Questions about Gypsy Guides?

[pattyj 1204]

On one of the threads I read about the Gypsy guides. It sounds like a very nice option to have. We have a tablet and a phone with satellite capabilities. Are there places on the Islands that you have poor or no reception? Also from their website we notice that there are quite a few versions of the guides. Is there one app that has all the Islands on it? Or do you download one for each Island. We are on POA and are planning on renting cars on all the Islands but Ohau. Has anyone had experiences with this app or hints for use? Thanks in advance for all your help.

[CruiserBruce]

Yes, there are parts of the islands that don't have full data, or even limited cell coverage. Road to Hana on Maui and going up to the top end of Waimea Canyon.

[pattyj 1204]

Thanks for the answer. I kind of thought that would be the case.

[Donray]

According to their write up you do not need to have cell service just the GPS. It is self contained.

 

http://gypsyguide.com/how-it-works/

Edited January 4, 2017 by Donray

[riodog]

We used the Gypsy Guide in January of 2016. Did not have a problem with service. The only issue is that you must follow in its directions. We had planned our route slightly different and it couldn't find the information. For example on Oahu we did the drive in reverse based on where we were staying and I had to manually select the items to hear them because we were not following its intended direction. When we drove the direction they wanted you to circle the island it was great.

The information was very informative. I would use again with the idea that I would follow their route.

[pattyj 1204]

Ok thanks for the answers. DH wants to know if you were heading in the reverse order on app doesn't it just start at the back and go forward (backward) to the starting point again?? Also will the directions just start where we pick up the car and then have us proceed to the first site? I think I understood that the GPS would find our starting point and get us on the way, isn't that correct?

[Lovex4]

We used Gypsy for road to Hana on Maui in April. It worked flawlessly.

[uvasag]

Also, what version of the app did you guys use ?

[pattyj 1204]

Good question, did not know there were different versions of the apps and I went to their website.

[AryMay]

We used the Gypsy Guide App this past March...one of the best inventions ever! It was like having our own personal tour guide for just a few dollars and the cost of a rental car...a great value when split between us and the other couple we were traveling with! (A suggestion...if you book your car through Discount Hawaii Car Rental you often get the 2nd driver FREE which lets you switch off drivers during the day.)

 

There is not a single app that covers all of the islands so you will need to buy the apps separately. I do know that we purchased the Oahu full island version since we were spending several days in Honolulu. There are several different route versions you can buy for Oahu, but the full island version contained all of those in one single app...a better value than purchasing each route separately.

 

We also purchased the Maui app as well. Even though we visited Volcanoes National Park on the day we were in port at Hilo we did NOT purchase the VNP app. That particular route only covered driving from Kona to VNP and did not include coming from Hilo. If you log onto the Gypsy Guide website, you can see the route maps for each one of the apps. (I just saw that there is now a full-island version for the Big Island that I don't think was available last March. It looks like it WOULD cover the drive from Hilo to VNP.)

 

One tip...bring along a cord to connect your phone to the car speakers. Without this, it might be a little harder to hear the narrative. Oh...and also a good idea to bring a power car charger for the phone so you don't run out of battery power.

 

I had to marvel at the technology that went into this app. It would start playing automatically as you drove along describing exactly what you would be seeing at the time. I know it is GPS driven, but to me it seemed like magic! :)

 

There is a link in my signature to the blog posts I did for Hawaii...it might give you an idea of the things we saw using the app.

Edited January 15, 2017 by AryMay

[clc6p]

Yes, there are parts of the islands that don't have full data, or even limited cell coverage. Road to Hana on Maui and going up to the top end of Waimea Canyon.

 

If you download these tours beforehand, they will work even with limited cell coverage as you do not use your data. That is the beauty of them.

[CruiserBruce]

If you download these tours beforehand, they will work even with limited cell coverage as you do not use your data. That is the beauty of them.

 

I answered the OP's questions as to cell phone and data coverage, asked in the first post. I took their question at face value.

[clc6p]

Your comment make no sense, but ok!!!!emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited January 23, 2017 by clc6p

[CruiserBruce]

Are there places on the Islands that you have poor or no reception?

 

Your comment make no sense, but ok!!!!emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

I answered this question from the original poster's first post.

[pattyj 1204]

Thanks to all for the informative answers and suggestions. I'm so looking forward to this trip.