travel Archivy - Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app

Across Moroccan dessert with a great help from Locus

Michal, Locus team — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 14:02:44 +0000

by Pablo Riveiro De Arriba

Before traveling to Morocco for the first time, three years ago, I was looking for a proper offline navigation system and a German friend recommended me Locus Map. I bought an Android tablet and installed the program in its free version. I immediately understood that it was the right choice for navigation off line and it proved even more when I bought the Pro version.

A few days ago I completed my 6th trip to Morocco with the notion of perfectly designed routes where I traveled with our team and found the best ways even in the most remote sites. It is very easy and intuitive to use the program to plan, navigate and share my routes with other friends. Since then I recommended Locus to many friends who enjoy off road driving.

[caption id="attachment_9930" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Locus Map guidance[/caption]

On this last trip we started in Guadalajara (Spain) and went down to Algeciras where we boarded a ferry to Tanger Med in Morocco. Overnight we stayed in Chefchaouen, the blue pearl of Morocco. The next day we crossed the Atlas Mountains and visited the Monkey Forest near Ifreane. Then we started the adventure through the desert, oasis, sand and lost villages. We crossed dry rivers of sand and visited enigmatic sculptures called "Orion City". We also visited a former Portuguese prison with spectacular views over the Hamadas. After that we arrived at Merzouga, Erg Chebbi impressive site where we stayed to visit its dunes. We admired the sites of rupestrian rock carvings Taouz, Erg Ouzina dunes and then, after going through Ramlia we found the Lost City. We spent quite a few exciting days, accompanied by friends, and enjoyed it a lot.

This task wouldn't be possible without Locus.

[caption id="attachment_9933" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Map of our Morocco trip[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9927" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Erg Ouzina[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9926" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Erg Chebbi[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9935" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Blue Pearl of Morocco[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9925" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] A lunch break near the Orion Stair[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9929" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] A view from a former Portuguese jail[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9931" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Lost city[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9932" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sunset in Merzouga[/caption]

For more pictures and information check our expedition Facebook, videos are available at our Youtube channel. Enjoy!

Článek Across Moroccan dessert with a great help from Locus se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

45 000 kilometers with Locus Map

Michal, Locus team — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:35:57 +0000

Two months ago a new topic emerged on our helpdesk. It wasn't a bugreport nor an idea how to improve our app. It appeared in our "Thanks" section:

Hi !

We are two, cycling around Europe and Asia. We already did 6070km (4720km by bike !)
If interested, you can see the GPS track here (if you zoom in a little bit) :
http://karoutcho.fr/itinerary-the-map/
From the beginning, we are using Locus Pro with the MTB Europe map, wich includes bicycle maps !!
We use it only as a track recorder and for tracks planning. And sometimes for dashboard.
It's far away much better than the expensive Garmin Edge Touring device we tried !!

Thanks a lot for this application. We think about small improvements for our everyday use, but I will open a specific topic for that !

We will now go through Russia from Vyborg (West) to the Sakhaline Island (East), and then Japan from north to south. Not sure the maps are as accurate as the one for Europe... We're not even sure the track planning will work properly. If you have some tips, we take any advice !!!!

The Karoutcho Team,

Emilie & Romain

Hm, Karoutcho Team? We asked Romain for a little more information and he sent a short introduction of their travel, experiences, and of course, connection with Locus:

The Karoutcho team, it’s Emilie & Romain, mid-thirties, and their two bicycles. Not really cyclists, not really campers, without any sense of direction, and with a dramatically different logic… On these solid foundations, we decided in april 2014 to prepare our first bike trip with our home packed in small bags: a 45 000 km journey around Europe and Asia! From scratch, we prepared everything in ten months before we mounted our mechanic horses.

Why biking? Cause it’s faster than hiking! But above all, it seems to be the best way to meet people. But still, it is just a way of traveling: the human experience is the heart of the project, much more than the sporting achievement that could lead us to ride many kilometers losing the sight of what’s really important.
[caption id="attachment_8718" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Start in Nantes (FR), currently in Khabarovsk (RU)[/caption]
The first push on the pedal was in Nantes (France) the 22/02/2015. A two years journey that will lead us through the Norwegians fjords, make us cross Russia, ride down Japan and around South-asia, down to Myanmar. Then we’ll have to think about the way back… But it’s not for tomorrow!!

During the preparation, we had to choose a good GPS system with good offline capabilities. We tried expensive GPS devices, and many GPS apps... We finally started the travel with Locus Map Pro. It does everything we need, is very reliable and mostly: easy to use! It's a everyday use, mainly for its offline map capacity, but as a GPS tracker, route planner as well. Almost every setting can be personalized.

Now, it's been more than 6000km, and Locus is a part of the Karoutcho crew !!

We answered immediately. There are not many options what map to choose in Russia in our Locus Store but one - vector Locus Maps! OSM based, covering the whole planned route of the adventurous French couple. Well, OSM data may not be always detailed much but when there are some, they can be reliable as they are drawn by local enthusiasts. And this is what came after the recommendation:

I was really more than happy with Locus for now.
Then, you made me discover the "Vector maps".

!!! A revelation !!!

Before, I spent big time in downloading the maps almost everyday, that followed the tracks we planned to go.
And deleting the maps that were not used anymore to save some megabytes.

Now ?

The map of the entire country is already downloaded, for fewer disk space. And... much more precise !!
How come I didn't know about that before !
It's much easier to use, more complete, lighter, and what's more : you
have loads of point of interest already included with the maps !!! It changes our everyday travel life, really.

Thanks for the app, and for those incredible vector maps.

That really brought smiles on our faces, thanks too! We know that Locus Map with our vector maps can be a reliable partner on such a tremendous travel.

Since then, Emilie and Romain have made it to Khabarovsk so far - across almost whole Russia! Partly on their bikes, partly on trains, as can be seen on their website Karoutcho.fr.
[caption id="attachment_8719" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Emilie & Romain in Finland[/caption]
We admire their courage and commitment and wish them good luck!

Článek 45 000 kilometers with Locus Map se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Get Inspired: From Meshgin Shar to Qazvin

Michal, Locus team — Tue, 19 May 2015 14:52:47 +0000

Článek Get Inspired: From Meshgin Shar to Qazvin se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.

Michal, Locus team — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 05:38:26 +0000

Článek se nejdříve objevil na Locus Map - mobile outdoor navigation app.