A list of pins is most valuable when it still works after the signal disappears. MAPS.ME is built around downloadable maps and bookmarks, but Google Maps does not offer a direct “send this list to MAPS.ME” command.
The practical route is:
Google Maps saved list → KML file → MAPS.ME bookmark set
KML is a good fit because a saved restaurant, campsite, shop, or trailhead is a point with a name and coordinates. It does not need to masquerade as a route or a recorded track.
One caveat deserves saying up front. MAPS.ME's current public app page still presents bookmarks as a core feature, but its public Help Center is less dependable than it used to be and the old import article is not consistently available. The file-opening workflow also depends on Android or iOS. Test three places before moving a list of three hundred.
MAPS.ME and Organic Maps are not the same app
The two products share history and still look familiar to people who used older versions, but they are separate applications with separate releases, accounts, and support. An instruction written for Organic Maps should not be treated as a guarantee about a current MAPS.ME screen.
If you have not chosen the destination yet, compare the Organic Maps import guide as well. Organic Maps publishes more detailed file-import documentation. Stay with MAPS.ME if that is already where your offline maps and bookmark habits live.
Why KML is the sensible source file
ExportMyMap creates one KML Placemark for each saved place that has coordinates. The placemark contains:
- the Google Maps place name;
- longitude and latitude;
- your own list note in the description, if you include notes.
The list name becomes the KML document name. That gives MAPS.ME enough information to draw the pins as a collection without asking it to search for every business again.
GPX can also describe waypoints, but KML is the less ambiguous bookmark format for this move. Save GPX for an app that explicitly expects GPS waypoints, routes, or tracks. The KML export guide explains the file itself in more detail.
Step 1: Export the list from Google Maps
Use a computer with Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Arc.
- Install the ExportMyMap Chrome Extension.
- Open Google Maps and choose Saved.
- Open the list you want in MAPS.ME.
- Launch ExportMyMap and wait for the scan to finish.
- Review the selected places.
- Choose KML, decide whether to include personal notes, and download.
If the source has collected repeated entries or obsolete businesses, use the duplicate and closed-place cleanup guide before creating the final KML. Removing them after import is slower on a phone.
Export 5 lists free — up to 5 places per list. Unlimited exports require a paid plan. If a Starred list stops at roughly 200 entries on the desktop, use the large Starred-list workflow before assuming that the rest were exported.
Give the file a useful name if your browser allows it. sicily-food-2026.kml will make sense in six months; export-4.kml will not.
Step 2: Put the actual file on the phone
Any ordinary transfer method is fine:
- AirDrop or iCloud Drive for an iPhone;
- Quick Share or USB for Android;
- a cloud drive;
- an email or message to yourself;
- a direct cable copy.
The important word is file. A Google Drive preview or a download page is not the KML itself. Make sure the item ends in .kml and is available to the phone's file manager.
Avoid renaming a ZIP file to .kml. A KML export from ExportMyMap is already uncompressed XML. If another source gave you KMZ, keep the .kmz extension instead of pretending it is plain KML.
Step 3: Open KML with MAPS.ME
On Android, find the file in Downloads or the system file manager, tap it, and choose Open with MAPS.ME when the chooser appears. If tapping shows only a preview, use the file's three-dot menu and look for Open with or Share.
On iPhone or iPad, open the file in Files, Mail, or your cloud app, tap Share, and choose MAPS.ME. It may be under More the first time.
The exact label can change with the operating system. The successful result matters more than the wording: MAPS.ME should open and add a bookmark set based on the file.
Step 4: Find and verify the bookmark set
Open the bookmark section in MAPS.ME and look for a set with the source list or filename. Make sure the set is visible, then check:
- a place in a dense city;
- a remote place;
- a name with an accent or non-Latin character;
- one place with a personal note, if notes were included.
Compare the coordinates or the point on the map, not only the displayed business card. MAPS.ME uses its own map data. A cafe may have a shorter name, a different category, or no business record at all while the imported bookmark still sits at the correct location.
What will not survive the move
KML moves portable data, not the Google place database. Do not expect:
- Google ratings and review counts;
- review text or photos;
- live opening hours;
- Google's category and popularity data;
- custom list order;
- a live connection back to the original Google list.
Notes are a separate question. ExportMyMap can put a note in the KML description, but the destination controls whether and where that description is shown. If notes are important, keep a separate Excel or CSV archive instead of trusting one mobile app to preserve them forever.
If the import fails
MAPS.ME is missing from the app chooser. Update the app, save the file locally, and use the system file manager rather than a browser preview. On iOS, check the More section of the Share sheet.
The file opens as text. The phone associated .kml with a text viewer. Use Open with and select MAPS.ME explicitly.
The bookmark set is empty. Run the source through the KML validator. Places without coordinates cannot become map pins, and a malformed KML may open without producing useful bookmarks.
Some places are missing. Compare the number of KML Placemarks with the number of selected places. ExportMyMap omits entries without usable coordinates from map formats. The missing coordinates guide explains how to identify them.
All pins have the same style. That is normal for a simple portable KML. ExportMyMap does not try to recreate Google list icons or categories as MAPS.ME styles.
Check the offline part before the trip
Importing bookmarks does not download the surrounding map. Download every country or region you will need, put the phone in airplane mode, and open several pins. Test search and routing too if you plan to use them away from a connection.
Keep the original KML. It is the part of the move that belongs to you, and it can later be imported into Locus Map or Gaia GPS without scraping the bookmarks back out of MAPS.ME.