[seer]

Once I was travelling through Morocco and the general advice I got from other turists even before the trip was “don’t trust the gps”. It turned out the medinas (old towns) themselves were so densly packed, that you could not see much of the sky to get any lock on satellites, and the internet coverage was very spotty.

And you “had” to learn how to read paper maps, because otherwise you’d fall pray to the many “tourist guides” that will scam you for 5-10 bucks each time, or worse. In that unique environment, where there's a need and a threat model, you get the hang of it pretty quickly, and boy oh boy was it worth it, after the inital bit were you “learn the map” I could navigate the busy winding streets of marakesh with confidence, spending way more time looking at the splendor of the souk(bazaar), choosing “alternative” routes to explore new areas, while having this worm “at home” feeling.

And that “skill” persisted for quite aome time after the trip. We had an orientation challenge team building event, and my tream beat everyone handily mainly because of the medina training I got :)

[elcapitan]

> It turned out the medinas (old towns) themselves were so densly packed, that you could not see much of the sky to get any lock on satellites, and the internet coverage was very spotty.

Instead of a paper map I usually use Openstreetmap (OsmAnd client) for that - you download the map beforehand, and then just read it like a paper map in case you have no satellite. Switch on landmarks etc for recognising places better. It also has much more footways and small streets than google maps.

[matt_the_bass]

I was in Marrakech before smart phone maps. I did once get lost in the Medina for about an hour before finding a familiar landmark.

I took a road trip from Ouarzazat to the dunes in the south east near Algeria. Some of the directions to hotels included “take THE road south of the village and turn off the road at the sign about 41 km from the city. From there head east on the hard sand about 9km. Follow the dunes counter clockwise until you reach the hotel.” That was an awesome adventure!

[girvo]

I got the same advice in Edinburgh. Apparently the old crazy roads and verticality really don’t translate well into a 2D-ish plane and route finding algorithm!

[monort]

I haven't been in all medinas of Morocco, but never had a problem with GPS there, have you actually tried to use it? :) I think the only place where I really had a problem were Caruggi of Genoa.

One tip to have a better location awareness with electronic map is to enable trip recording, if you see your previous way you can sort of continue walking "inertially".

[seer]

It was more like swimming in deep waters - sometimes you get to an area with a big enough opening that you get satellite lock in, get your bearings and can once again “dive”. But not using gps at all was a lot more fun though

[arethuza]

I did try using Google Maps on my phone in Marrakesh a few years back and it failed completely and left me with an astounding data roaming charge.

Easier to pay a local to walk you back to your hotel if you get completely lost!

[icebraining]

Nowadays Google Maps lets you download an area ahead of time, and then use it offline.

[izacus]

Still doesn't help since Marrakech medina has practically no streets drawn in on GMaps / OSM and you're not getting a GPS lock worth a damn. Your phone will just put you somewhere a few 10m off which can easily be another snaky street.

Maps are awesome there.

(This is experience from this year.)