Google Maps to GPX: Route vs Track and Turn-by-Turn (TBT)

Paste a Google Maps directions URL (google.com/maps/dir/…). Short links from maps.app.goo.gl and goo.gl also work; the converter expands them on the server before reading the route.

A place page URL, a My Maps URL, or embedded HTML has no directions to read, so the converter rejects it and shows what to paste instead.

The route editor supports up to 12 waypoints. Split a longer trip into two conversions if you need more stops than that.

Track output is a <trk> made of <trkpt> points — a line only, with no instructions attached to any point.

Route output is a <rte> made of <rtept> points that carry only the line. When TBT is enabled, each cue is written as a separate <wpt> element whose <name> holds the instruction and whose <desc> holds the maneuver and distance, for example DEPART or TURN_LEFT. A cycling computer that reads those waypoints can prompt you at the right spot.

Pick Track when you only need the line to follow. Pick Route with TBT enabled when you want the file itself to carry turn prompts.

TBT cues come from Google's own per-step navigation instructions for the route: turn left, turn right, enter the roundabout, and so on. The converter copies each step into a cue point in the GPX.

The result screen shows distance, point count, and cue count before you download anything. A real test on 2026-09-14, Tokyo Station to Tokyo Tower by bicycle, produced 4.4 km, 78 route points, and 18 TBT cues.

Moving a single waypoint in the free editor changed the same route to 23 cues, because cue boundaries follow the recalculated steps, not the original stop count.

The converter first recomputes the route with Google's Routes API in BICYCLE mode. Where Google publishes cycling data for the area, those per-step instructions become the TBT cues.

Where Google doesn't offer cycling data for that area — common in parts of Japan — the request falls back to DRIVE mode automatically. Both the line and the cues then follow car routing, which can differ from the bicycle route you saw on screen in Google Maps.

A cue count of zero means no supported instructions came back for that route, not that the conversion failed. The file is still usable as a Track.

A non-zero cue count in the GPX does not guarantee a spoken or visual prompt on the device. Garmin Connect, the Wahoo app, and Bryton Active each convert Route cues into course alerts differently.

Even with Route output, a device that has course alerts turned off in its own settings stays silent. Check the alert or notification setting for courses on your Edge or ELEMNT before a ride.

Track output never carries cues at all, so if Track was chosen, the device is only following a line by design. Regenerate the file as Route with TBT enabled if you want prompts.

Work through these checks in order instead of regenerating the file over and over with the same settings.

Most missing-cue reports trace back to a DRIVE-mode fallback or a device notification setting, not to a broken GPX.

• Check the cue count on the result screen before downloading.
• If it reads zero, try Route output again and confirm TBT is enabled.
• After import, open the course on the device and look for its alert or notification setting.
• Test a short, familiar route with a few turns before trusting it on a long ride.
• If prompts still don't appear, fall back to Track and navigate by the line instead.

Step-by-step import instructions for Garmin Connect and an Edge, the Wahoo ELEMNT app, and Bryton Active are covered in the dedicated Garmin GPX guide, Wahoo GPX guide, and Bryton GPX guide.

Converting and importing entirely from a phone is covered in the smartphone guide. For the overall workflow from a fresh route to a synced device, start with the how-to guide.

The free route-editing preview needs no sign-in. Move, add, or delete waypoints and the route, distance, and TBT cues recalculate right away.

Saving an edited route, re-downloading its GPX later, and keeping conversion history are part of Maps to GPX Pro, at $2.99 per month. The free preview is enough for a one-time check.

For a large file, enable point simplification. It keeps every other point, which roughly halves the file size, at the cost of slightly coarser curves — compare the shape before you rely on the lighter version.