How to travel offline, with maps, tickets and plans that work anywhere
A signal drops exactly when you need it: in a train tunnel, on a mountain path, in a basement restaurant, in the queue at a border. If your tickets, your map and your plan all live online, you are stuck the moment it goes. If they live on your phone, you carry on.
Travelling offline is a habit, and it takes about twenty minutes to set up before each trip.
Why plan for it
Mobile coverage is patchy even in places with good networks. You will meet gaps in rural areas, mountains, islands and on long train or road journeys. Roaming may be turned off to save money, and airports and stations are crowded enough that networks can slow to a crawl. Ask what you would need if your phone had no connection for an entire day, and prepare for that.
Maps first
A map is the thing you will miss most. Most mapping apps let you download an area for offline use, and your phone's location still works without data, because it uses satellites rather than mobile networks.
- Download the whole city or region you are visiting, while you are on wifi at home or in your stay.
- Save your stay, the train station, key sights and any restaurants you have planned, so they show on the map.
- Check that the offline map still shows walking routes, not only the roads.
- Drop a pin on the way back to your stay when you head out for the day.
Offline maps take up storage, so check your free space before you download, and remove them after the trip.
Tickets and bookings
Anything you need to scan or show should be on your phone in a form that opens without data.
- Save boarding passes and train tickets to your phone's wallet where that is supported, or as files or screenshots.
- Keep the booking references written somewhere, as well as stored on the phone.
- Save your stay's address, the host's instructions and the check-in code. A door code you cannot load at midnight is a miserable thing.
- Download tour confirmations and entry tickets.
Don't rely on an email search. Searching an inbox needs a connection in many apps, and the email you want is always the one not yet downloaded.
Your itinerary
Your plan is the thing the rest hangs from. If you know where you are meant to be and when, you can work out most problems with no internet at all.
Even without an app, make a short note of the essentials for each day: where you wake up, what you do, where you sleep that night, and how you get there. It can be a note on the phone, a screenshot or a page in a notebook.
Language and translation
If you will need to read signs and menus, download the language you need in your translation app, which usually works offline for text. Save a few key phrases in a note, including how to say your allergies and your stay's name. The words for "help", "where is" and "how much" earn their keep.
Music, books and entertainment
Long journeys are long. Download playlists, podcasts, films and books while on wifi. Many streaming apps let you save content for offline use, and some expire if you stay offline too long, so check them before you leave. Games on a phone are a mercy on a delayed night train.
Power
Offline tools only help while the phone has charge. Keep it topped up, and carry a power bank sized for the trip and the right cable. Lower the screen brightness, and use battery saver mode on long days. Searching for a signal drains the battery quickly, so if you know you are in a no-signal area, switch on flight mode, and your battery lasts much longer. Location still works.
Pack the charger and adapter in your carry-on. See travel tech to pack for a full list.
A paper backup
A phone can be lost, broken or flat. Carry a small paper backup in a different place from the phone:
- The address and phone number of your stay
- Your first and last nights' booking details
- Emergency contacts and your insurance number
- A copy of your passport photo page, kept apart from the passport itself
- A meeting point and time for your group
It weighs nothing and has saved many a long night. The travel documents checklist covers what to copy.
Agree how to find each other offline
On a group trip, if one person loses signal, they become hard to find. Before you split up, agree a meeting place and a time, and a fallback. Make sure someone in the group has the full plan. A shared itinerary kept on every phone means that no one has to ask what is happening next.
A quick checklist before you leave signal behind
- Maps for the area downloaded
- Tickets and bookings saved offline
- Itinerary open and synced
- Translation language downloaded
- Music and reading downloaded
- Phone charged, power bank packed
- Paper backup in your bag
Next step
The night before you go, put your phone in flight mode and try to find your stay, your next ticket and tomorrow's plan. Whatever you cannot open is what to download.
