Offline capability, tested
Offline Trip Planner Apps Compared: On a Plane, In the Mountains, With No SIM
"Does this app work offline?" is the wrong question, and it is why the answers you find contradict each other. Offline maps and offline itineraries are two different things.
閱讀繁體中文版- offline trip planner
- offline maps
- no signal
- PWA
You need your itinerary most at exactly the moments you have no connection: the last ten minutes before the cabin doors close and you want to re-check how to reach the hotel; on a mountain bus with one bar; for the three days you decided not to buy a local SIM. So you search for an offline trip planner and get flatly contradictory answers — one post says the app charges for offline, the next says offline is free. Both can be right, because they are describing different features.
First, separate offline maps from offline itineraries#
These are two different layers of data, and each has its own answer.
- Offline maps = map tiles and the road network downloaded to your phone so you can look around and navigate with no signal. This layer is large, usually needs an explicit download, and is often a paid feature.
- Offline itinerary = your own plan (dates, places, times, booking references, spend) opening with no signal. This layer is tiny and technically easy, but plenty of apps still do not do it.
- They are independent: some tools show your plan offline but no map; some have excellent offline maps and no itinerary feature at all.
Wanderlog is the clearest example. Per its official blog, offline itinerary access is part of the free tier, while offline map access is the premium feature, with premium starting at $40 per year. Third-party articles routinely flatten that into "Wanderlog charges for offline" — which is how the confusion spreads. That is why the comparison below splits "offline itinerary" and "offline maps" into separate rows.
Offline capability, side by side#
Scroll the table horizontally
| TripBoard | Google Maps | Organic Maps | Wanderlog | TripIt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline itinerary | Yes after the first load; data lives in your browser | N/A — My Maps has no offline viewing option, per the official docs | N/A — no itinerary feature | Yes — free tier, per the official blog | Not stated in the official docs; test it yourself in airplane mode |
| Offline maps | No — maps need a connection | Yes — download an area first | Yes — fully offline vector maps | Premium, from $40 per year, per the official blog | No offline map feature |
| Offline navigation | None | Driving only — per the official docs, transit, cycling and walking directions are unavailable offline | Yes — driving, walking and cycling offline | None | None |
| Offline expenses and splitting | Yes — log offline, rates refresh when you reconnect | None | None | Offline budget entry is not documented | No expense features |
| Account required | No | A Google account is needed to download offline areas | No | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free to start; Pro is a one-time USD $69 | Free | Free and open source, no ads | Free tier; premium from $40 per year, per the official blog | Free tier; Pro is an annual subscription (price not stated on the official page) |
Verified Sept 2026 against official docs. Third-party plans and limits change without notice — check the vendor's own pages before you commit. TripBoard's column comes from the product itself; exchange rates and weather cannot refresh offline, so load them before you leave.
Google Maps offline: navigation, but not your plan#
Downloading an offline area before a trip is still the single most useful thing you can do, but know the edges. Per the official docs, offline maps expire and need refreshing, and while offline transit, cycling and walking directions are unavailable — which happens to be the three modes independent travellers use most. Driving navigation works, but without live traffic or rerouting. And the download covers the base map only: per the official My Maps docs, custom maps have no offline viewing option, so the pins you spent an evening placing are not there when you land.
Pros
- The broadest, freshest coverage; one download lasts a long time.
- Offline driving navigation is genuinely reliable in an unfamiliar city.
- Free, and already on your phone.
Cons
- Per the official docs, no transit, cycling or walking directions offline.
- Per the official docs, My Maps layers cannot be viewed offline.
- Offline areas expire and must be refreshed.
- It is not a planner: no timeline, no spend, no splitting.
Organic Maps: the purist offline map#
Organic Maps is the community-run fork of MAPS.ME, built on OpenStreetMap data. Per its official site it is free, open source, ad-free and tracker-free, with fully offline maps, search and turn-by-turn navigation, and it does not ask for an account. It is the tool to install before a hiking trip or a rural drive. What it does not do is hold a plan: no days, no booking references, no spend.
Pros
- Genuinely fully offline: browsing, search and navigation all work with no signal.
- Per the official site, no ads, no tracking, free and open source.
- Small downloads and low battery use — good for long days outdoors.
Cons
- No itinerary: your days, confirmation numbers and expenses live elsewhere.
- OpenStreetMap coverage varies by region; business listings are thinner than Google's.
- No collaboration and no sharing of a plan.
Wanderlog and TripIt: what their offline terms actually say#
Wanderlog is the most transparent of the group: per its official blog, the free tier includes full itinerary planning with offline access, and offline map access is what premium buys, starting at $40 per year. In other words, if you only want the plan on a plane, free is enough. TripIt is the opposite case — its official Free vs Pro page compares the two tiers item by item and never mentions offline at all. Third-party posts generally say the free app shows trip details offline, but with no official wording to point at, the only responsible advice is to put your phone in airplane mode and check before you rely on it.
TripBoard: how a PWA goes offline, and what it cannot do#
TripBoard is a web app (a PWA), so its offline behaviour works differently from a native app. Per MDN, a service worker caches the page, styles and code at install time and then serves requests from that cache. The practical consequence: load it once while you have a connection, and afterwards you can open the trip, add a stop and log an expense with no network at all — the data was never on a server to begin with, it is in your browser.
Pros
- Itinerary, editing and expense logging all work offline after the first load — no account, no download.
- Data is local, so there is no "sync failed" state; the split calculation also runs offline.
- Add it to the home screen and it opens like an app.
- Splitting is free with no cap on people; Pro is a one-time USD $69, not a subscription.
Cons
- No offline maps: pair it with Google Maps offline areas or Organic Maps for navigation.
- Exchange rates cannot refresh offline — the last fetched rate is used, so open the currency tool before you go.
- Weather needs a connection: the forecast page is live data.
- A device that has never loaded the app online cannot open it offline.
- The free tier keeps 1 trip at a time, and data lives in one browser — export a backup before switching phones.
Three no-signal situations, and what to pack#
- A long flight, and you want to re-read the plan: open TripBoard at the gate so it caches, then read and edit in the air. You will not need a map.
- Mountains, islands, national parks: Google Maps offline areas or Organic Maps for finding your way, TripBoard for the plan and the spend. Two tools, two jobs.
- No SIM, hotel Wi-Fi only: each morning, open the itinerary and the exchange rate tool while you are connected, then work offline all day and reconcile spend in the evening. Start from a template if you have not built the plan yet.
FAQ#
What is the difference between offline maps and an offline itinerary?
Offline maps means map tiles and roads stored on your phone so you can look around and navigate with no signal. An offline itinerary means your own plan — dates, places, times, spend — opening with no signal. They are separate layers with separate answers. Wanderlog illustrates it: per its official blog, offline itinerary access is free, while offline maps are a premium feature.
If I download Google Maps offline, can I see my saved plan?
No. The download covers the base map and road network, not the pins in My Maps — per the official docs, custom maps have no offline viewing option. The official docs also note that transit, cycling and walking directions are unavailable offline. You still need something that opens your itinerary with no signal, such as TripBoard.
Can a web app really work offline?
Yes, if it is a PWA and you have opened it once while connected. Per MDN, a service worker caches the page and code at install time and then serves requests from that cache, so the app still opens with no network. That is how TripBoard works, with the trip data stored in your browser. The limit is anything that needs live data: exchange rates and the weather forecast cannot refresh offline.
What should I set up before travelling without a SIM card?
Three things. One: open your itinerary tool while connected so it caches, and confirm it opens in airplane mode. Two: download offline maps for your destination (Google Maps or Organic Maps), remembering that Google's offline areas expire. Three: refresh the exchange rate tool and check the weather before you leave Wi-Fi. To build the plan first, create a trip.
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