Hi everyone.
is there a phone based sat nav or possibly on google maps or skobbler, where just say im going into woods i dont know. That i can set the sat nav to always point to my destination, say where my car is parked. Then i can follow any route i want and always know which way to go.
sorry if its a silly question, ive tried google but cant find an answer.

Can you not use the compass? Take a bearing to your destination when you start?

Erm you can do this with maps.me simply set the car park as a favourite and leave location services on and at any time it’ll show you the route back

All data is local so no need for a mobile/internet signal it just needs GPS

thanks guys, will it show a “route” back or just point which way, which is what i want, i suppose that setting the destination point every time i stop would work, or wont it just look for streets or paths.

with a compass dont i have to keep rotating it to my bearing?

… and that was the last anyone saw of him.

Not exactly what you’re asking but beeline.co

@ cougar pmsl 🙂

@ Simons, nicolai.
yes thats exactly what i was after, i just wondered if there was a setting on satnavs that i could just tell the compass where to go and then follow it.

cheers

Viewranger is probably what you want.

The apps point you directly at a waypoint (as the crow flies).
Very good for general navigation and route planning too.

http://www.viewranger.com/en-gb

will it show a “route” back or just point which way

maps.me shows the route and also which way you’re going. It auto rotates and all that jazz and goes into perspective mode when you get close to your destination wohhhhhhhhhhhh

And it’s FREE

(Viewranger is also free)

Not an app, but my Garmin Vivoactive has a ‘back to start’ feature that is just an arrow and distance back to where you started recording from that is live and updates as you move – this sounds like what you are after but I don’t know of any apps that do that (only because I don’t need to). I think the Garmin Edge 25 has it as well if you’re looking bike specific.

It has its downsides as well. I got a bit disorientated out on a run in unfamiliar suburban area trying to get back to my hotel. I used the back to start feature, but it seemed like every road I went down horseshoed back on itself! I ran at least 2km more than I was planning to by the time I finally made it back. The stava track looked interesting as well!

Google maps and drop a pin. Normally use it at the airport etc

Viewranger is free, but the maps aren’t. It does now have a ‘Skyline’ feature that drops a nametag onto features when you hold the phone up against the landscape, using the camera.
It’s been a long time coming, there used to be a similar feature when I first started using it on a Nokia N95!
There’s an app called Crowsflight that does pretty much what the OP wants, as well.
As far as finding your car in large car parks, like festivals and the like is concerned, you can buy a twin-port USB jobbie that’s Bluetooth enabled, and links to a dedicated app. It gives you a map to show where your car is in relation to you, and the distance, it allows you to set an alarm according to how long your parking ticket is valid for, and it constantly checks your car battery condition.
It’s called ZUS, and works pretty well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZUS-Charger-Military-Bluetooth-Charging/dp/B015F34P1Q
I got mine via Indigogo, when it was cheaper.

Viewranger is free, but the maps aren’t.

Optionally.

The OpenStreetMap/OpenCycleMap maps are free (and downloadable), and the “streaming” maps are free too (e.g. Google Maps) though they obviously require an Internet connection.

You can pay to have proper OS maps if required. But it doesn’t sound like the OP needs that level of detail.