The Map Shop

This place is just so cool, if only because it has managed to survive the advent of GPS and Google Maps. One would have thought that the need to have that huge paper map sprawled out across the bonnet of the car had vanished with that little device you put just above the steering wheel, but the people that venture into this place don’t seem to think so. If it is maps you want then this is definitely the place to go, and in fact I don’t think I have ever seem any place like it. Okay, the maps are all modern, but if you need a road map for Uzbekistan then I’m sure you are going to find it amongst it’s collection (actually, I don’t remember seeing one for Uzbekistan, but then again I wasn’t looking). Hey, they even have a map of the solar system, and when I pointed it out the guy that served me said that he doesn’t have all that much use for it because he hardly goes out that way anyway. Great shop, and great customer service.

Great range of maps for travelling but a little light on for displaying around the home or office. I liked the globes section and if I lived in Adelaide would probably have bought one. An interesting way to spend a half hour if this sort of thing rocks your world.

I first went here when I moved to Adelaide and became a Property Manager — the guys in here were extremely helpful with getting me the right map and Info I needed for work! They were brilliant to answer all my questions and get me sorted!
The shop itself is jam packed full of all sorts of maps and goodies! Seriously — I could spend hours and $$$ in here look at all the stuff they have!!!
Only pain in the rear, which is no fault of the shops own is the parking — finding a park and not having to pay is a issue…

As some other reviewers have pointed out, The Map Shop is one of the biggest shops of its type in the world. Subsequently, they have a huge range of maps! But like any shop, they don’t have everything you need. I went in looking for some 1:25 000 topographical maps of New Zealand. They didn’t have them in stock but ordered them promptly. The great thing about The Map Shop is the service. No task is too great, it seems. Anthony, the owner, is a good chap to chat to and knows his stuff – great for travel advice too, as he is a seasoned adventurer.

If you’re exploring far off lands, are sick of using GPS, fancy getting your orienteering or have a map fetish like this fellow Unilocaler then this is definitely the place to go.
Prices for maps here are amazingly cheap for the quality of maps you can get.
The young guy serving here is hilarious. Apparently he doesn’t really know enough about old maps to care whether they have them or not, nor is he interested in having a conversation with you if you are looking for a map from 1841 and no earlier. Good on him!
I went in with my map fettish at the ready asking for an old map of Italy or SA. I’ve been looking for a good one to frame and hang up for a while now and really wasn’t too fussed about the era — just something that looked different to the maps of today — spot the blonde, yes.
Anyway the service was wonderful and although The Map Shop really is more the place to come for new and accurate maps they still had 3 SA 1830’s maps in store to show me — all fitting my generalist love for old maps. They did mention they don’t stock international «old world» maps though.
Great little layout and I had no idea it was the 2^nd largest map shop in the world. Just another reason Adelaide rocks.

It may look a bit dirty and dingy, but if you’re looking for any map then this is definitely the place to go! They seem to have EVERYTHING. If you’re looking for an idea on where you want to go, or if you know where you’re going and want to look at different varieties of maps (and not just Lonely Planet guides) then definitely make a trip to The Map Shop. It doesn’t look very big on the outside, so all I was expecting was maps of Australia and all it has to offer — not the entire world.

This place seems small when you go inside but I think it is just because it has soooo much stuff packed into it. Definitely go here before travelling, especially if you are backpacking or not on an organised planned vacation.
They have more information than you ever knew existed or thought you could ever need but once you see it you find yourself thinking, wow, that looks interesting.
I used to work somewhere with a delivery service both metro and country and we used to go here to get all our maps. We even managed to get it set up so our Fullers updates were being emailed to us.
I had a couple of different salesmen when I have been into this shop but both were extremely knowledgeable on all things maps. Great specialty shop to visit.

Anthony the part owner of The Map Shop will tell you he has been involved in this shop for as many as twenty years, and the shop has been around for plenty more than that!
It is the second largest map shop in the world, and that’s a pretty big deal when you think about it. The biggest map shop is in London and it’s called Stanford’s, but Adelaide boasts the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s not because it is physically a large shop, it is because they have maps that are literally from all over the place including hard to find maps of walking trails in New Zealand for example that you can’t really find anywhere except in New Zealand.
I always get taken off the beaten track talking with Anthony because he is so well travelled. In the last year or so he has travelled to something like thirty five countries, and no, it’s not as a tax write off because he part owns a map shop, it’s because he really loves to travel. If it was going to be a tax write off he would have to work five hours every day at negotiating maps and doing map business on his holiday. What Anthony loves to do is take photographs. Ask him and he may show you some of the most recent he has taken on his last holiday. They are stunning!
Okay, so this is about the Map Shop, not the wide and wonderful travels of Anthony; imagine a place where you would need a map to get around. Blue Mountains in New South Wales? Easy, go to the Australian section, you’ll find a few there. A walking trail in New Zealand? I’ve already told you about those ones… How about Mozambique or Zimbabwe? Yep sure, in the Africa section… It’s not going to be easy to find a place where they don’t stock a map for negotiating travel around it.
There are street directories for the Australian States and Territories, world globes and possibly something you wouldn’t have expected — a range of magnifying glasses, because some of these places are just a speck on the landscape, so you need a magnifying glass to see them on a map!
They stock Lonely planet Guides and lots of those phrase books that you can use when you are trying to communicate with natives that do not speak English. They’re also pretty savvy when it comes to Global Positioning Systems and can train you up on such complex matters if you are heading off on a real adventure. They have some short courses you can do in an afternoon and they keep the numbers of students per course pretty low so you get good one on one interaction and support from the tutor.
Actually if you are intending on heading off into the great unknown, you must stop by here and get some clues as to what to expect so it is a great adventure and not the last one you ever go on; comprehend?
Really interesting shop to look through. If you are about to go travelling it is worth popping in and seeking out Anthony, he’s worth his weight in gold when it comes to anecdotes, and if he’s not busy he will happily give you some insight that you would never find on any map anywhere!