google Maps does not (Organic Maps in particular is favored by hikers). Third, they are open-source and do not track your location for advertising. The tradeoff: less polished UI, no Street View, business listings less complete.

Can I share offline maps between my phone and my partner's phone?

No automatic sharing on Google Maps or Apple Maps; each device downloads its own. Maps.me allows manually copying the downloaded map files between Android devices via file sharing apps, but most travelers just do the download on each phone separately. The downloads are quick on home Wi-Fi.

Do I need to re-download offline maps each trip?

Google Maps auto-expires offline maps after 15 days unless you have set them to auto-update. Apple Maps offline maps stay until you delete them. Organic Maps and Maps.me stay until you delete them. The pattern: re-download the relevant area on home Wi-Fi a few days before each trip; do not assume an old download is still current, especially for areas with rapid development.