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How to Transfer Google Maps Saved Places to Organic Maps: Complete Guide

Learn how to export your Google Maps saved places and import them into Organic Maps with step-by-step instructions, including solutions for the geocoding challenge.

October 29, 2025

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7 min read

Are you moving from Google Maps to Organic Maps and want to bring all your favorite locations with you? This complete guide shows you how to export your Google Maps saved places and import them into Organic Maps, while solving the common challenge of missing coordinates in Google Takeout.

What is Organic Maps and Why Use It?

Organic Maps is a privacy-focused, offline-first maps and navigation app based on OpenStreetMap data. It's designed for hikers, travelers, and privacy-conscious users who want fast maps without trackers. Organic Maps is particularly useful for:

  • Offline navigation and search
  • Privacy-friendly routing without analytics or ads
  • Viewing high-quality OSM data and hiking trails
  • Organizing places as bookmarks and folders
  • Importing/exporting bookmarks in standard formats (KML/KMZ/KMB/GPX)

Understanding the Two Takeout Export Paths

Google Takeout produces two different file types for saved places, and which one you use matters:

"Saved" → CSV files (recommended): Selecting "Saved" in Takeout gives you one CSV per list — complete with place names, addresses, and notes, but no coordinates. This is the most reliable path because it covers all your custom lists and the output is clean.

"Maps (your places)" → Saved Places.json: Some exports include a Saved Places.json GeoJSON file. This covers starred and labeled places and has partial coordinates — but many entries export with [0, 0] coordinates (these appear in the Atlantic Ocean if imported directly), and custom-list places often import without names. Organic Maps does support renaming this file to .geojson and importing it directly, but the bugs make it unreliable for most people.

Recommendation: Use the CSV path below. For a full comparison of the two formats, see our Saved Places.json vs CSV guide.

The Challenge: Google Maps Export Limitations

When exporting your data from Google, you'll quickly discover a significant limitation: Google Takeout doesn't provide actual geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) for your saved places. Instead, it only gives you names and addresses, which aren't directly importable into Organic Maps. You'll first need to geocode your places to add precise coordinates.

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Export Your Saved Places from Google Takeout

First, let's get your data out of Google:

  1. Go to Google Takeout
  2. Click "Deselect all"
  3. Scroll down and select only "Saved" (your Google Maps saved places/lists)
  4. Click "Next step"
  5. Choose "Export once" and set the export format to .zip
  6. Click "Create export"
  7. Wait for the export (you'll receive an email)
  8. Download the ZIP file
  9. Unzip it and find the "Saved Places" folder

2. The Geocoding Challenge

At this point, you have your saved places, but they're not ready for import. The exported CSVs lack latitude/longitude, which are required for mapping apps like Organic Maps. Geocoding converts each address or place name into precise coordinates.

3. Geocoding Options

You have several options for geocoding:

Option 1: Manual Geocoding (Time-Consuming)

Look up each place manually and copy coordinates. This works for a handful of items, but it's impractical for large lists.

Option 2: Use a Geocoding API

Developers can script against a geocoding API, but this requires coding experience, API keys, and time to manage rate limits and errors.

Option 3: Use Takeout Tools (Recommended)

The simplest solution is to use Takeout Tools:

  1. Visit Takeout Tools
  2. Upload your exported CSV files from Google Takeout (multiple files supported)
  3. If your CSV headers are not in English, translate them to the exact English names (case-sensitive) to avoid parsing errors
  4. The service automatically geocodes all your saved places
  5. Choose your preferred export format for Organic Maps:
    • GPX (recommended for bookmarks/waypoints)
    • KML (widely supported by Organic Maps and other tools)
    • GeoJSON (can be converted if needed)

4. Importing into Organic Maps

Organic Maps supports bookmarks and tracks in KML, KMZ, KMB, GPX, and GeoJSON formats. You can import a single file or import in batch.

Import a single file (iOS and Android)

  1. Locate your exported KML/KMZ/KMB/GPX file (e.g., in Files/iCloud/Google Drive or from email/messenger)
  2. Tap once or long-press the file
  3. Choose Open with Organic Maps (Android) or Import with Organic Maps (iOS)
  4. After import, you'll see “Bookmarks loaded successfully!” Your places will be visible on the map and in the Bookmarks menu

Import multiple files (batch)

  1. Open the Organic Maps app
  2. Tap the star icon to open Bookmarks/Tracks
  3. Tap Import Bookmarks and Tracks
  4. Select a folder containing KML/KMZ/KMB/GPX files (subfolders will be scanned)
  5. Organic Maps will import all supported files

Tip: For best results, export GPX with categories/lists preserved as folders, so your organization carries over as bookmark groups in Organic Maps.

Benefits of Using Takeout Tools

  • Time-Saving: Process hundreds of places in minutes
  • Accurate Geocoding: Reliable coordinates for precise placement
  • Preserves Organization: Keep lists/labels as folders or categories
  • Multiple Export Formats: GPX, KML, and more for broad compatibility
  • Privacy-Focused: Processed securely without long-term storage

Troubleshooting

Places appear in the middle of the ocean (zero-coordinate bug)

If some of your imported places appear off the coast of Africa at coordinates [0, 0], this is the zero-coordinate bug in Google's Saved Places.json export. It affects certain entries — typically older saves or places where Google didn't store a coordinate alongside the Place ID. The address is present but the coordinate field exports as zero.

Fix: use the CSV path (select "Saved" in Takeout, not "Maps (your places)") and geocode via Takeout Tools. The geocoding step resolves actual coordinates from the address, replacing the zero-coordinate entries.

Places imported without names

If your places import as unnamed pins or with generic labels, the import file didn't have names attached to the coordinate entries. This most often happens when converting Saved Places.json with a basic tool that doesn't map the properties.name field correctly.

Fix: use the CSV path via Takeout Tools, which preserves place names in the GPX/KML <name> field. For a full explanation of all causes, see Why Your Google Maps Import Shows "Waypoint 001".

File doesn't appear in Organic Maps import picker

Organic Maps only shows files with recognised extensions in its import picker. If you have a Saved Places.json file (from the Google Takeout "Maps" export), rename it to Saved Places.geojson before importing. Organic Maps looks for .gpx, .kml, .kmz, .kmb, and .geojson — not .json.

Import fails for large files

For collections over a few hundred places, split into smaller files before importing. Organic Maps handles batch imports from a folder (Bookmarks → Import Bookmarks and Tracks → select folder), so splitting into files of 100–200 places each is practical.

Conclusion: Take Your Bookmarks with You to Organic Maps

Moving your saved places from Google Maps to Organic Maps doesn't have to be hard. With Google Takeout and the geocoding provided by Takeout-Tools.com, you can quickly migrate your favorite locations and keep your organization intact for offline, privacy-friendly navigation.

Free Tools

Already have a GPX file? Use our free browser-based tools:

See Other Export Guides

Need a different format or destination? Start here:

How to Transfer Google Maps Saved Places to Organic Maps: Complete Guide | Takeout Tools