How accurate is Google Maps for navigation in Thailand?

[Sheryl]

45 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

If there is no turns to make other than following the road, then there will be no notification. This can be for 40 kms !!! or more.

 

Also depends on mobile phone coverage? No signal no instructions.

But written instructions remain (and keep updating), only the voice stops. Very strange.

[wwest5829]

On 2/10/2019 at 12:28 PM, keemapoot said:

Everyone I know uses it every day, including myself, even if we know the routes inside out. The reason is the traffic monitoring and alternate routing it gives you is invaluable. I'm not sure who uses GPS in car units anymore, as everyone's life is on their smartphones and connected in later model cars with apple carplay or android auto now.

 

Yes, it's mostly excellent, Occasionally it screws up a left or right turn, but mostly works. Not sure how the mapping is in Chiang Mai region, someone from there will have to advise.

Retired to Chiang Mai 7 years ago. Use it quite regularly and have driven extensively throughout Thailand. Hit a “glitch” every once in a while but not any big issues.

[Saltire]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful tips and encouraging comments, they were so helpful I almost forgot I was on TV ???? 

 

My journey starts tomorrow heading to Tak where I will stop for the night, so about 60% (8 hours) of the trip.

 

My only concern now is not getting lost, but sharing the drive with my brother in law, who until a year ago was a senior monk in the local temple for 15 years, a quiet, placid, calm human being, who unfortunately as he slips behind the wheel becomes Mad Max on steroids. Wish me luck! Now what's Thai for Slow Down! ???? 

 

Thanks.

 

[Rawairat]

My experience 95%, but better than Apple maps. Good for traffic conditions around town with all those andriod phones people use while they are driving

[DPKANKAN]

Well Sangklaburi to Kanchanaburi is the 323 all the way! I used it last year to go to a temple from Kanchanaburi and did the last 4 klicks through fields!! There was more than 1 option to use should have used the other option but wanted different scenery. I certainly got it!! 

[Saltire]

2 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

Well Sangklaburi to Kanchanaburi is the 323 all the way! I used it last year to go to a temple from Kanchanaburi and did the last 4 klicks through fields!! There was more than 1 option to use should have used the other option but wanted different scenery. I certainly got it!! 

That road I do often but this trip is Sangkhlaburi to Mae Chaem which according to Google Maps is about 870Km. Don't want too many small roads!

[CptnAhab]

in Europe i used Sygic for quite some time!  better than Google maps, there!

But here in Thailand now Sygic is very not reliable, not at all, while Google maps does a very good job even in remote areas and inside cities like Khon Kaen.   Thumbs up  Google!

 

[spetersen]

On 2/10/2019 at 12:17 PM, stevenl said:

IMO excellent, has improved a lot.

Totally agree. Much better than the GPS i have in my Fortuner 2014, tried to upgrade but Toyota want 19.000THB for that,  I will continue with Google instead...

[Mukdahanman]

Google maps is a lot more accurate than my Tom Tom - when I can get a connection 

[natway09]

Mine works. sure better than the alternative,,,,,,, getting lost

[xerostar]

In the past I have used Google maps to successfully guide taxi drivers to my destination around Bangkok.

However a recent trip in a hire car proved to be the opposite.

I do not have an explanation but Google maps led me astray at every turn. I suspect somebody could have hacked my Samsung phone. Or maybe my phone has a problem.

At times I received conflicting instructions to "turn right" then 3 seconds later told me to "turn left".  The last instruction said "turn right".

I did not realise I was in a one-way bus line driving the wrong way. At the end of this road there was a policeman waiting for me. I explained I had been following Google maps. His reply was "never follow Google!" He confiscated my IDL and after much discussion let me go with a 1000 baht fine. Other times on my journey to Kanchanaburi Google maps failed to give any instructions at all, leaving me guessing which way to turn at tee junctions.  I would be reluctant to use Google maps again.

Edited February 11, 2019 by xerostar

[HHTel]

I use google maps all the time.  It's better than anything I know.  I've been routed around heavy traffic, road works and even floods.  Used it around Thailand, Laos and driving around Malaysia.

 

Can't fault it.

[Ulic]

It is really pretty good, except for the tiny rabbit warren streets in some parts of Pattaya. When following along my various border bounce trips an up to Vientiane it was spot on. 

[ghworker2010]

Its absolutely unreliable outside of big cities. Try driving around Isan with GM and you will be taken on a long way round. Carry paper maps to prove how shit GMaps is. If you look at the paper map which indicates you should go right... several times Gmaps says go left. Completely useless outside of big cities. UNLESS you want the LONG route

[Fairynuff]

On 2/10/2019 at 3:50 PM, Sheryl said:

My main complaint with Google maps is that sometimes is stops giving verbal directions even thought that option is enabled. I have no idea why.  The screen is often black backdrop during those times.

 

It's biggest advantage vs old fashioned maps is no need to take your eyes from the road while navigating, but that's lost when the narration stops.

I think she nods off sometimes 

[Fairynuff]

Here in Bkk I find quite a few shortfalls. Grab drivers rely on it to get me home and if they follow GM route it sends them about 4km out of the way. This only started happening around 6 months ago. I switch between GM and Waze and sometimes Waze is better except for the appalling pronunciation of Thai road names!

[DJ54]

Works good. Coming back from BKK to Northeast normally 8 hour 

drive. Papa knew the way he was my co-pilot. Left my house at midnight to US Embassy in/out 30 minutes headed back north. 

I drove all the way. 

 

Drove through an area I didn’t recognize when driving down. So turned on the phone not going the right direction. Show papa and

he insists DONG bi (wrong spelling) 

 

I kept my cool after driving back and forth through the same town 3 times. Everytime he had me stop so he could ask someone it

was like a ping pong ball. Back and forth. 

 

Finally i I gave him the zip it sign used the gps until I knew where we were. 8 hours going 14-1/2 hrs coming back. Arrived back home 

at midnight the same time we left the day before. 

 

I was tired and wasnt a good idea for him to have any input. He kept his mouth shut. He’s learned to tell when I’m fuming mad, 

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, ghworker2010 said:

Its absolutely unreliable outside of big cities. Try driving around Isan with GM and you will be taken on a long way round. Carry paper maps to prove how shit GMaps is. If you look at the paper map which indicates you should go right... several times Gmaps says go left. Completely useless outside of big cities. UNLESS you want the LONG route

Perhaps it depends on the area.

 

Almost all my driving is in rural areas, often very long distance across very back of beyond places, and it is fine 80-90% of the time. Even for unnamed rural roads.

[canthai55]

16 hours ago, ghworker2010 said:

Its absolutely unreliable outside of big cities.

We used it to do Chiang Mai Mukdahan - error free

Thru the mountains, along the Mekong, back home.

Absolutely reliable

[grobec]

Give “WAZE” a try.
Now also owned by Google.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Tuvoc]

One big fail for me for Google maps is that the concrete road my wife's father's house is on (Mae Chan area) doesn't even exist on Google Maps, and I've noticed other roads don't exist either. OK I know where it is and just need to navigate to the general area. Yet on Microsoft maps and HERE maps they are there and have been for years. I generally prefer Microsoft maps, but of course when that phone is dead I'll need to use Google maps on my android phone exclusively, although HERE is an option there. In busy cities yes Google for sure, it re-routes in real time and Microsoft maps does not.

Edited February 12, 2019 by Tuvoc

[HHTel]

One of my most memorable quotes from Google was:

"In 2 kilometres the road is flooded for 1.5 kilometres"

and it showed visually as well and was spot on!

[ianwheldale]

Recently returned from a round trip from Chiang Mai to Nongsonghong in Khon Kaen. Google maps were excellent for the whole trip. I do get issues from time to time of them being unable to distinguish a road from a buffalo track. Maybe it's as well I have an adventure bike that can cope with most road surfaces.

[Kalasin Jo]

Always excellent in my travels

[KittenKong]

I have Google Maps on my phone and also TomTom Go. TomTom cost me about 1500B for three years use of worldwide maps. I have used both extensively on three continents.

 

Google Maps is OK for the price (free) but it is not as good for navigating as TomTom, which also has live data for traffic etc.

 

Some addresses and locations cant be found by one system but can by the other, though there seems to be no obvious reason for this.

 

Google Maps is nowhere near as good on small roads, and TomTom downloads the entire map by default (often 1Gb or more) and so can be used completely offline. This can be handy in places with no mobile signal (there are lots of places like this in the USA).

 

TomTom has a nice website that allows you to create routes and adjust them and sync them with TomTom on your phone. This works very well and I did about 12,000 miles of road trips using it over the last couple of years. Google has something similar but not as good.

 

One thing I absolutely hate about Google Maps is that it often says stupid things like "head south", as if I had the faintest idea which way south is. Such software should only use directions like forward, backward, left and right, and they should be based on the way your vehicle is moving. Anything else is daft.

 

So all in all I tend to use TomTom unless it fails me, in which case I try Google Maps.

[HAKAPALITA]

1 minute ago, KittenKong said:

I have Google Maps on my phone and also TomTom Go. TomTom cost me about 1500B for three years use of worldwide maps. I have used both extensively on three continents.

 

Google Maps is OK for the price (free) but it is not as good for navigating as TomTom, which also has live data for traffic etc.

 

Some addresses and locations cant be found by one system but can by the other, though there seems to be no obvious reason for this.

 

Google Maps is nowhere near as good on small roads, and TomTom downloads the entire map by default (often 1Gb or more) and so can be used completely offline. This can be handy in places with no mobile signal (there are lots of places like this in the USA).

 

TomTom has a nice website that allows you to create routes and adjust them and sync them with TomTom on your phone. This works very well and I did about 12,000 miles of road trips using it over the last couple of years. Google has something similar but not as good.

 

One thing I absolutely hate about Google Maps is that it often says stupid things like "head south", as if I had the faintest idea which way south is. Such software should only use directions like forward, backward, left and right, and they should be based on the way your vehicle is moving. Anything else is daft.

 

So all in all I tend to use TomTom unless it fails me, in which case I try Google Maps.

Tom Tom powers Google Maps

[KittenKong]

1 minute ago, HAKAPALITA said:

Tom Tom powers Google Maps

That's interesting. But in that case it is really odd that one of them can get lost when the other doesn't.

 

Given the small cost (500B/year) I am perfectly happy to pay for TomTom and to use both.

[HAKAPALITA]

Well for the Average Joe the need to put A Hellfire Missile through a Rag Heads Window isnt realy needed.[emoji573]


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Saltire]

Well after my trip of just under 2000Km I can say I like Google Maps a lot. It didn't get me lost once. The only foibles were .......

 

On one occasion it took me on a 'short cut' through a very large police station but came out on the correct main road. Aside from the funny looks this was no problem.

 

Between main roads it took the shortest route but offered me longer ones but I stayed on its recommendation and so took me through some beautiful locations I'd have missed.

 

It worked all the way through the infamous Li road (the 106) and I hope I never see that road again! I feel lucky to be alive

 

The voice cut out a few times but I think I found out why. It turns out an iPhone will only last 4 hours when 'on' for the whole route. Plugging in the charger it still worked but muted the sound for some reason. I eventually started to switch the route off on the 100Km+ sections, and on again when approaching a route change.

 

It also got me through all the small towns and when it tried to take me down a really narrow lane I drove on and it quickly rerouted.

 

All in all considering it's free, I think I will use it a lot more in future.

 

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Drive Safe .

[steve73]

Am I the only person who still uses a paper Road Atlas..?