What are some map planning apps that allow for clean, personalized pinning of locations?

Question

I'm organizing a trip and want to mark all the places I plan to visit on a map so I can easily access them on my phone while out. While Google Maps allows pinning, I find it cluttered with extra information that makes it messy. I'm looking for an app where I can simply view my planned pins without distractions, ideally to check nearby planned spots from a cafe or similar location. Are there any straightforward apps for this, or is there a better way to use existing tools?

merlinde · Answer

tbh the app nobody mentions for this is Guru Maps. you import your pins as a KML or just tap them in, and it renders them as plain dots with your own labels, no POI layer fighting you. the trick for Rome is turning off all the built in map layers except the basic one, otherwise every bar and ATM shows up and you're back to clutter.

one local thing: pin the tabacchi you pass most, not just sights. you'll need one for bus tickets and they're weirdly hard to spot when you actually want one. also the numbering on Via del Corso addresses jumps around, so drop a pin at the exact door or you'll walk past it twice.

verona · Answer

Google My Maps is the unglamorous answer here and it's what I actually use. You build a custom map on desktop, drop pins with your own labels, and it opens in the Google Maps app on your phone under Saved > Maps, so you get your bare pin layer without the reviews and ads bleeding in. The catch is you need a decent data connection to load it, which matters more than people admit in Rome where the centro can be a dead zone.

For a trip here I'd layer pins by day rather than by category, because half the battle is not zigzagging across the river. Pin your Pantheon and Piazza Navona stuff together, keep Trastevere for an evening, and don't try to squeeze the Aventine and Prati into the same afternoon. Also mark your nearest bus or tram stop for each cluster, the 8 tram along Via Arenula saved me more walking than any route optimization ever did.

kaethchen · Answer

organic maps is what i use for this, its offline & u can drop pins with no business listings cluttering it up. for rome specifically i'd make a separate list for each rione so campo de fiori pins dont mix with trastevere ones, otherwise the centro storico gets unreadable fast. also worth pinning the nasoni water fountains, sounds dumb but u'll thank urself in july

gerdi · Answer

I've had good luck with Mapstr for exactly this. You drop pins by tapping and holding, tag them with your own categories (food, churches, whatever), and the map itself stays pretty bare, no reviews or opening hours unless you add them yourself. One thing to know for Rome: a lot of the smaller churches and cloisters close between roughly 12:30 and 15:30, so I tag those pins with a note so I don't show up to a locked door. If you want zero clutter and don't care about syncing across devices, Maps.me still works fine offline too.

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