Traveler FAQs

If you are an Owner or a Park Ranger and have questions relating to your place please see these FAQ pages.

How-to videos on YouTube

Looking for quick instructions on how to use our website or mobile app? Check out the videos on our YouTube channel. We cover topics such as: How to checkin and add new places, how to report problems and make corrections to places, as well as the basics of registering, logging in and updating preferences. To request a video for a new topic, send us an email.

Why can’t I see the map?

Currently iOverlander does not support offline maps. iPhone does not cache any maps, so without internet you will not see the map. Android devices sometimes cache part of the map, so if you have viewed the area before, your phone will remember, and you can see the map for some time while offline.

You have three options to see maps offline:

  1. Organic Maps or other offline mapping app: You can download KML files from our website, and open the points in Organic Maps. In addition, you can open individual points via the iOverlander app, just tap the “Open in Mapping App” button. This will load the point you to open in your chosen mapping app, allowing you to see the place on a map even without internet.
  2. Download GPX files: You can download entire parts of our database as a GPX file. This file can be loaded onto a device that can import and store GPX-files, such as Garmin and Android and iOS navigation apps. This way you can see points of interest directly in your GPS.
  3. Purchase a Garmin GPS device that is preloaded with our points. These Garmin Devices are preloaded with iOverlander points and receive updates every 2 months: Garmin Overlander, Garmin RV 780, 890 and 1090, Garmin Zumo XT and Garmin Tread. Note that some devices in certain regions may not include our points, if you are outside the USA, please confirm before purchasing.

I just added a place, but it’s not showing up on the map. Why?

All new places must be uploaded, then go through iOverlander moderation, and then are made available for download the next time the mobile database is regenerated. Our mobile database is generated every week. Because of this process it can take up to two weeks for new places to reflect on all mobile devices.

If it has been more than 2 weeks, please make sure that your place has been uploaded! On your app, go to Settings, then Synchronize, then look at the bottom of the screen under My Data. You will need to have an account, and be logged in! The status should say "completely synchronized." If it does not, you must hit “Refresh” to upload the place.

I don’t see my place on my other phone?

Please see previous question.

I noticed mistakes, how do I submit corrections?

In order to make edits to a place, you will need to check-in. After submitting your check-in you have the opportunity to make corrections.

On the Website:
Go to ioverlander.com, register (or login), then go to the place with errors. Click the “I’ve been here check me in” button. (In order to make edits, you must first leave a check-in comment). After you leave a check-in, the next screen will prompt you to make corrections to the place. You can edit the description, amenities, or location. You can also mark the place as “closed”. If you mark a place closed, please explain why in the description or in your comment. When you are done click Submit Corrections.

On the App:
Download and log into the iOverlander app on your mobile device. Find the place on the map, and then click the check-in button. Add a short comment of 40 characters or more, explaining what changes you are making. On the next screen you will have the ability to change any additional details like the description and the amenities of the place. When you are done click on save changes. Make sure that you sync the changes on your app to make sure they are uploaded. Go to Synchronize on the main menu, and hit the Refresh button to make sure everything is uploaded.

Please note that your changes will appear within 24 hours on the website, but may take up to 2 weeks to appear on all mobile devices.

How do I mark a place as closed or non-existent?

Locate the place on the map. Click the "Check-in" link. In the comments of the check-in leave a note as to why the place is closed, and if it is permanent or temporary (if you know). Submit the check-in. On the next screen you are asked to make corrections to the listing. If the place is PERMANENTLY CLOSED, change the field OPEN: to NO. If you don’t change this field the place will not be marked closed!

I know of a place that isn’t listed on your site. How do I add it?

Please read our General Criteria and Category Specific Criteria to make sure that your place will be accepted.

On the App:
Download and log into the iOverlander app on your mobile device. Click on “Check-In”, then “Add New Place”. Follow the steps to add your new place.

On the Website:
Go to ioverlander.com. Then register or log-in, Right click on the map where you need to add the place and click the “Add New Place Here” button. Follow the steps to add your new place.

All new places will take up to 24 hours to show on the website and may take up to two weeks to appear on phone apps.

How do I delete a single check-in?

If you have NOT synchronized the check-ins on your phone, you can go to Check in History. Select the check-in that you want to delete and click Delete at the top of the screen. This ONLY works if you have not synced the check-in!

If you have synced, the only way to delete is to login online (on the iOverlander website). Use the same login as you have on your phone. Then go to the My Account menu and select Check-ins. You will see a list of all your recent check-ins. To the right of each check-in is a link that says DELETE check-in. That will allow you to permanently remove the check-in. You can only do this on the website, it’s unfortunately not available on phones. This will not delete the entire place, it will only delete your check-in.

If you want to delete an entire place, you can use the Report a Problem button. Chose the option “This place is closed or doesn’t exist”. Then select Other. Then leave a note as to why the place needs to be removed. A moderator will review and delete for you.

How do I change my Blog name (the name that is publicly displayed with each check-in)?

You can make this edit on the iOverlander website. Go to iOverlander.com and login. Then go to My Account (in the top menu), and select Profile. On the profile page, you will find all your information. In the top left panel is the current blog information visible. Click the Edit button on that panel to change the name, address or description. The name is what is displayed publicly.

Please note that it could take up to two weeks for this change to populate to everyone’s devices. It should change almost immediately on the website, but it will not change on mobile devices until we regenerate the database (which happens weekly), and others resync the new database.

How do I delete photos from my check-in?

The only way to delete photos is to delete the check-in that contains the photos. You must do this on our website, it is not possible on the phone app. Go to iOverlander.com and login. Then go to My Account (in the top menu), and select Check-ins. You will see a list of your check-ins. Click the link to the right of the check-in you wish to delete "Delete Check-in" You can then add the check-in again if you want, with or without photos.

I need to reset location permissions. How do I do that?

Permissions are changed in your PHONE settings, NOT in iOverlander settings.

For Android:

  1. Close iOverlander
  2. Open the phone Settings
  3. Tap Apps or Application Manager (depending on your device, this may look different).
  4. Tap the app you want to review. (iOverlander)
  5. Tap Permissions.
  6. Change the permissions for the App
  7. Open iOverlander and use again.

For iOS:

  1. Close iOverlander
  2. Open your phone Settings
  3. Scroll down to the iOverlander App
  4. Update the permissions
  5. Close settings and open iOverlander

How do I change my default mapping program?

When selecting “open in mapping app” you have to option to set one app as default. If you accidentally select the wrong app, and want to change it later, there are the steps. Note you must make this change in your PHONE SETTINGS, not in iOverlander settings.

For Android:

  1. Open Settings on your device.
  2. Tap Apps or Application Manager (depending on your device, this may look different).
  3. Scroll down to the mapping program you wish to use as default.
  4. Tap Set as default.

For iOS : The following only works on some iPhone devices. Generally iPhone does not allow you to set a default mapping program. If you have managed to uninstall Apples’ map program, and set Google maps as default, you can use these steps to set a different program, although it doesn’t always work.

  1. Open the iOverlander app
  2. Browse the map to find a place
  3. Open the place details
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the place details and select the mapping app you prefer.

I cannot login, what do I do?

It is likely that you are entering the wrong email address. To double check this, go to the login screen, click on forgot password. Enter the email address you are trying to login with and click on "Send me the reset password instructions". If there is an error that says "Email not found" you are using the wrong email address. Try an alternate email address.

My app is crashing, how do I report it?

Please send us an email. Please remember to include your device type, name and model number as well as the email address associated with your account and we will troubleshoot as soon as possible. Remember that the more information you give us, the faster we can fix the problem!

How do I download all of the places in a GPX or CSV format?

There are two ways to download points:

  1. Download the points by country: Browse by Country

  2. Do a search on this page: Search for places. After the search is complete, at the top of the page, underneath the header "### Places Found" it says "Download results as: KML|GPX|CSV|JSON." Click one of the links to download you search results. Note that you should only attempt to download 2,000 places or less at a time. Attempting an entire database download will cause the website to throw errors.

What do the icons on the map mean?

On the website, in the top right corner of the homepage there is a button that says "Show Legend." Click the button and then select an icon on the left to view the category description on the right side.

On the App, go to the Help Center on the main menu. Click on “Categories” to see the legend.

What language should I enter submissions in?

We ask that you enter the names of places in the local language and descriptions in English. If you are not able to enter in English, please enter in the language you are comfortable writing in, and an iOverlander moderator will translate for you. We hope to support multiple languages in iOverlander in the future.

Is your app available in other languages?

At present there is no support for multiple languages. We are hoping to support more languages in the future.

I have a feature request, how can I get it added to iOverlander?

All new feature requests are discussed by the senior team at iOverlander and if agreed upon added to the queue of future features. Please send us an email with your idea and how you think it will work to us.

Have you thought about adding this other database to yours?

We have in the past included data sets from contributors, but because of the prevalence of duplicate places and points we very rarely do bulk imports.

If you’re aware of a list that will not result in duplicates, we have three other criteria that needs to be met:

  1. We require that all places are individually verified by travelers.

  2. We require the permission of all the contributors of that list to use and redistribute these points.

  3. The data must have the required fields: GPS coordinates, date visited, type (campground, hotel, restaurant, etc), name, description. In order to ensure the best quality of data these fields are REQUIRED for all submissions.

If you believe your database meets the criteria above, please email us at [email protected]

About iOverlander

iOverlander is a free website and app created to help overlanders on the road find their next destination. Please help us improve our data by updating and adding places you have been.

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