Using Foursquare for Navigation Instead of Google Maps

In the US, I love Google Maps; in foreign countries, I hate it. Google Maps has led me astray in pretty much every single foreign country that I’ve visited, so you think I would’ve learned by now not to trust it. The most recent example: Nahm is not in the correct place, which is crazy given that it’s one of the most famous restaurants in Bangkok, and it’s located in a large hotel. I try to correct misplaced markers when I discover them, but I’ve only seen one of my submissions corrected to the right location. Darn you, Google Maps.

Instead, I’ve come to trust Foursquare. The biggest benefit to Foursquare is that it’s crowdsourced, so everybody can help make it more accurate, and in navigating Thailand, it has yet to lead me astray. You can also save locations in Foursquare that you want to visit in the future, and it’s easy to browse those saved locations later.

I’m also a fan of Foursquare’s discovery features, although they’re a little less useful in less trodden places and in places like Thailand where many of the food options are just roadside stalls, but I’m always pleasantly surprised by the wealth of data that Foursquare has. So far, every place that I’ve seen mentioned online in Thailand or heard by word of mouth has had a Foursquare listing with a correct map location, and it’s helped me find some good eats that I doubt I would’ve found otherwise.