More preparations - route and trip planning

So because we are doing a lot of driving on this trip we have a few levels of redundancy for route planning and navigation.

First of all I have used Google maps to plan all of our trip and in a separate sheet in which I have collated the planned destinations with estimated traveling times and possible daily activities.  Also in the same sheet is the actual trip data including links to the Google map travel routes.  Of course that would mean having data capabilities which we will not be using for expense reasons.  So in the absence of that I have printed over the weekend all of the route instructions from Google and turned them into a bound booklet using our comb binder.  This way I have a trip by trip guide to where we are going and theoretically how we will get there.

Of course this relies primarily on everything being smooth sailing.  The double/triple redundancy we have is two smart phones with GPS capabilities and pre-loaded maps using the "Here" Maps and App. Google maps on your phone relies on some data connection for updates so we chose not to use that avenue.  I have been using the "Here" Map App for over 4 years without issue in Europe, America and of course Australia.  This is good for when you make a mistake with a turn and need on the fly directions to regain your route, you pre-download all the maps for the countries you need while home on your "free" data.  The printed pages also assume your navigator is not geographically challenged as Lorraine often is.  And this where I tell you about my favorite game in hotels where I let her lead the way out of the lifts as she gets lost and disoriented even in hotel foyers and lobbies.

We have car chargers for the phones as well as two backup power supplies in case the charger fails or the phones get low while we are away from the car.  The "Here" Map App also has a locator option you can use (before you leave the car).  We should have used it last year when parking the Vespa in Rome, we did park outside the Main Post Office in Rome so thought that was enough of a landmark, Doh!

Here's a link to our downloaded maps we made into a booklet.