Who makes the best maps of/in Thailand?

[Bredbury Blue]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

[TomYumpoochai]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

Ill second that with google maps. I followed google to a cave in tung saliam but it actually took me 35km the wrong way and into sukothai historical park.

Then in burriram it took me to an empty shop which was supposed to be the ploy resort......un marked on the map and 4km away from where i was.

I use a thinknet book a green fold out map and google....all 3 offer different places of interest.

[VillageIdiot]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

Ill second that with google maps. I followed google to a cave in tung saliam but it actually took me 35km the wrong way and into sukothai historical park.

Then in burriram it took me to an empty shop which was supposed to be the ploy resort......un marked on the map and 4km away from where i was.

I use a thinknet book a green fold out map and google....all 3 offer different places of interest.

So much for Google Maps.

They seem to be about as useful as asking the locals.

[manarak]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

Ill second that with google maps. I followed google to a cave in tung saliam but it actually took me 35km the wrong way and into sukothai historical park.

Then in burriram it took me to an empty shop which was supposed to be the ploy resort......un marked on the map and 4km away from where i was.

I use a thinknet book a green fold out map and google....all 3 offer different places of interest.

To use google GPS navigation, you have to ascertain first that you got correct GPS coordinates !

Address geocoding doesn't work well in Thailand due to the poor address system used in Thailand, it's neither Google's fault nor is it easily fixable.

Edited March 31, 2015 by manarak

[Johpa]

Up north I use the GT-Rider maps as my primary road maps. I also use the now somewhat dated Berndtson road map of the north, but its tough rain-proofing finish has allowed it to last many years now. Berndtson also has country wide road maps, but those are a larger scale than their regional maps. There are also many road maps designed for the various tablet platforms, I use the maps.me app, that can be used by those of us who eschew GPS but travel well beyond the reach of cell towers.

And only tangentially related, but another five star recommendation for Prof. Thongchai's book 'Siam Mapped'.

[off road pat]

Google maps and you have the satellite view. There must be a good way to get the bits you want on paper if needed. The last time I tried to save a map offline it wouldn't work though. It was a dirt track route through the hills for a bike ride.

the pictures on Google satellite view are older than 10 years on the view of Chiang MaI you can not find Kad Suan Keo...A big shoping mall, .it was constructed some +/- 10 years ago....just a example amongst many....!

[mrfill]

Google maps and you have the satellite view. There must be a good way to get the bits you want on paper if needed. The last time I tried to save a map offline it wouldn't work though. It was a dirt track route through the hills for a bike ride.

the pictures on Google satellite view are older than 10 years on the view of Chiang MaI you can not find Kad Suan Keo...A big shoping mall, .it was constructed some +/- 10 years ago....just a example amongst many....!

Try http://goo.gl/maps/z3NIN

[PatMcrotch]

Regarding apps...I found google maps to be very inaccurate..at least 50% of places I wanted to go were wrong.

Maps.me worked well and their maps work offline.

[jethro69]

Jopha was quicker , I have the whole set of GT-Rider maps, even if they are not up to date, and not all roads on it, those who are, are accurate. There is the Golden Triangle map, The MaeHongSon Loop, The Mae Sa valley, and the Lao road map, (however roads and/or conditions in Laos change quicker then the ink drys while drawing a map).

I got one of Nan province as well, GPS surveyed by motorcycle riders.

The Thai road maps you get in 7-11's or gas stations are a pain in the ass, sometimes there are roads in who they talked about 20-30 years ago, but never build, but still in the recent maps

While Google maps do it most of the time, I found myself in the middle of a cornfield, where a major road was supposed to be (at least according Google maps ), the other problem is you need a data plan, to reload the data, you can save parts of the map offline, but it can't calculate a route if you don't have internet connection, and I found most of the time I lost somewhere, it was somewhere there was no reception, how could it be otherwise.

I heard ESRI maps are not bad, they work with Garmin GPS, but there is some catch there. (I don't recall exactly, but it was something with different language packs, working or not working on imported Garmin devices. In short, ESRI has somehow the monopol of Garmin devices here, which result that they are just overpriced, compared to US, or somewhere else, pretty sure you get more details here if you do a search)

Lately, I was using OsmAnd, which can be used offline, and is free (limited to 10 ?? downloads) the paid version is only 200 bath or so, definitely better money spend than on a 7-11 map.

I think the new Nokia map is also out for Android and Apple, but didn't test so far.

[HerbalEd]

US military cartographers made the most accurate maps of Thailand during the Vietnam war.

Before that, James McCarthy a British surveyor working as the Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys mapped the country between 1881 and 1883.

Do you think their maps are up to date?

[jethro69]

US military cartographers made the most accurate maps of Thailand during the Vietnam war.

Before that, James McCarthy a British surveyor working as the Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys mapped the country between 1881 and 1883.

Do you think their maps are up to date?

Depends, if they left their laptop on automatic updates in 1883

[bendejo]

It's been a while since I looked, but the Kinokuniya bookstores at Siam Paragon and The Emporium had some very good maps of the country.

[Digitalbanana]

US military cartographers made the most accurate maps of Thailand during the Vietnam war.

Before that, James McCarthy a British surveyor working as the Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys mapped the country between 1881 and 1883.

Do you think their maps are up to date?

They were the most up to date I could find for coverage of Philippines (slightly off topic!). Dated 1945.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

Ill second that with google maps. I followed google to a cave in tung saliam but it actually took me 35km the wrong way and into sukothai historical park.

Then in burriram it took me to an empty shop which was supposed to be the ploy resort......un marked on the map and 4km away from where i was.

I use a thinknet book a green fold out map and google....all 3 offer different places of interest.

So much for Google Maps.

They seem to be about as useful as asking the locals.

I think its best to study google maps, get a feel for where your going, other towns and landmarks on the way. I bought a second hand bicycle in BKK. The bike was located about 8km from Bearing, the most southern BTS station. I located the sellers address, used streetview to see what the place looked like. Worked out a small soi route back to Bearing bts as I would be cycling back. I did the whole route in streetview at home in Chiang Mai. It turned out to a semi pleasant ride in a hellish Bangkok suburb. Actually felt like I had been there before. Google maps is amazing IMO.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Google maps and you have the satellite view. There must be a good way to get the bits you want on paper if needed. The last time I tried to save a map offline it wouldn't work though. It was a dirt track route through the hills for a bike ride.

the pictures on Google satellite view are older than 10 years on the view of Chiang MaI you can not find Kad Suan Keo...A big shoping mall, .it was constructed some +/- 10 years ago....just a example amongst many....!

Try http://goo.gl/maps/z3NIN

KSK is definitely on my google maps. It does have regular updates to the app. I would estimate the satellite image of Chiang Mai city to be about between 12 - 18 months old.

[infinity11]

Royal Thai Survey Dept, (http://www.rtsd.mi.th).

Thanks, it's all in thai, i tried and failed with google translate.

If you have any suggestions how to navigate it great, i might need a thai person though.

You might need to go with a Thai (and maybe a valid reason to buy? - I've not tried alone) but the maps are the best I've seen in both English and Thai annotation. Attached a screen grab of a much larger raster screen scan example.

Capture.JPG

After enlarging to view, nothing is decipherable, but thanks anyway.

[Digitalbanana]

Royal Thai Survey Dept, (http://www.rtsd.mi.th).

Thanks, it's all in thai, i tried and failed with google translate.

If you have any suggestions how to navigate it great, i might need a thai person though.

You might need to go with a Thai (and maybe a valid reason to buy? - I've not tried alone) but the maps are the best I've seen in both English and Thai annotation. Attached a screen grab of a much larger raster screen scan example.

Capture.JPG

After enlarging to view, nothing is decipherable, but thanks anyway.

The original file is about 500MB in size, so I zoomed out. Attached a zoom to a small corner of another map. The detail is similar to what one might expect on a national topographic map service, and some areas have been mapped very recently on WGS84 datum. These are raster based images, but they also sell vector based data such as ESRI shp files I understand.

[jethro69]

Once upon a time there was a huge DK Books in Seacon Square which sold the survey maps being referred to on the pages (certain maps were not sold due to being military sensitive). I would therefore assume DK books wherever they are in Bkk these days probably still sell them.

Google maps are ok on your phone but they have many mistakes; locations in the wrong places. We're just back from a road trip of the northeast (loei area) and once the directions to the entrance of a national park entrance were totally in the wrong area (30 minutes past where we should have turned before we worked it out and then backtracked 30 minutes) and another time the route from Loei to erawan cave/wat tham erawan by a B road took me to a rural area 10kms as the cross flies from where the cave is and said "you've reached your destination".

Ill second that with google maps. I followed google to a cave in tung saliam but it actually took me 35km the wrong way and into sukothai historical park.

Then in burriram it took me to an empty shop which was supposed to be the ploy resort......un marked on the map and 4km away from where i was.

I use a thinknet book a green fold out map and google....all 3 offer different places of interest.

So much for Google Maps.

They seem to be about as useful as asking the locals.

I think its best to study google maps, get a feel for where your going, other towns and landmarks on the way. I bought a second hand bicycle in BKK. The bike was located about 8km from Bearing, the most southern BTS station. I located the sellers address, used streetview to see what the place looked like. Worked out a small soi route back to Bearing bts as I would be cycling back. I did the whole route in streetview at home in Chiang Mai. It turned out to a semi pleasant ride in a hellish Bangkok suburb. Actually felt like I had been there before. Google maps is amazing IMO.

Any major towns are usually very accurate, the problem starts off the beaten track.

[melvinmelvin]

Royal Thai Survey Dept, (http://www.rtsd.mi.th).

Thanks, it's all in thai, i tried and failed with google translate.

If you have any suggestions how to navigate it great, i might need a thai person though.

The Survey Dept has very very good maps in 1:50 000, based on fairly recent surveys.

The text is in both Thai and transliteration.

One sheet costs 50 baht as far as I remember.

[JingerBen]

US military cartographers made the most accurate maps of Thailand during the Vietnam war.

Before that, James McCarthy a British surveyor working as the Director-General of the Siamese Government Surveys mapped the country between 1881 and 1883.

Do you think their maps are up to date?

They were the most up to date I could find for coverage of Philippines (slightly off topic!). Dated 1945.

If you are looking for something specific, it is a good idea to cross-reference as many maps as possible.

An example: James McCarthy's Siamese Government Survey maps, in addition to his description in his book 'Exploring and Surveying in Siam' enabled me to find the remains of the old town of Fang. It wasn't shown on any modern map that I had seen.

Being 'up to date' can mean many things.

[infinity11]

Thank you for all of your help.

I have three decent maps of thailand all showing chonburi and the surrounding provinces.

All completely different styles with different details,

Where in pattaya can i find and buy more maps of chonburi and the other provinces nearby?

I am also looking for nature parks, natural unspoiled areas and hiking.

I am thinking about finding rooms for the night in towns and then spending the days exploring natural areas and outskirts.

Starting from pattaya and heading away from pattaya and bangkok, thinking of following the coast south and east, and the more maps i have the better sense i can get where i might prefer to go.

any and all leads and helpful ideas desired

online stuff and printing might be hit or miss, i don't have a printer

but that is an internet shop option should nothing else pan out