POIs Search Structure

Garmin POI Search Introduction

Some general notes. The POI search only works in your proximity (what is your proximity is not really defined. Take it about 500km, but you need an activated map near to where the last/current GPS signal was found). Alternatively you can press the menu button, click on "search near" and then use a recent find, a waypoint, "my current location" (if you set another option before last reboot); or a map point of an active map, as center of search.

I included all POI from OSM into my maps that could be of value when doing sports or when travelling. Especial Priority is of course given to cycling. Hence in the category of Auto Services you can instead find bikeshops or citybikes/bicycle_rental instead of Car_rental or shop=car. Those can instead be found under other.

I have not listed all POI that are searchable, but only the main ones. Especially for shops and restaurants there are actually much more OSM key/value combinations that I take into account.

 

Currently there are the special categories of " tides ; currents ; marine_services ; anchorages ; restricted areas " not used yet. If you have good ideas what one could logically expect to find under these points, I  can include them into the maps.

The search structure under Mapsource or Basecamp is pretty similar, as one mainly needs the search function while being on the go, I don't include it here. The order of the search function can be customized - hence it may be a bit different on your GPS device. Also it is different on "old Garmin GPS" like Vista/Legend HCx or Gpsmaps 60 series...

 

Do note that a properly working POI seach function also depends on other maps. There are some maps like Nop's Reit & Wanderkarte, but also others (all that use the poi search to find adresses) that will however completely havoc the POI search (also if map is deactivated). Also some maps could clutter certain search categories. On some devices like etrex 30 you can decide which map to choose for the POI search, but this doesn't really work – so best don't use to many maps on your GPS if you want to have reliable results (openmtbmap/velomap plus city navigator maps works very fine).

 

 

Search on etrex 30 (and other modern Garmin GPS devices):

Cities:

• Here you find all cities, villages, suburbs and Islands. I excluded suburbs, municipalities and districts with known inhabitants between 1 and 4999 from the search in order not to clutter up results too much.

Shopping:

just the main shops listed here. Many more found

• Department: Department_store; Hardware stores; Do it Yourself Stores
• Grocery: Butcher, bakery, beverages, alcohol stores; shop=grocery
• General Merchandise: Supermarkets
• Shopping Center: Malls and Shopping Centers
• Pharmacy or Chemist: Pharmacies only
• Convenience: Convenience stores; Petrol station convenience stores
• Apparel: Clothes; Apparel; Shoes
• House and Garden: Garden_centres
• Home Furniture: Furniture stores
• Speciality Retail: Organic / Bio stores
• Computer or Software: Hifi; Electronics; Computer stores
• Other: Hairdressers; Kiosk; Optician; Books; Stationery; Sportshops; Outdoorshops; all other non previously mentioned stores/shops

Food and Drink:

Only categories listed here. Many restaurants are added to similar kinds.

• American: American; Donut
• Asian: Sushi; Asian; Chinese; Thailand; Korean; ......
• Barbecue: BBQ; Grill
• Chinese: Chinese
• Deli or Bakery: Deli; Greek
• International: Indian, Paktistani; Curry; ....
• Fast Food: Fast food; Chicken; Burger; Sandwich; Pie; Kebab; Noodles
• Italian: Italian; Croatian
• Mexican: Mexican; Spanish; South American
• Pizza: Pizza Restaurants (not fast food pizza)
• Seafood: seafood
• Steak or Grill: Steak_hous; American
• Cafe or Diner: Cafe; Diner
• French: French; Savory Crèpes;
• German: German; Austrian; Regional
• British Isles: British; Irish; Pie; ....
• Speciality Food Products: Vegetarian; Vegan
• Other: Biergarten; other Restaurants

Fuel:

• Convenience: convenience stores; petrol station convenience stores
• Auto Fuel: Fuel; Petrol Stations;....
• Truck_stop: highway_services

Hospitals:

• Hospitals; amenity=mountain_rescue

Lodging:

• Hotel or Motel: Hotel; Motel
• Bead and Breakfast or Inn: B&B; Guesthouse
• Resort: Tourist Information offices; Refuges
• Campground: Camping_site; Caravan_site
• Sporting and Instructional Camps: Hostel; Wilderness_hut; Alpine_hut

Entertainment:

• Live Theater: Theatre
• Bar or Nightclub: Pub; Bar; Nightclub
• Movie Theater: Cinema
• Casino: Casino

Recreation:

• Golf Course: Golf; Minigolf
• Skiing centre or Resort: Skiing (though unreliable as not clear how to find skiing resorts from OSM data)
• 10pin: 10pin; 9pin; bowling; 8pin
• Ice Skating: Inlineskating; skating; ice_skating; skateboard
• Swimming Pool: Swimming; Waterpark
• Amusement or Theme Park. Themepark
• Park or Garden: Park; Picnic_site
• Arena or Track: Stadium, sport=mulit; sports_centre; pitch; track;

Attractions:

• Amusement or Theme Park. Themepark
• Museum or Historical: Shiro; Kremlin; Castrum; Fortress; Stately; Museum; Defensive; Castle
• Landmark: Viewpoing; Attraction
• Park or Garden: Park; Picnic_site
• Zoo or Aquarium: Zoo
• Arena or Track: Stadium, sport=mulit; sports_centre; pitch; track
• Hall or Auditorium: Concert_hall
• Winery: Winery; Wine_cellar; Heuriger

Transportation:

• Auto Rental: Citybikes; bicycle_rental
• Air Transportation: Aerodrome
• Ground Transportation: bus/train stations; railway_halt; subway_entrances; Gondola; Aerialway=station
• Transit: bus_stop; tram_stop

Auto Services:

• Auto Rental: Citibikes; bicycle_rental
• Auto Repair: shop=bicycle; bicycle_repair
• Dealer or Auto Parts: motorcycle_shops (shop=motorcycle); shop=tires; shop=car; shop=car_parts; shop=car_dealer
• Wrecker Service: car_rental; car_sharing
• Parking: car parking; bicycle parking
• Rest Area or Tourist Info: Drinking_water; water_point; watering_place (for Tourist Info look under Lodging)
• Automobile Club: amenity=car_service; shop=car_service (there is no tag yet in OSM)
• Car Wash: car_wash
• Truck_stop: highway_services

Facilities:

• Toilets; Drinking_water; water_point; watering_place

Community:

• Library: Library
• School: School; College; Universtiy; Kindergarten
• Place of Worship: place_of_worship; memorial; monument; church
• Police Station: Police
• City Hall: Townhall
• Court House: Courthouse
• Community Centre: Community_centre; Conference_centre
• Border Crossing: Border_controll; Tollbooth
• Fire Department: Fire_station
• Post Office: Post_office (not under Mapsource/Basecamp also post_box; post_box can be found under Geographic Points --> Manmade)
• Bank or ATM: Bank; ATM

Geographic Points:

• Manmade: Veterinary; Dentist; Archaeological_site; Post_box; Cave_entrance; Graveyard; Infomap; Infoboard; Phone; Emergency Phone; Ruins; Toilets; Survey_point; Observatory;
• Water Feature: Beach; Waterfall; Island; Spring
• Land Feature: Volcano; Peak; Mountain

Other:

• Marine Services: Marina; Harbour; shop=marine
• Communications: Wifi; Wlan; Hotspot
• Repair Service: Motorcycle Repair; Car_wrecker; Car_repair; Car_service
• Social Service: Doctors; Arts_centre

Obstruction

• Mountain_pass

Navaids:

• Via_ferrata; mtb:scale POI; Bicycle Node Network Nodes

Fishing Spots:

• Fishing

 

 

Differences on older Units:

General and most striking difference - what on the new models is displayed as a submenu (e.g. Others --> Social Service) is a Category. You fist see all POI of all categories - but you can press Menu --> Select Category to select one of the subcategories

Navaids and Obstruction are found under the top search point of: Marine Points

 

These Differences are from an etrex Vista HCx - still older units may behave even differently.

Transportation:

• Ground Transportation: subway_entrance not found.

Attractions:

• Arena/Track: track and pitch sometimes not found reliably (not sure why, seems to be some bug).

Lodging:

• Campsites are found under "other"; Alpine_hut - Wilderness_hut - Hostel are found under other