Importing Data

Import routes, waypoints, and geographic data from files

Importing Data

Already have route data from other apps, GPS devices, or planning tools? A Grand Tour lets you import geographic data from a variety of formats, saving you from manually re-creating routes and waypoints.

Supported Formats

A Grand Tour supports the most common geographic data formats:

GPX (GPS Exchange Format)

Use for: Routes and tracks from hiking apps, GPS devices, route planners
Common sources: Garmin devices, Strava, Komoot, Gaia GPS, OsmAnd
What imports: Waypoints, tracks, routes, metadata

KML/KMZ (Keyhole Markup Language)

Use for: Routes and placemarks from Google Earth and Google Maps
Common sources: Google My Maps, Google Earth exports
What imports: Placemarks (POIs), paths, polygons, descriptions

GeoJSON

Use for: Custom datasets, developer exports, advanced geographic data
Common sources: QGIS, custom scripts, API exports, web mapping tools
What imports: Points, lines, polygons, properties

CSV (Comma-Separated Values)

Use for: Bulk POI data, waypoint lists, tabular location data
Required columns: At minimum, latitude and longitude
Optional columns: Name, description, category, etc.

XLSX (Excel Spreadsheets)

Use for: Same as CSV, but from Excel or Google Sheets
Format: First row must be column headers
Required columns: Latitude and longitude

Importing Routes from GPX

GPX is the most common format for route imports. Here’s how it works:

Export from your source app
- Garmin Connect: Activity → Export → GPX
- Strava: Activity → … → Export GPX
- Komoot: Tour → Share → Download → GPX
- OsmAnd: Tracks → Share → Export as GPX file
Import into A Grand Tour
- Open the trip where you want to add the route
- Click Import → Upload File
- Select your GPX file
- Click Upload
Preview and confirm
- A Grand Tour shows the route on the map
- Review waypoints and track data
- Choose whether to:
  - Replace existing route (overwrite)
  - Append to existing route (add to end)
  - Create new trip (keep existing route separate)
- Click Confirm Import
Post-import cleanup
- GPX tracks often have thousands of points—A Grand Tour simplifies them automatically
- Review waypoints and remove any you don’t need
- Add names and descriptions to waypoints if they weren’t in the GPX

Importing KML from Google Earth/Maps

Google’s ecosystem uses KML format:

Export from Google
- Google My Maps: Menu → Export to KML/KMZ → Download
- Google Earth: File → Save → Save Place As… → KML
Import into A Grand Tour
- Same process as GPX: Import → Upload File → select KML
- A Grand Tour extracts placemarks as POIs and paths as routes
What imports
- Placemarks become waypoints or POIs
- Paths become route segments
- Descriptions and styles are preserved where possible

Tip: KMZ is just a compressed KML file. A Grand Tour handles both.

Importing GeoJSON

For advanced users working with custom geographic data:

Prepare your GeoJSON

Ensure valid GeoJSON structure
Include properties for names, descriptions, etc.

Example:

{
  "type": "FeatureCollection",
  "features": [
    {
      "type": "Feature",
      "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [35.8917, 31.9539]
      },
      "properties": {
        "name": "Petra",
        "category": "archaeological_site"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Import
- Upload via Import → Upload File
- A Grand Tour maps GeoJSON features to appropriate entities:
  - Points → Waypoints or POIs
  - LineStrings → Routes
  - Polygons → Areas (if applicable)
Property mapping
- A Grand Tour looks for common property names: name, description, category
- You can manually map properties during preview if needed

CSV/Excel Import for Bulk Data

Useful for importing lists of POIs, waypoints, or locations from spreadsheets:

Prepare your spreadsheet

Required columns: latitude, longitude (or lat, lon, lng)
Recommended columns: name, description, category, rating

Example:

name	latitude	longitude	category	notes
Petra	31.9539	35.8917	archaeological	Ancient city
Wadi Rum	29.5759	35.4184	natural	Desert valley

Export as CSV or save as XLSX
Import into A Grand Tour
- Import → Upload File → select CSV/XLSX
- Map columns during preview:
  - Which column is latitude?
  - Which column is longitude?
  - Which columns map to name, description, etc.?
- Click Confirm Import
Choose destination
- Import as waypoints in current trip
- Import as custom POIs in a dataset
- Import as itinerary stops

Import Process

All imports follow a similar flow:

Step 1: Upload File

Drag and drop or browse to select file
Maximum file size: 10 MB
Multiple files supported (import multiple GPX tracks at once)

Step 2: Preview Data

A Grand Tour parses the file and shows:
- Map preview of routes and points
- Count of waypoints/POIs/routes
- Sample of data to verify correctness
Check for errors (invalid coordinates, missing data, etc.)

Step 3: Configure Import

Choose destination (which trip, dataset, etc.)
Map fields (for CSV/Excel)
Set options:
- Overwrite vs append
- Simplification level for routes
- Default category for POIs

Step 4: Confirm

Click Import
A Grand Tour processes the data
You’ll see a success message with summary (e.g., “Imported 47 waypoints and 1 route”)

Step 5: Review

Check the map to ensure routes appear correctly
Edit waypoint names/descriptions as needed
Delete any duplicate or unwanted points

Data Validation

A Grand Tour validates imported data and reports errors:

Common errors

Invalid coordinates: Latitude outside -90 to 90, longitude outside -180 to 180
Missing required fields: No coordinates found in CSV
Corrupt file: Malformed GPX/KML/GeoJSON structure
File too large: Exceeds 10 MB limit (contact support for larger imports)

Warnings (non-blocking)

Simplified route: Track had 50,000 points, simplified to 1,000
Missing names: Some waypoints have no name (will use default)
Duplicate points: Multiple waypoints at same coordinates

Tips and Best Practices

Clean your data before importing: Remove unnecessary waypoints, ensure correct coordinates
Test with a small sample first: Import 5-10 POIs before importing 500
Use GPX for routes, CSV for POIs: Each format has its strengths
Check coordinate order: Some tools export longitude,latitude instead of latitude,longitude
Preserve metadata: Include names and descriptions in your export for cleaner imports
Backup your data: Keep original files in case you need to re-import

Use Cases

Scenario 1: Importing a Garmin Track

You drove across Mongolia and your Garmin recorded the entire track. Import the GPX to visualize your actual route in A Grand Tour.

Scenario 2: Google Maps Research

You’ve spent weeks pinning places in Google My Maps. Export to KML and import into A Grand Tour as a custom POI dataset.

Scenario 3: Bulk POI Import

You found a spreadsheet of UNESCO World Heritage sites with coordinates. Import via CSV to add them all to your tour at once.

Scenario 4: Combining Multiple Routes

You have GPX tracks from different segments of your journey. Import each one and append them to build your complete route.

Limitations

Route complexity: Very complex routes (100,000+ points) are simplified to improve performance
Unsupported attributes: Some app-specific GPX extensions may not import (heart rate data, cadence, etc.)
Styling: KML styles (colors, icons) may not transfer exactly—A Grand Tour uses its own styling
Time data: Timestamps in GPX are imported but not heavily used (yet)

What’s Next?

Once you’ve imported your data, you can:

Refine routes by editing waypoints
Add itinerary items and notes
Export the data in different formats (see API Access)
Share the tour with collaborators or make it public

Have a format we don’t support? Contact us and let us know what you need.