Google Maps to Apple Watch

Google Maps on the Apple Watch is a poor navigator for a planned walk or ride: it shows only the next turn, it needs the iPhone within reach, and it cannot load a route you saved in advance. SendaOne closes that gap. Plan the route in Google Maps, convert the link to a GPX here, and import it into WorkOutDoors — the best navigation app on Apple Watch. You then follow the exact planned line on a real map, turn by turn, on the wrist, offline, with the phone left at home.

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How it works

Plan the route in Google Maps. Open Google Maps, build the walk, run or ride in any travel mode, tap Share and copy the link. Short maps.app.goo.gl URLs and long google.com/maps URLs both work.
Convert at SendaOne. Paste the URL on the home page, select GPX, click Convert. The file downloads in seconds with the full polyline, every intermediate stop and per-point elevation.
Import into WorkOutDoors. Open WorkOutDoors on the iPhone, go to Routes, import the GPX file. The route transfers to the Apple Watch app and is stored on the watch for offline use.
Follow it on the wrist. Start a workout in WorkOutDoors with the route selected. The watch draws the line to follow on a vector map, shows distance and the elevation profile, and alerts you when you go off-route — no iPhone, no signal required.

Why this beats Google Maps on the watch

The whole route, not just "turn". The built-in Google Maps Apple Watch app shows a single next-turn arrow and depends on the iPhone. This flow puts the entire planned route on a real map on the watch, so you see what is ahead, not only the next instruction.
Truly offline, no phone. Once the GPX and the area map are on the watch, WorkOutDoors navigates with no signal and no iPhone. Built for trails, remote rides and anywhere coverage drops.
Mirrors the route Google built. SendaOne respects the dirflg mode in the URL. A cycling route stays a cycling route — no silent recompute through a second routing engine that draws a different path. Google's city routing is what you keep.
Elevation profile on the wrist. SendaOne fetches per-point elevation from Google's Maps Elevation API and writes it into the GPX, so WorkOutDoors can show the climb ahead during the workout.

The gap, in the reviewers' own words

This missing capability is well documented. In his Apple Watch Ultra 3 review, DC Rainmaker wrote that "Apple desperately needs to allow routes to be created using 3rd party route engines and then synced to the Apple Watch." Until Apple ships that natively, converting a Google Maps route to GPX and importing it into WorkOutDoors is the practical way to get a real planned route, with its map, onto the watch.

Frequently asked questions

Can I follow a Google Maps route on Apple Watch turn-by-turn?

Not natively for a route you planned in advance. Google Maps on the Apple Watch shows only the next turn and needs the iPhone nearby. Convert the Maps URL to GPX at sendaone.com, import it into WorkOutDoors, and the watch shows the full vector map with the exact planned line drawn on it — offline, without the phone.

Why WorkOutDoors instead of the built-in Google Maps watch app?

The Google Maps Apple Watch app cannot open a route you saved; it only mirrors live navigation from the phone and shows a single turn arrow. WorkOutDoors renders a real map with your GPX route on it, works fully offline, and runs the whole workout from the wrist. It is widely regarded as the best navigation app on Apple Watch for this reason.

Does it work offline without the iPhone?

Yes. Once the GPX route is imported into WorkOutDoors and the offline map for the area is downloaded to the watch, the Apple Watch follows the route with no iPhone and no signal. This is exactly the gap the built-in Google Maps watch app does not cover.

Does the route keep the original mode and stops?

Yes. The dirflg parameter (walking, cycling, driving, transit) in the URL is honored, so the GPX mirrors the route Google built on screen. Up to eight intermediate stops are preserved with their original names, and per-point elevation is included so the climb profile shows correctly in WorkOutDoors.