AvoMap Help Center
13 min read
Route
In short
- A route is a chain of segments, and each leg can travel its own way — drive, fly, cycle, hike, train or boat.
- Add a leg by searching for a place or clicking the map, or draw the whole trip stop by stop.
- Recorded it already? Import the GPX or FIT file from your watch or app and edit it like any other route.
On this page
The Route is your journey — the path your video follows across the map. You build it out of segments, where each segment is one leg of the trip: a flight between two cities, a drive to the trailhead, a hike to the summit, and so on. You can use a single segment or chain many together to tell the whole story.
How a route is built
Think of your trip in legs. For example, you might drive from home to the airport, fly to Bangkok, take a car to your hotel, then ride a bike down to the river and follow it by boat. Each of those is a segment, and AvoMap draws each one the right way.
The magic is that each type of travel follows a different path:
- A drive between two cities follows the roads and highways.
- The same trip by bike avoids the highways and takes friendlier roads.
- A flight connects the two points with a smooth, direct line.
You just tell AvoMap how you travelled, and it draws a realistic path for you.
Ways to travel
When you add a segment, you choose how that leg was travelled:
| Type | Best for |
|---|---|
| Flight | Trips between airports or far-apart cities |
| Drive (car / motorbike) | Road trips on highways and main roads |
| Bike | Cycling routes that avoid big roads |
| Walk / Hike / Run | Footpaths, trails, and mountain routes |
| Train | Journeys that follow the railway lines |
| River Route | Ferries, rivers, and trips along the water |
Under those sits Draw your route, which is the other way to work: instead of one leg at a time, you place every stop of the trip first and decide leg by leg how each one is drawn. It's described further down this page.
Adding a segment
There are two easy ways to add a leg to your route. Either way you start by choosing the travel mode, then set where the leg begins and ends. In the editor you can also press N to jump straight to the add-segment view.
Search for a place
Use the search box to find a town, a landmark, an airport, or a train station, then pick how you travelled there. AvoMap works out the path for you.
You can search the whole world, or narrow the results to just places, airports, or train stations.
Matching results are listed and pinned on the map, so it's easy to tell apart the many places that share a name.
Pick a result and AvoMap zooms straight to it, ready to drop in as your next waypoint.
Click on the map
If you already know where you're going, just click the spot on the map. AvoMap connects it to your last point using the travel type you picked.
Before a leg is added, AvoMap previews it as a dashed line so you can check the path — then confirm to drop it onto your route.
Either way, you choose the travel type for each new point, so a single trip can freely mix flights, drives, and hikes.
Right-click for a shortcut
Right-clicking anywhere on the map opens a small menu. Route to here extends your route to that spot in one step, and you pick the travel type in the same click: flight, drive, ride, or trek. The same menu drops a symbol at that point, and Copy location puts the coordinates on your clipboard, which is useful when you want the same spot in another tool.
Starting from a recorded GPS file
You don't have to build every route by hand. If you already recorded your trip — with a GPS watch, phone, or bike computer — you can bring it straight in instead of retracing it point by point.
When you create a new video, choose Import a GPS file and pick your GPX, KML, KMZ, FIT or TCX file, or drop it straight onto the card. AvoMap reads the recorded track and lays it onto the map as your route, ready to open in the Route tab.
Very large files
Files above the size limit are turned away with a message rather than a slow, half-loaded map. If yours is too big, thin out its points first — GPX Studio does this in the browser — and import it again.
From there it behaves like any route you built by hand. You can:
- Reroute or adjust parts of it, and trim where it starts and ends.
- Add more segments onto either end — for example, a flight to reach the trailhead before your recorded hike.
- Add pauses to linger on a highlight, and set the camera and line style just as you would otherwise.
Which file should I use?
Whatever your app or device gives you. GPX is the one almost everything can export. Garmin, Wahoo, Coros and Suunto devices record FIT, and you can import that as it is. The zip from Garmin Connect's Export Original and the .gz files in a Strava account export go in without unpacking, and so do KMZ files from Google Earth or Google My Maps.
Indoor workouts
A FIT file from a treadmill run or a trainer ride has no GPS positions in it, so there's no route to import. AvoMap tells you so instead of drawing an empty map.
Starting from a Google Maps link
Planned the trip in Google Maps already? Paste the link into AvoMap and your route is built for you, leg by leg, ready to play.
Copy the link in Google Maps
Open Directions in Google Maps and add your start, your destination and any stops in between. Pick how you're travelling at the top: car, motorbike, bike or on foot.
Then copy the link. On a computer, copy it from your browser's address bar, or use Share and Copy link. On your phone, tap Share, then Copy link.
Paste it into AvoMap
On your maps page, hit Create new video and choose Create a route from a Google Maps link, below the two big cards.
Paste your link into the field (the Paste button does it in one tap) and hit Create route. AvoMap reads your stops, plans the roads between them and opens the editor with the route on the map. A long trip takes a few seconds.
What you get
Every leg of your trip, from one stop to the next, becomes its own segment. So each leg is a separate block on the timeline, and you can give it its own camera, pause after it, or change its length.
The legs follow the way you travel in Google Maps. A drive stays on roads, a bike ride takes bike-friendly roads and paths, and a walk takes footpaths and trails. If you dragged the blue line in Google Maps to take a different road, AvoMap takes that road too.
The whole route plays in about half a minute when it has one or two legs, and in a minute when it has more. Longer legs get more of that time, so the pace stays even. You can stretch or shorten any of it on the timeline afterwards.
Why it can look a little different
Google shares your stops and how you travel, but not the exact line it drew. AvoMap plans the roads itself, so now and then a leg takes a slightly different street. If one does, change it like any other leg in the Route tab.
If the link doesn't work
- A route can have up to 10 legs. Longer trips are turned away. Remove a few stops in Google Maps and share the route again.
- A start at "Your location" can't come along: Google leaves your own position out of shared links, so the route starts at your first real stop. Set the start to a place or address if it matters.
- Public transport follows the roads, because bus and train timetables can't be copied.
- My Maps links are maps, not directions. Export the map as KML in My Maps and use Import a GPS file instead.
- If AvoMap can't find a way along the roads for a leg, that leg is drawn as a straight line, and a message tells you so.
Drawing your whole route
Adding one segment at a time works well for a trip with a handful of clear legs. For anything more involved — a road trip with eight overnight stops, a hike that leaves the trail, a ferry hop in the middle of a drive — Draw your route is quicker. You place every stop first, and each leg between two stops keeps its own routing.
Open it from the bottom of the Route tab, under Or make your own.
Pick the routing first
The green pill at the top says how the next stops you place will be connected. Hit Change to swap it. Whatever is showing applies to the legs you're about to draw, so set it before you start clicking, then change it again partway through if the trip changes character.
Place your stops
Click anywhere on the map to drop a stop. Each new stop connects to the one before it, and the leg appears straight away. If you'd rather name the place than find it, use the search button in the card header and pick a town, an airport, or a station.
The list on the left mirrors the map. Every stop gets a number, and between each pair sits a pill with the routing used for that leg and how long it is. Stops can be removed from the list, and dragging a bubble on the map moves the stop — the legs on either side follow it.
Clicking directly on the drawn line adds a stop in between, which is the easy way to bend a leg around a pass or a detour you actually took.
Give it a second
Each stop sends a routing request. Clicking far faster than the routes come back gets you a "too many requests" message — wait a moment and place that stop again.
Mix the routing leg by leg
Click any leg pill to change how that one stretch is drawn. That's how one route can carry a trip that changed shape along the way: roads to the trailhead, trail to the hut, a straight line back across the lake.
The options are:
| Routing | What it does |
|---|---|
| Direct Line | Connects two stops without following any network, smoothed into a gentle curve. Good for oceans and lakes. |
| Flight | A dead straight line, never smoothed, so a chain of flights stays sharp at every stop. |
| Car & Motorbike | Public roads, preferring the faster and more direct ones. |
| Moped | Secondary roads and urban streets, avoiding highways. |
| Road Bike | Paved, bike-friendly surfaces, avoiding rough terrain and steep climbs where it can. |
| Running | Footpaths, parks, and small roads, avoiding highways. |
| Hiking | Hiking trails, including steep ones, avoiding roads. |
| Train | Railway lines only. |
| River | Rivers and connected waterways. |
| Shortest Path | The shortest connection between two points, whatever the surface. |
The How it works button in the drawing view opens the same summary inside the editor.
Add it to your video
When the route looks right, hit Add Route Segment. If you drew more than one leg, AvoMap asks how it should land on the timeline.
One Segment keeps the whole thing as a single block: one duration, one camera, one vehicle. Split it instead and every leg becomes its own segment, which is what you want if the drive should feel different from the hike, or if you plan to pause between them.
Video length
Your video has a maximum length, and each segment needs time on the timeline. If there isn't enough room left, the split option is greyed out and the dialog says so — shorten other segments and the choice comes back.
Your route as a list of stops
The Route tab shows the finished route as a list: how many stops and legs it has, where it starts and ends, and how far each stop is from the beginning.
Click a leg's distance to open its options.
Route type changes how that leg is drawn. Add Stop Between drops a new stop into the middle of it. Add Pause holds the video at that point before the journey continues, and Delete removes the leg.
Adding a stop between two others opens a small card with the leg's start and end already filled in. Search for the place in the middle, or click it on the map.
About the numbered bubbles
The numbered bubbles on the map are only a preview to help you build your route — they won't appear in the final rendered video.
Changing a leg after you've added it
Nothing you change here happens straight away. AvoMap works out the new path, draws it on the map as a dotted preview, and waits.
The bar over the map is the decision point. Try a different route type from the picker there and the preview redraws. Cancel throws it away and leaves your route as it was, Apply route commits it, and Esc does the same as Cancel.
Dragging a stop bubble on the map works the same way: the legs on either side are recalculated, shown as a preview, and only applied when you say so.
When a leg already has a path of its own
Two kinds of leg carry a path that AvoMap didn't calculate: one you drew by hand, and one that came out of a GPS file. Re-routing those replaces the original with a calculated path, so it asks first.
For an imported leg the warning is stronger, because the recorded track is the thing you brought with you. Undo brings it back if you change your mind.
The camera question
Re-routing can change a leg's length a lot. If the new path is more than twice as long, or less than half as long, AvoMap asks whether to adjust the camera height so the leg still fits the frame nicely. Keep the camera if you've already set it up by hand.
Timing your route on the timeline
Once your segments are in place, their timing lives on the timeline at the bottom of the editor. Every segment appears as its own block in travel order, and the length of your whole video is the sum of those blocks — so you set the pacing by deciding how long each leg plays.
Drag the edge of a block to make a leg longer or shorter, add a pause to linger somewhere special, or cut and merge segments to reshape the trip. It's all covered in detail on the Timeline page.
Tips
- Build in order. Add segments in the order you travelled so the story flows naturally.
- One trip, many modes. Don't force everything into one travel type. Switch leg by leg for the most realistic result.
- Draw the whole thing when your trip has many stops. Placing them all first is faster than adding segments one by one, and you still choose the routing for each leg.
- Split when the legs differ. A drive and a hike want different camera heights and durations, so give them their own segments.
- Watch the preview before you apply. Re-routing shows you the new line first. If it took a strange detour, cancel and try another route type.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I add a route to my map video?
Open the Route tab, then either search for a place or click directly on the map. Pick how you travelled — fly, drive, cycle, hike, train, or boat — and AvoMap draws the path for you.
Can I combine different types of travel in one trip?
Yes. Every leg of your journey can be a different type, so you can fly to a city, drive to a town, then hike to a viewpoint — all in one route.
How do I draw my own route instead of adding one segment at a time?
In the Route tab choose Draw your route. Click the map to drop stops, drag them to adjust, and pick for each leg whether it follows roads, trails, railways, rivers, or a straight line. When you're done you add the whole thing at once.
Can I change how a leg is routed after I've added it?
Yes. Open the leg in the Route tab and pick another route type. AvoMap shows the new path as a preview on the map, and nothing changes until you hit Apply route.
Can I import a route I planned in Google Maps?
Yes. Copy the link to your directions in Google Maps. When you create a new video, choose Create a route from a Google Maps link and paste it. AvoMap plans the roads between your stops and opens the finished route in the editor, with one segment for each leg.
Can I import a route I already recorded?
Yes. When you create a new video, choose Import a GPS file and pick your file. GPX, KML, KMZ, FIT and TCX all work. AvoMap lays your recorded track onto the map as a route you can edit, extend, and style in the Route tab.
Where to go next
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