Custom Points of Interest (POI) are a handy resource to have on your Garmin GPS that pinpoint on your onscreen maps and alert you when you are getting near to the geographic location of those places. These useful POIs can be anything from historic monuments, to the best coffee shops, to your favorite restaurant chains, and of course; all of those red light or speed monitoring cameras that you don’t want photographing you doing something untoward.
POIs are enhanced waypoints that your GPS will navigate you to because they are marked by an icon on the map at their precise longitude and latitude. On more advanced Garmin models, details of that place such as a descriptive background, a digital image, or a telephone number will also be provided. Most GPS maps come loaded with POIs to some extent but now users can collect and organize the specific collection that they will find most intriguing or useful while travelling.
Custom POIs can be uploaded for a Garmin by means of software applications designed for that purpose which can be purchased and inserted or downloaded from the Internet. Users are then free to organize, customize, and create their own list from various sources. You no longer are solely at the mercy of a generic list provided by Garmin or compatible POI software. In addition, free software is now available to make up your list apart from the subscription fee-based designations that digitally adorn the maps you see on your GPS screen. Learn how to make a custom POI Garmin GPS list below.
