(Keywords: GPS Map Caribbean)
The Caribbean
Featuring
GPS Maps and Data of the Islands
Screenshots (click to enlarge)
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You may be tempted to leave your GPS at home while vacationing in the Caribbean, but here are a few reasons you should take along your GPS:
- Be more aware of your surroundings. It's difficult to tell one island from another. If you are island hopping or on a cruise, it is helpful to know the names of the islands around you so you can better explain to others where you are where you've been.
- Have more fun. GPS games like geocaching are a fun activities when you get board of laying on the beach. At this writing, there were about 60 geocaches in the Bahamas, 30 the US Virgin Islands, 20 in BVI...
- Explore with confidence. Islands like St John have great hiking trails. Use your GPS to mark the trailhead and record a tracklog so getting back is easy.
- Share your travels. Recording GPS waypoints and tracks is a great way to document your travels and share your experience with maps and data with others when you return home.
However, most on-the-shelf GPS are not preloaded with detailed basemaps of the Caribbean. So you will want to load up on maps before you leave. Here are GPS maps and data resources for Caribbean.
Garmin®-compatible GPS Map
The Caribbean Mapping Project ( rwsmaps.griffel.se) has produced Caribbean Roads and Topo mapset, which represents some of the best Garmin-compatible maps of the Caribbean - and best of all: they are free! As long as you have Garmin MapSource software or other suitable utility, you can download the executable file, install the maps on your computer and/or transfer them to your GPS. Simply follow the download links from http://rwsmaps.griffel.se/
Get it on SD
For the price of the media, postage and handling, get this map without the hassle of downloads and additional software. Just plug the Secure Digital memory card into your compatible Garmin GPS and you're good to go. Buy one 1- Gig SD card pre-loaded with free, Garmin-compatible, Caribbean Roads & Topo map. |
Caribbean Roads and Topo includes: coastlines, major roads, topographic contours, points of interest, lakes and rivers. Not all islands have the same level of detail. See screenshots at right. According to map author, Richard Smith, Caribbean Roads and Topo has more road detail than Garmin MapSource World Map.
Caribbean Roads and Topo is compatible with all Garmin nuvi, zumo, and most current StreetPilot models.
Additional Resources
St John USVI
"Trail Bandit" Bob Garrison has been hard at work developing GPS of his favorite places in the Caribbean. Bob offers several downloads at his web site www.trailbandit.org, including Garmin-compatible map of St John USVI
Here at TravelByGPS.com/premium/USVI/stjohn.php you will find GPs eXchange data for points of interest, dive sites, and tracks of hiking trials on St John.
St Thomas USVI
It has been several years now that "Badger" has provided a Garmin-compatible map of St Thomas here.
MapSource BlueChart
Garmin offers MapSource BlueChart "the best offshore cartography around" with the Americas CD including the entire Caribbean region. Click here for BlueChart at AdventureStation.
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