To the surprise of many, unless you’ve specifically turned off location services, if you simply turn off data, your phone will still be pinging (the blue dot), which will allow you to navigate anywhere you need to go. The map will be available, even when you turn on airplane mode, or turn off data. Using the screen above, you’d select download, when connected to wifi, to download a map of the entire region.

Next, tap where it says Hong Kong, to bring up additional menu options.

When you do, you’ll see something like the screen above. The first semi obvious step is to search for Hong Kong. You’ll want to do this from a hotel room, or better yet – home – where you have wifi. On your phone, you can open up Google Maps, search for a city, town or other landmark, and select “download”.

Google Maps Offlineįirst things first, Google is the realest. Here’s how to use Google Maps for turn by turn directions in almost any city, without using any data. You *may* have heard that Google Maps works offline, but you may not know that you can still get turn by turn directions, even when it is offline, and always know where you are. You land in a foreign country, you’ve heard walking is the best way to explore a new city, but there’s just one thing holding you back: you have absolutely no idea where you’re going, or how to get back.

Google maps driving directions