Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Planning, Trip > Route Planning
Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



Like Tree4Likes

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 11
Best Sat Nav Map Morocco and how to download ???

So I have a BMW Sat Nav with Garmin . It only has European maps so I need to download the Moroccan map prior to my journey. I have looked into Olaf and Garmin and wondered which everyone thought was the best.

Also I am prehistoric in techy terms so need some advice about the downloading !!As in where do I start and what do I do !!!

HEEELLLPPPP
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: East Yorkshireman...in the Chum Phae area, Thailand
Posts: 1,343
Have a look at the Openstreetmap, the link is below, can't say what they are like for Morocco but they were good for Thailand and Laos, worked well on my Garmin Montanna. Free to download and you can view in Basecamp to see how good you think it is. All instructions on the thread

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eet-maps-64135

Wayne
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Tim Cullis's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London and Granada Altiplano
Posts: 3,122
Information on maps and GPS for Morocco: Maps, guidebooks, and GPS (installing maps, waypoints/POI, and creating routes)
__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live,"
Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 11
Thanks sorry if i have dupilcated a thread .

Still cant navigate the GPS vector map for Morocco options there ate too many options , do i use he memory card download or do i download the road only manual installations ???

Think i need a techy mate to translate
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NSW Australia - but never there
Posts: 1,235
go to Free worldwide Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap

Select generic routable new style

Pick predefined country (best because it will have a unique number) if available, or manually select tiles

Order the map by giving your email address or can sometimes download directly.

Download just the large single image file and store it on the memory card in a folder called Garmin.
Put the card in the GPS and use <manage maps> to select morocco.
Done.

(possibly)

Be aware that routing can be a bit flaky so needs checking before trusting it too much and OSM's interpretation of relative road status isn't always what you hope.

We have used OSM in S America, Europe, Turkey and Iceland and find it really good and worth every penny we paid for it.
__________________
Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Tim Cullis's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London and Granada Altiplano
Posts: 3,122
Quote:
Originally Posted by el tronco View Post
Thanks sorry if i have dupilcated a thread .

Still cant navigate the GPS vector map for Morocco options there ate too many options , do i use he memory card download or do i download the road only manual installations ???

Think i need a techy mate to translate
Let's start with basics. What model Garmin GPS do you have? Do you have experience of using Garmin Mapsource?

I'll assume you have a Zumo. Firstly you install Olaf on your PC by downloading the Garmin-format self-installing executable.

Then go into Mapsource on the PC, set the selected map to be 'Marokko-Topo'. Centre the Mapsource display so you can see all of Morocco and use the Map Tool to select all the map segments. You should now have 174 map segments selected and a projected installation size of nearly 29 MB.

If you don't intend visiting all of Morocco you could reduce the size by deselecting the areas you don't plan to visit, for example knocking off Western Sahara reduces the segments to 108 and the download size to 24 MB.

Each of the small areas you select has two segments associated with it, one for street maps, the second for topo overlays containing contour lines. The topo overlays take up much more space and you don't really need these on the GPS. If you manually deselect the topo overlays you will now have just 54 segments and less than 4 MB of download space needed.

When you are happy with what you are about to download, connect the GPS and transfer it (>Transfer, >Send to device).
__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live,"
Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 1,377
Colebatch gave an excellent set of instructions for downloading and installing the OSM maps:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...eet-maps-64135

[OOPS, just noticed that Lonerider posted the same link]
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 29 Apr 2015
-
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,342
Linky
Choose gmapsupp zip
Decompress
Copy map to a folder called Garmin in either the sat nav or memory card.
Done
Best is, alas, meaningless.

Openfiets it's a bit like topo
OSM 'routing' can produce some very interesting detours...
Olaf isn't routeable
Then you have Garmin Maroc Topo map
Reise Know-how map for Maroc is very good.

I'm just wondering how many more times we need to say the same thing ad nauseatum
Doesn't anyone search anymore?
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 29 Apr 2015
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 2,134
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony LEE View Post
...Be aware that (Open Street Map's) routing can be a bit flaky...
No kidding. I spent two days earlier this week riding in Morocco with the Morocco Open Street Map loaded into my Zumo 660. The routing was VERY flaky, from the Tangier Med port out onto the highway, and then later from El Jabha on the coast up through the mountains to Chefchaouen. Most of the time, I could spot the obvious errors - such as when it asked me to ride up a set of stairs on what was obviously a pedestrian pathway - but it did trick me once, sending me up a road that progressively deteriorated until I was fording rivers on my ST 1100 (not a recommended use of this particular type of motorcycle). This happened despite me having configured my Zumo to 'avoid unpaved roads' and 'prefer highways'.

After arriving at Chefchaouen, I logged onto Garmin's website and spent the $100 to buy the Garmin mapset for Morocco.

I don't yet have sufficient experience using the Garmin maps to be able to compare them with the OSM product. I have noticed that the Garmin maps provide an indication of what the speed limit on the road is - OSM doesn't contain that particular road attribute.

Electronic cartography for GPS navigators is a bit like an iceberg - you only ever see, at most, 10% of it. The other 90% that is hidden and not visually apparent is the 'road attributes' - whether or not the road is paved, what the speed limit on the road is (this for routing purposes, not only for display), how wide the road is, whether there are turn restrictions or center barriers on the road, and so on.

I'm not trying to throw stones at OSM - I'm just reiterating Tony's comment that routing in Morocco using OSM cartography is not 100% dependable.

Give me another week or so to ride around the country, and I'll come back to this discussion and let you know whether the $100 for the Garmin Morocco mapset was a worthwhile purchase or not.

Michael
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 30 Apr 2015
Tim Cullis's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London and Granada Altiplano
Posts: 3,122
It sounds like you perhaps have downloaded Garmin's City Navigator Morocco which is a roads-only mapping.

I certainly cannot recommend Garmin's Topo Maroc v2 maps. The road numbering at zoom out scale reverts to the pre 1980 numbering system, there's often little difference shown between footpaths and pistes, placenames aren't shown at various zoom settings, and the routing is screwed by roads that aren't linked.

As a simple example of the last item the attached image shows what happens when you route Marrakech to Ouarzazate via Telouet. The Telouet road isn't linked to the N9 as it crosses the Tizi n'Tichka so it routes you the only way it knows.

The second image shows how I would set up the same route in Mapsource using Olaf. Yes it needs some extra clicks with the routing tool.
Attached Thumbnails
Best Sat Nav Map Morocco and how to download ???-screen-shot-2015-04-30  

Best Sat Nav Map Morocco and how to download ???-screen-shot-2015-04-30  

__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live,"
Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 30 Apr 2015
-
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,342
Smile

It seems to me that there is too much focus placed on 'turn-by-turn' routing.
Unless you have half decent mapping, (and most are flawed to different levels), it is a great deal more enjoyable to:
Create waypoints at strategic places,
Set your sat nav to 'direct routing'
Display the compass page set to CDI

And ensure that you have data fields showing:
'Distance to next'
'Heading'
'To course'
'Trip odometer'

This not only frees your ears from daft instructions but lets you enjoy the scenery around you and the riding which is what you went there for!
Happy trails.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 30 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 1,483
I can honestly say I have only had 1 problem in 4 trips with OSM Routing when it sent us down a 1 way street in El Jadida, otherwise for turn-by-turn routing OSM has been fine in Morocco

I've also had some pretty decent turn bu turn routing on piste via OSM. However for off road routes I don't generally use the routing as I find it automatically re routes and takes me away from where I want to go (this maybe down to my ability). For off road routes I convert the route I've planned in Mapsource into a track. That way my chosen route doesnt change from my plan and no annoying directions
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 30 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 1,377
I don't remember which Garmin map I had, but whatever it was, it was completely and utterly useless once I was away from the coast. I've used Garmin and OSM maps in plenty of other places with no problem, but in Morocco I ended up just turning the GPS off altogether.

Depending on where you're going, you don't really need a GPS as long as you have a paper map, most of the roads are pretty well signed.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 30 Apr 2015
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NSW Australia - but never there
Posts: 1,235
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bertrand View Post
It seems to me that there is too much focus placed on 'turn-by-turn' routing.
Unless you have half decent mapping, (and most are flawed to different levels), it is a great deal more enjoyable to:
Create waypoints at strategic places,
Set your sat nav to 'direct routing'
Display the compass page set to CDI

And ensure that you have data fields showing:
'Distance to next'
'Heading'
'To course'
'Trip odometer'

This not only frees your ears from daft instructions but lets you enjoy the scenery around you and the riding which is what you went there for!
Happy trails.
Works well flying an aircraft, but not so useful on the ground unless roads are straight and few in number.
__________________
Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 30 Apr 2015
Tim Cullis's Avatar
Super Moderator
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: London and Granada Altiplano
Posts: 3,122
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bertrand View Post
It seems to me that there is too much focus placed on 'turn-by-turn' routing... it is a great deal more enjoyable to:
Create waypoints at strategic places,
Set your sat nav to 'direct routing'
Display the compass page set to CDI
Couldn't agree more. I just need to know I'm headed in roughly the right direction and more often than not I use the position of the sun as an indication.

But not in the UK—not enough sun

.
__________________
"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live,"
Irving Mather (1892-1966)
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

ALL Dates subject to change.

2025 Confirmed Events:

  • Virginia: April 24-27 2025
  • Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
  • Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
  • CanWest: July 10-13 2025
  • Switzerland: Date TBC
  • Ecuador: Date TBC
  • Romania: Date TBC
  • Austria: Sept. 11-14
  • California: September 18-21
  • France: September 19-21 2025
  • Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

Adventurous Bikers – We've got all your Hygiene & Protection needs SORTED! Powdered Hair & Body Wash, Moisturising Cream Insect Repellent, and Moisturising Cream Sunscreen SPF50. ESSENTIAL | CONVENIENT | FUNCTIONAL.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 20:19.