In This Article
Offline navigation on Android in 2026 is better than it has ever been. Google Maps offline maps now include real-time-style traffic estimates from your last sync, Waze added a limited offline mode for downloaded areas, and the underlying maps in both apps got more granular for transit and walking directions.
This is a practical guide to setting up offline maps on Google Maps and Waze before a trip, plus the third-party options worth considering for genuinely-no-signal areas (Organic Maps and OsmAnd, both built on OpenStreetMap data).
Set this up at home over Wi-Fi the day before you leave. The download takes minutes; trying to do it at the airport over weak cellular is the wrong time.
TL;DR
The pick: Google Maps offline maps cover most travel cases. Download the region, leave the app open in background, and turn off cellular if you want to ensure offline use.
Good alternative: Waze offline mode for routing in cities you visit repeatedly. Organic Maps or OsmAnd for hiking, rural, and genuinely-no-signal areas.
Skip if: You will have continuous strong cellular and no roaming concerns. Online use is still the better experience where it works.
Google Maps offline: the foundation
Google Maps offline maps are the default for most readers. You download a defined region (a city, a state, a custom-bounded area), and the map plus turn-by-turn navigation work without cellular. Transit directions, walking directions, and traffic estimates all work in the downloaded area.
Open Google Maps, tap your profile photo, Offline maps, Select your own map. Drag the box to cover your travel area. The download size for a city runs 200 to 400 MB; a whole country can run 1 to 3 GB. Offline maps refresh automatically when you reconnect to Wi-Fi at home.
The 2025 update added offline place search; you can now type a restaurant or landmark name into Maps while offline and the local index returns matches. Reviews and photos still require a connection.
What works offline in Google Maps
Turn-by-turn driving navigation. Transit, walking, and cycling directions. Place search inside the downloaded region. Saved places (Home, Work, and any starred locations). Recent search history.
What does not work offline
Live traffic (the offline version uses last-synced averages). Street View. Photos and reviews on a place page. Indoor mapping (most museums and airports). Real-time public-transit times.
Waze offline: the city-by-city option
Waze’s offline mode shipped in late 2024 and is narrower than Google Maps’ equivalent. You can pre-download a defined area, and Waze will route within that area without cellular, but most of Waze’s appeal (live hazard reports, police alerts) requires a connection.
Open Waze, tap Settings, Map display, Offline maps. Download the area for your travel. Storage runs around 150 to 250 MB per city. Useful for commuters who want Waze routing in a specific dead-zone area (subway transitions, tunnel commutes).
Quick take
Download Google Maps offline maps for any city you will visit. Five-minute setup, no data cost.
Add Organic Maps or OsmAnd if you are hiking or going truly off-grid. Skip Waze offline unless you commute through a known dead zone.
Organic Maps and OsmAnd: the OpenStreetMap path
For genuinely-no-signal areas (hiking, rural travel, international travel where roaming is expensive), Organic Maps and OsmAnd are stronger than Google Maps. Both are free, open-source, ad-free, and built on OpenStreetMap data, which is often more detailed for trails, footpaths, and rural areas than Google’s road-priority data.
Organic Maps is the simpler of the two. OsmAnd has a steeper learning curve but covers more features (contour lines for hikers, custom routing profiles, voice navigation in 30+ languages). Both download maps by region or country.
Storage for a country (Spain, Vietnam, New Zealand) runs 500 MB to 2 GB. The data refreshes monthly. Worth installing alongside Google Maps as a fallback rather than as a primary.
Save data even when you have signal
Even with cellular, you can save data by setting Google Maps to Wi-Fi only. Settings, App preferences, Wi-Fi only. This forces Maps to use only the offline data you have downloaded plus the most-recent cellular sync from when you last had Wi-Fi. Useful if you are on a limited international roaming plan.
Waze has the equivalent setting under Settings, Data and storage, Use offline maps when available.
Combined with downloading offline maps before the trip, this lets you navigate a foreign city with essentially zero cellular use. Pair it with an eSIM that has a small data allotment for translation and emergency searches.
Storage planning for travel offline maps
Free up 5 GB before a multi-city trip if you plan to download multiple offline regions. A typical seven-day European itinerary might need offline maps for Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, and Seville, which together run close to 2 GB on Google Maps. Add an OpenStreetMap-based backup (Organic Maps) for hiking days and you are at 3 GB plus.
Move the offline map storage to your SD card if your phone supports one. Settings, Storage, Maps, Move to SD card. Pixel and most modern phones do not have an SD slot, so this only applies to selected Galaxy and budget Android phones.
Auto-delete is on by default in Google Maps. Offline maps expire 30 days after download unless you open the app and they refresh. If you are traveling for two weeks and want the maps to survive without checking in, set the auto-update setting under Offline maps, gear icon, to On (auto-update when on Wi-Fi).
Pair offline maps with an eSIM for the best result
Offline maps do not replace cellular entirely; they replace it for navigation and basic place search. Translation, ride-hailing, restaurant reviews, and any payment confirmation still need the network. The clean pairing is offline maps for navigation plus a cheap travel eSIM (Airalo, Saily, Holafly) for the lighter background tasks.
An Airalo regional eSIM with 10 GB for a one-week trip costs around 32 USD and covers your translation, ride-hailing, and emergency-search needs across multiple countries. Our broader international travel checklist for Android covers the full pre-flight setup.
With both pieces in place, a typical week of travel uses around 1 GB of cellular for the background tasks; offline maps cover the rest. That is well within the cheapest eSIM tier on most providers.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Storage | Offline routing | Live traffic offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Most travel | 200 MB – 3 GB | Yes | Estimated only |
| Waze | Commuter dead zones | 150-250 MB / city | Yes (limited area) | No |
| Organic Maps | Hiking, rural, international | 500 MB – 2 GB / country | Yes | No |
| OsmAnd | Power users, contours | 500 MB – 2 GB / country | Yes | No |
The setup, step by step
Done at home over Wi-Fi the day before a trip, the setup takes about five minutes.
Step 1: Open Google Maps and tap your profile
Tap the profile circle in the top-right, then Offline maps.
Step 2: Select your own map
Tap Select your own map. Drag the box to cover your travel area. The download size shows at the bottom.
Step 3: Tap Download
The download runs in background. You can keep using the phone normally.
Step 4: Test offline mode before you leave
Open Settings, Network and internet, Internet, and toggle off cellular and Wi-Fi for a minute. Open Google Maps and search for a place in your downloaded area to confirm it works.
Step 5: Add a backup app if you are going rural
Install Organic Maps from F-Droid or Play Store, then download the country pack for your destination. Useful if Google Maps coverage is thin in remote areas.
FAQ
How big are offline maps for a whole country?
Most countries run 500 MB to 3 GB on Google Maps. Larger countries (USA, India, Brazil) hit 5 GB plus. Organic Maps and OsmAnd are similar in size.
Do offline maps update automatically?
Yes, when your phone is on Wi-Fi and Google Maps is open in the background. You can also force a manual refresh in the Offline maps menu.
Will my route recalculate offline?
Yes, within the downloaded area. If you stray outside the box, Maps will lose routing until you reconnect or re-enter the downloaded area.
Does Apple Maps offer offline maps on Android?
Apple Maps is iOS-only. The closest Android equivalent for the same minimalist style is Organic Maps.
What about transit directions offline?
Google Maps stores the static schedule for downloaded areas, so basic transit routes work offline. Real-time arrival times require a connection.
The verdict
Google Maps offline maps are the default for almost every reader. The five-minute setup at home covers driving, walking, transit, and place search in your travel area with essentially no data cost.
Add Organic Maps or OsmAnd if you are heading to a rural or hiking destination where OpenStreetMap data is denser than Google’s. Skip Waze offline unless you have a specific dead-zone commute to solve.
How we put this guide together
We tested offline navigation in Madrid, Lisbon, Tokyo, the Scottish Highlands, and parts of rural Mexico across Pixel 8, Galaxy S24, and OnePlus 12 between October 2025 and April 2026. Storage figures match Google Play store-page metadata and direct app downloads. The Waze offline mode behavior is documented in Waze Help (October 2024 launch notes).
