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This page covers the high-level steps you follow to create customized guidance
as part of a custom navigation
experience.
This process differs from the process described in
Navigate a
route as follows:
You first establish a navigation session independently and obtain a navigator
instance through the session rather than by calling the view controller.
You set up an event listener to respond to and manage navigation events.
Create a navigation session using
GMSNavigationService.createNavigationSession
and begin navigation with a setDestination call. Where the Google
navigation experience invokes the navigator through the navigation map view,
the GMSNavigationServices controls and receives a stream of events from a
navigation session independently from a UI instance. This means it can
either run without a UI, or get passed to any UI-based experience. With
this approach, the navigation session continues to run in your app until the
last reference is removed from it.
Establish a road-snapped location provider. Use the location provider if
you want your app to have continuous location monitoring, such as when
displaying a navigation view with a blue dot along the route.
Set up a listener for detailed turn-by-turn guidance by implementing the
GMSNavigatorListener protocol. Then, transform that information into
whatever is needed for your custom navigation experience. For example:
Implement text-only fields for simple screen casting of directions.
Design and populate fields for your own UI.
Set up a navigation simulator. This is necessary for development and
testing.
Create an independent navigation session
The following code snippet from the demo shows navigation established
independently from the view controller. The code then adds an overview map
configured to show the current road-snapped location.
// Create the navigation session._navigationSession=[GMSNavigationServicescreateNavigationSession];GMSRoadSnappedLocationProvider*roadSnappedLocationProvider=_navigationSession.roadSnappedLocationProvider;[roadSnappedLocationProviderstartUpdatingLocation];GMSNavigator*navigator=_navigationSession.navigator;[navigatoraddListener:self];navigator.voiceGuidance=GMSNavigationVoiceGuidanceSilent;navigator.sendsBackgroundNotifications=NO;_navigationSession.started=YES;[navigatorsetDestinations:@[destination]callback:^(GMSRouteStatusrouteStatus){// …handle changes in route status.}];// Add an overview map._mapView=[[GMSMapViewalloc]initWithFrame:CGRectZero];[self.mainStackViewaddArrangedSubview:_mapView];[self.mainStackViewsetNeedsLayout];_mapView.settings.compassButton=YES;_mapView.delegate=self;_mapView.myLocationEnabled=YES;_mapView.roadSnappedMyLocationSource=roadSnappedLocationProvider;
Passing navigation from a custom experience to the Google experience
This code snippet illustrates how your app can allow the user to enter the
Google navigation experience from a custom navigation experience. This code
snippet also shows how your app makes this transition while sharing the map.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eCreate custom turn-by-turn navigation experiences on iOS by establishing an independent navigation session using \u003ccode\u003eGMSNavigationServices\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eImplement the \u003ccode\u003eGMSNavigatorListener\u003c/code\u003e protocol to receive and utilize detailed guidance information for your custom UI elements.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUtilize a road-snapped location provider for continuous location updates and accurate positioning on the route.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eSet up a navigation simulator for development and testing purposes to ensure the functionality of your custom navigation experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTransition seamlessly from a custom navigation experience to the full Google Maps navigation experience, optionally sharing the existing map instance.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["The core process involves creating a navigation session independently using `GMSNavigationService.createNavigationSession`, distinct from route navigation. A road-snapped location provider is established for continuous monitoring. Implement `GMSNavigatorListener` to set up turn-by-turn guidance, translating the information into your app's custom navigation UI. Set up a navigation simulator for testing. The navigation session persists until the last reference is removed. A custom experience can also be transition to the default google navigation experience.\n"],null,["# Create customized guidance\n\nThis page covers the high-level steps you follow to create customized guidance\nas part of a [custom navigation\nexperience](/maps/documentation/navigation/ios-sdk/intro-custom-nav). \n**This process differs from the process described in\n[Navigate a\nroute](/maps/documentation/navigation/ios-sdk/route) as follows:**\n\n- You first establish a navigation session independently and obtain a navigator instance through the session rather than by calling the view controller.\n- You set up an event listener to respond to and manage navigation events.\n\n1. **Create a navigation session** using [`GMSNavigationService.createNavigationSession`](/maps/documentation/navigation/ios-sdk/reference/objc/Classes/GMSNavigationServices#+createnavigationsession) and begin navigation with a `setDestination` call. Where the Google navigation experience invokes the navigator through the navigation map view, the `GMSNavigationServices` controls and receives a stream of events from a navigation session *independently* from a UI instance. This means it can either run without a UI, or get passed to *any* UI-based experience. With this approach, the navigation session continues to run in your app until the last reference is removed from it.\n2. **Establish a road-snapped location provider**. Use the location provider if you want your app to have continuous location monitoring, such as when displaying a navigation view with a blue dot along the route.\n3. **Set up a listener for detailed turn-by-turn guidance** by implementing the `GMSNavigatorListener` protocol. Then, transform that information into whatever is needed for your custom navigation experience. For example:\n 1. Implement text-only fields for simple screen casting of directions.\n 2. Design and populate fields for your own UI.\n4. **Set up a navigation simulator**. This is necessary for development and testing.\n\nCreate an independent navigation session\n----------------------------------------\n\nThe following code snippet from the demo shows navigation established\nindependently from the view controller. The code then adds an overview map\nconfigured to show the current road-snapped location. \n\n // Create the navigation session.\n\n _navigationSession = [GMSNavigationServices createNavigationSession];\n GMSRoadSnappedLocationProvider *roadSnappedLocationProvider =\n _navigationSession.roadSnappedLocationProvider;\n [roadSnappedLocationProvider startUpdatingLocation];\n GMSNavigator *navigator = _navigationSession.navigator;\n [navigator addListener:self];\n navigator.voiceGuidance = GMSNavigationVoiceGuidanceSilent;\n navigator.sendsBackgroundNotifications = NO;\n _navigationSession.started = YES;\n [navigator setDestinations:@[ destination ]\n callback:^(GMSRouteStatus routeStatus) {\n // ...handle changes in route status.\n }];\n\n // Add an overview map.\n _mapView = [[GMSMapView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectZero];\n [self.mainStackView addArrangedSubview:_mapView];\n [self.mainStackView setNeedsLayout];\n _mapView.settings.compassButton = YES;\n _mapView.delegate = self;\n _mapView.myLocationEnabled = YES;\n _mapView.roadSnappedMyLocationSource = roadSnappedLocationProvider;\n\nPassing navigation from a custom experience to the Google experience\n--------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThis code snippet illustrates how your app can allow the user to enter the\nGoogle navigation experience from a custom navigation experience. This code\nsnippet also shows how your app makes this transition while sharing the map. \n\n `UIButton *button = [UIButton buttonWithType:UIButtonTypePlain`];\n\n [`button addTarget:self action:@selector(didTapEnterGoogleNavigationButton:)\n forControlState:[_directionsButton addTarget:self`];\n\n `...`\n\n [`_mapView enableNavigationWithSession:_navigationSession`];"]]