Getting GPX onto your sat nav: how the route reaches the device

GPX is the exchange format of the navigation world: a simple XML file containing waypoints and tracks, read by many sat navs and maps apps. Camperada exports your planned tour with one click as a GPX 1.1 file (camperada-route.gpx). Here is what’s inside and how it gets into your device.

If you work with Google Earth or Google My Maps, take the second format on the same button instead of GPX: KML (camperada-route.kml). Content and route are identical, only the target program differs. The section Google Earth and My Maps below says when that pays off.

What’s in the file

The export contains two things. The names below are those of the GPX file; in the KML file the same two things are called <Placemark> and <LineString>.

• Waypoints (<wpt>): your stations with names, for example the starting point, intermediate stops and overnight sites.
• Track (<trk>): the calculated route line as a chain of coordinates.

The difference matters in practice: if your device follows the track, you drive exactly the planned line. If it only uses the waypoints, it recalculates the route in between itself, possibly without your vehicle dimensions. If your route deliberately goes around a low bridge, track navigation is the safe choice.

Garmin devices

Garmin devices read GPX files directly: connect the device via USB and copy the file into the GPX folder of the internal storage. On the next start, the tour appears in the tracks or routes section. On current devices the import also works wirelessly through the Garmin app.

TomTom devices

With TomTom, the import usually runs through the MyDrive web planner: upload the file there, sync with your account, and the sat nav shows the route among your saved routes. Older devices without a MyDrive connection sometimes only understand the in-house ITN format; a free converter helps there.

Smartphone apps

• OsmAnd and Organic Maps (both OpenStreetMap-based) import GPX files directly and also navigate offline. Open the file on your phone, hand it to the app, done.
• Google Maps itself imports no files, neither GPX nor KML. The way for Google users leads through Google My Maps, and that is what the KML export is for (see below).
• Camping sat navs and motorhome appswith their own routing generally accept GPX as well; the import function is usually called "import GPX" or "load track".

Google Earth and My Maps: the KML export

The Google world speaks KML, not GPX. Google Earth in the browser imports KML and KMZ but not GPX; to view a GPX file there, you would first have to convert it with Google Earth Pro on the desktop. With Camperada’s KML export, that detour disappears: download the file, open it in Google Earth, done.

Google My Maps (mymaps.google.com) accepts both formats and stores the tour as a layer of its own map. That is handy if you want to annotate the route or share it with others, because a My Maps map can also be viewed in the Google Maps app under saved maps. Two limits are worth knowing: KML files may be at most 5 MB there (typical Camperada tours are far below that), and a layer holds at most 2,000 elements. You cannot navigate with it: My Maps shows the line but does not guide you turn by turn along it. For driving, GPX on a sat nav or in an offline app remains the better choice.

The OpenStreetMap world, in turn, understands both formats too: OsmAnd imports KML and KMZ and converts them to GPX on import. That is no reason to switch to KML there, but an already saved KML file stays usable this way.

Three practical tips

1. Test before departure: import the file the evening before and glance at the displayed line. Transfer errors show up while you still have Wi-Fi and peace.
2. Keep the files: the exported file is your backup. Store planned tours in a folder and you can reload or share them at any time.
3. Beware of recalculation:if your device offers to "optimise" the imported route, decline if the route deliberately avoids restrictions. Optimising means recalculating, and recalculating can remove the detour.