Pamo

I am pretty good with reading maps/navigating. I have driven in quite a few countries and have never had a problem. I am planning a trip and will be renting a car and driving - Amsterdam->Belgium->then touring Normandy/Brittany-> then fly out of CDG. One person posted that they had a Garmin while in Normandy and really thought it was valuable. AAA says that typically you cannot get navigation systems in the cars in Europe. CAN ANYONE WEIGH IN -- DO i SPEND THE $$ AND TAKE ONE WITH ME -- I really don't think I need it much in the US --- would really just be a toy.

trip2006

Hello Pamo,
Have just completed a 3 month motorhome trip of western and eastern europe and must say the garmin made it a hell of a lot easier.
I live in oz and bought a nuvi 330 here and paid an extra 200 for european maps.
It makes it easier to find your way around cities and especially getting in and out with a minimum of fuss and stress. I had the same problem as you as i wouldnt need it once i was back in oz but to hire one for 3 months was just as much as buying it.
I am not too sure about not being able to hire a gps in cars in europe but i remember leasing companies in france having vehicles with GPS and their prices are much cheaper than most hire cars but it depends on the duration.
Try these guys
http://www.drivetravel.com/
Hope this helps.
Trip

ira

Hi P,

You can rent GPS with your car in Europe.

>I am pretty good with reading maps/navigating...would really just be a toy.<

Why bother?

Budman

On my last two trips to Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, I love my Garmin and wouldn't leave home without it. It was great to download the maps on my computer then search and select waypoints/hotels/gas stations in the area that I was going to visit plus select center points of town I was going to visit, then download the info on my GPS.

Additionally, and most noteworthy, took lots of stress off my navigator (wife) who got to enjoy the scenery for a change.

trip2006

Second budmans views regarding the "navigator"

I am sure that without the Garmin upon our return home we would have hopped off the plane and headed straight to the divorce courts!

It was great for finding campsites, fuel, and even groceries.

Without a doubt they save you a lot of time and stress.

Trip

Zeus

And I will third Budman!!!

The wife gave me a bit of a hard time when I ordered my Garmin Nuvi 350, but after the first time we used it she loved it. It allows her to sleep while I motor across Europe.

Like Budman I get a perverse joy out of planning out the route on my home computer, marking all the hotels I've booked and highlighting restaurants I hope to visit. After the trip it's a great tool in helping me remember just where I took some of my photos along the way: For instance, if my first shot was taken at 8:30 am in the hotel and the next shot was taken at 12:00, by recreating my route on the Nuvi I can determine approximately where I was when I pulled off the road to take a shot of an onion-domed church somehwere in Bavaria.

Budman

Pamo, <i>I really don't think I need it much in the US --- would really just be a toy.</i>

I was surprised how much I used it in the US. We take it on all our business trips, vacations, and even locally. If you do any traveling at all in Europe and the States, it's well worth it.

Gina_07

One more vote in favor of Garmin. We were hesitating, too, but we are so happy that we got it. It was very helpful everywhere--for getting from one point to another and getting in and out of cities (especially Rome). I thought the maps for Sardinia would not be so detailed but they were.

There are rental cars with GPS units. However, we had problems with the one we got last year in Germany. The instructions were in German only. We figured things out after a few mistakes but why go through all that? Plus, the maps for France were horrible. It recognized only three streets in Strasbourg. Of course, we had our own maps and used them to find our hotel but, you know, at 10 pm, in the dark, under pouring rain, it was not so easy to consult the maps and check the street names. So ...

Do yourself a favor--get a Garmin.

tracilee

Does the Nuvi 350 include European maps or do they need to be purchased separately? My husband and I are going to France in October and we both think it would be a good idea to have GPS as we will be driving from Paris to Normandy then on to Provence. We might have a laptop with us and are debating if it would be better to just get the European Streets and Maps. I like the idea of a Nuvi or Tomtom that tells us when to make a turn. What models do you recommend? Thanks

spinesrgn

I've found my Garmin VERY helpful. It is virtually impossible to get lost with it. We used it in Normandy and Provence a few months ago and have used it throughout Italy over the past two years. Wouldn't travel without it now.

Gina_07

I may be wrong, but I think Nuvi 350 may not have the European maps. Ours is Nuvi 370, my husband says, and it came with the European maps loaded.

tracilee

Thanks, Gina, it looks like the 370 does come loaded with the European maps. Now I have to decide if it is worth $450!

wco81

Here's a thread describing my experiences with a Garmin 670 in the South of France.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/t...TOPIC_ID=91911

trip2006

I live in Australia and purchased a Nuvi 360. It came with preinstalled maps for Australia but i had to purchase a smart card for the european maps.
They are quite easy to load.
I also purchased the travel kit which gives you local info on restaurants hotels and details on local attractions.