We've done both. I prefer to bring our own simply because we're familiar with how to use it. When we had the built-in GPS it took quite a while to figure it out, primarily because the unit was programmed in German (as I recall) and it wasn't immediately apparent how to get it reset in English. We eventually got it figured out, but now that we bring out or it's a simple matter of plugging it in and going.

I have a Garmin 1350T, which was a pretty high-end unit when I bought it a few years back but is yesterday's technology now. It still does what I need it to do, however. My limited understanding of the current offerings from Garmin is that some come with maps of Europe pre-loaded and others (like mine) require you to buy a separate card. The card was something like $150 when I bought it, so you may want to factor that into your decision. (And also recognize that my information may be outdated).

Typo in last sentence of first para should read: " . . . but now that we bring our own it's a . . ."

And speaking of yesterday's technology - sure would be nice to have an edit function on this Forum, no?

I am partial to TomToms but no matter which brand, I too think you're better off with your own.

The bottom line is you can take the time to learn how to use it. I get such a laugh out of people reporting the things their GPS has or has not done... most times it is because they don't know how to set their unit.

In addition, you'll be able to download the most recent map updates as well as points of interest. POIs can be all the hotels in a certain chain (for example... all Best Western hotels will be shown if needed), driving directions for a particular scenic route or even clothing optional beaches. You just won't have the option to get such things downloaded in a rental.

Other factors are... GPS not being available when you show up for your car or cost... you can buy a used unit very inexpensively these days... often for less than the price of the rental. I recently sold a basic model TomTom complete with European Maps for $50. Check local sources like Kijiji and Craigslist. Ebay is a good source but I doubt you have time now.

A couple of other points for someone new to GPS... you still need paper maps. GPS is just not good for route planning or for an overview... you are dealing with a 3.5 or maybe 5 inch screen so you only see a small area at a time. The other important point is that *YOU* are in charge, not the GPS. Turn where you like, go where you want. The GPS will recalculate and find a new route to your destination. And ignore the stories about how a GPS made someone drive into a river... you'd have to be Mr Magoo to do that! LOL

Have a great trip!

And, if you bring your own GPS, you can use it walking around in cities.

Buy your own, understand how to use it before you arrive in France, load it with the features that interest you: gas stations, beautiful villages, restaurants, hotels.

If you buy a used GPS, or have one with older maps, be aware that there is a new law in France that went into effect in 2012 that prohibits use of a device that shows the location of speed cameras.

It is easy to turn that warning feature off. We have a 2011 Garmin so I just googled the simple directions for changing the settings. (I'm too cheap to buy new maps.)

We are on our second Garmin unit that we use solely for travel (I dropped the first one and killed the sound). i've been very happy with them, although I do not care for the ads that come with Garmin's "lifetime traffic" feature and would not buy a unit with that feature again,

In Spain, we inquired about renting the GPS from the rental car company, and the charge was outrageously somewhere in the $30 a day range. Maybe that was because we had not reserved in advance, but there's also that...I believe you cannot reserve, you just have to take your chances. Check the website of your rental company about that, if you're still thinking you might want to go that route.

We bought a Garmin nuvi 275 on Amazon which comes with a Europe map. We have used it on two trips-France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria. It worked great, including walks. It is currently on Amazon for $139.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B001ELJ9Q0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335548334&sr=8-1

I recently spent a week in Portugal, using an Avis Tom Tom GPS. It did not have text to speech on it, and we often guessed wrong regarding which direction we were to take on a highway exit. Next time, which happens to be in June, I will program my own GPS for travel in France.I suspect the saved tolls and long detours will reduce to impact of the extra cost.

ParisAmsterdam provides very good and concise information.

I would advise to buy one for the following reasons

1) If you have never used a GPS before, they can be a little distracting to start with; last thing you want when driving in unknown territory

2) Last year I looked at hiring one in France, and the cost was 16 euro a day over a 12 day period. I ended up buying a TomTom with a 5 inch screen and downloading the France map for the same price as the rental period.

3) Nothing is guaranteed in life and coincidentally I met some folks while travelling who booked a hire car in Avignon requesting a GPS, only to find out there was no GPS available upon pickup. Buy your own and you are guaranteed of having one.

4) Depending on how familiar you become with the GPS's functions, they can be very handy
As an example; entering GPS coordinates for destinations of sites and accommodation addresses (alot of country accommodation residences now provide coordinates!)
GPS coordinates can be displayed in 3 different ways and sifting through the menu to change the method of display can be a little frustrating if you are not familiar with the menu structure.
That is one example and knowing these little extras can make things a tad easier for your travels.

I am not up to speed with the latest models, but I would recommend a model with a 5 inch screen

I inquired about renting a GPS from Hertz for our upcoming trip to France. The costs depends upon the type of car you rent - the less expensive the car, the more the daily rate. Things to ask - is the gps available locally? If not, you will need to have it shipped to your home prior to the trip. Is there enough Tthe cost may be $5/day from the time you pick up the car until you ship it back to them. Then there is a shipping fee. I was quoted $40 round trip.

If you take all of this into consideration plus the facts posted by other fordorites, the answer for me is - bring your own. We did that last year in Italy and it worked out well. My husband downloaded the appropriate maps. I did not know that you could download other information as well and appreciate learning that and it seals the deal for me - thanks. Map - go with the Michellin Green as suggested time and time again on this forum. Have a great trip!

I know this is "old school", but why not just use maps? When we lived in Germany, we spent a lot of time driving around France and had no problem finding our way just using paper maps.

As others have said, GPS can be quite distracting to use and you still have to use a paper map. If you are used to navigating with maps, they may be the best bet for you, especially at this late date.

>>As others have said, GPS can be quite distracting to use and you still have to use a paper map.<<

Not at all. Why are you using a computer to access this site? Did your old fashioned telephone not suffice to keep you in contact with the world? Aha... the computer gives you access to vastly more information doesn't it? ;^)

Same with a GPS... you have much more info at your finger tips and I don't find it distracting to use on the move at all. In fact, I rarely even look at my TomTom when driving... I listen to what it tells me. My current one has a lane guidance feature too... it shows me what lane to be in on a multilane highway... that does require a glance or 2 to read though.

I have also had my GPS redirect me on the fly when an autoroute was closed south of Paris due to a bus crash... within seconds it was directing me to Paris on back roads.

I say there's no time like the present to jump in and get the latest in car navigation. I have driven in Europe from the Scottish Highlands to the tip of the Attica peninsula and always found my way with paper maps... but now that GPS is also available I wouldn't be without. I'm sure people were leery about paper maps when they first came out and replaced a stick drawing lines int the dirt! LOL

In 2004, we somehow received a free upgrade from Hertz in Rennes to a car with a built in GPS. It was programmed to speak French but was very easy to change to English (my 13 year old granddaughter actually did it). It was easy to figure out how to use once everything was in English and it worked great in Normandy.

In 2011, a few months before another trip to France we bought a Garmin 1370T online (I did not check to see if I could have bought it retail) with European maps pre-loaded (I did the free update as soon as I got it) and took it with us. It worked great too - although it did send us down a few very rural roads - which we really enjoyed after we learned to trust that it would get us where we wanted to go.

One of the advantages of having your own before you go is you can plug in the addresses of the places you know you are going to in advance. Not a really big deal but it's nice to have it done. In my opinion, either way works but I do highly recommend using a GPS - just make sure you have some good maps you can use as a backup if necessary.

Unless you are planning to use that GPS AT HOME I would NOT buy one. And if you have a decent mobile phone you can use THAT to navigate on foot with.

Hi rrobinson75,

I'd recommend buying a unit rather than renting one with the car. As has been pointed out, the rental rates are rather on the high side and depending on how long you're away, your GPS rental cost may have been the same or higher than having purchased one.

The down side to using mapping on a smart phone is that navigating usually isn't actual GPS but rather location triangulation based on cell towers. When you're in a built-up area with good cell coverage, the positioning would be accurate and virtually indistinguishable from actual GPS. Not necessarily so in areas with less coverage. Also, you're going to be drawing down on whatever data plan you have and I would imagine the bill could get steep.

I have an iPhone4 and have never been particularly keen on at least the free routing apps available. The best I've found is one called Waze which does use the phone's GPS but there's a high price to be paid in terms of battery life. I would expect the same battery life hit if you were to buy either the Garmin or TomTom app. Whether Android phones are better on this front, I couldn't say.

As far as which particular unit to get, check out your local Best Buy or other electronics retailer and just get a sense of which one you think suits you best.

HTH
u

Thanks so much for all your helpful comments! I think we will take the plunge and buy a Garmin nuvi. Can't wait for our trip.

We have a nuvi 3750 and bought the Europe map this time instead of using the one you can rent. We had a German one last time that was very hard to figure out so since we are doing the back roads of Normandy my husband is taking our own. I hate reading the map and navigating.

>>>I hate reading the map and navigating.<<<

Probably the best reason for a GPS. My wife hates reading maps and the GPS has allowed her to enjoy our trips much more.

On a business trip to Europe 3 yrs ago, I took the advice of co-workers to rent a GPS rather than bring my own (I'd need to buy a Europe map but already have a Garmin).

So I rented a unit from Hertz (about $15 per day if I remember right). It was OLD as in big and bulky. Nevertheless, it did it's job until it DIED after 2 days. I had trouble finding my way to and from work for a day and luckily my co-worker let me use a French version that she has (French is better than nothing and at least I know "left" from "right").

So I'd suggest don't risk it and just bring your own.

Forgot to say: it was not funny driving around and around on those 1-way streets in the little town, thinking it's so close but couldn't get there.

Reasons to consider bringing your own GPS unit ...
1. Rental car companies run out of inventory (many units get damaged and break)
2. Maps are usually out of date as rental companies do not update their maps (you are paying for an out of date device)
3. Fees for GPS units are very high (often a 4 or 5 day rental will pay for a new unit).

Get the maximum value out of your GPS unit
a. Update your GPS maps before your trip ... it is worth it (you can save money by buying a lifetime upgrade map for a little more).
b. Bring a good map with you for your trip ... a paper map works hand-in-hand with a GPS unit (understand your route before departing).
c. Understand the features of your GPS before you leave home (practice) ... download a manual.
d. If your unit is not working proper ... contact factory support.
e. Upgrade you unit using the manufacturers services ... a cheapie low-cost auction map may be a bad investment if it is a fake or worse screws up the programing of your device.

In May we'll take our Navigon 2100 to Europe for the third time. It's an older model that uses a card, which cost $40 on eBay. Never has steered us wrong.
I also like being able to plug in all the destinations in advance. Don't rally want to devote time to that once we're there. I plan routes on viamichelin and then select key stages so that we aren't stuck with the recommended routes.
To me, the convenience is even more important than the cost savings.

Not sure who mentioned that GPS's were distracting, but I mentioned they can be distracting initially, if you have never used one before. Other than that, I don't find them to be a distraction.
With reference to using maps, they won't give you advanced lane guidance or distance information from up and coming intersections either.
A GPS is not necessary but they have alot of handy features.

i have a garmin nuvi 275T. it came with european and north american maps and was under $150 at amazon. it worked great in a rental car in spain, but the fiat we rented in milan had a different size cigarette lighter type connection and the charger didn't fit. it was too long. i've contacted budget rental and garmin and neither had any helpful information. garmin said if i had a car that it didn't fit i should charge it in a different car. i even tried to charge it through the USB port on my notebook and that didn't work either. i'm still trying to find out if there is one other common size so i could buy another charger to fit that one. not have a working gps added another level of stress to the trip and wasted time.