Maps and Compasses | Minecraft Navigation and Getting Home

What Maps Do

A map records the terrain around the area where it is first used. Places you explore are drawn in as you travel.
Each map covers a fixed area. If you travel outside it, make another map for the new region.
Locator-style maps show your marker and direction. Outside the map area, the marker sits near the edge.
Place maps in item frames to build a wall map. Multiple filled maps can become a large base map room.

Maps commonly use paper and a compass. Paper comes from sugar cane; compasses use iron ingots and redstone dust.
Use a cartography table with paper to zoom a map out. Larger maps cover more land but show less detail.
Small maps are best for base detail. Expanded maps are better for trips, roads, and wide-area planning.
Cartography tables can also copy or lock maps, which is useful when you want to preserve an important version.

A normal compass points to the world spawn in the Overworld. It does not simply point to the last bed you slept in.
If your base is near spawn, a compass is a good home tool. If you moved far away, combine it with coordinates and maps.
Normal compasses are unreliable in the Nether and the End. In those dimensions, use coordinates, signs, and visible route markers.

A lodestone compass points to the lodestone it is linked to. It is useful for distant bases, Nether hubs, and important facilities.
If the lodestone is broken, that compass loses its target. Protect lodestones that matter.
A recovery compass points toward your last death location. It uses echo shards from ancient cities, so it is not an early-game item.
If you are in a different dimension from where you died, the recovery compass may not point steadily. Remember which dimension the death happened in.
Recovery compasses help, but they are not magic. Spare gear, safe routes, and fast return plans still matter.

Write down base, village, and portal coordinates. A sign, book, or screenshot is enough.
Before a long trip, bring a map, compass, bed, food, torches, and blocks. Build visible return markers as you travel.
Place torches on one side of a path, build cobblestone pillars, or use colored blocks as arrows.
In oceans, snowy plains, deserts, and other similar-looking areas, check your map and coordinates before night falls.

Maps show the area. Compasses point toward a target. Coordinates tie both together, making navigation much less stressful.