NeoPatrick

I'm not sure how we managed all those years traveling in Europe with only maps, and then later with printed MapQuest directions, but we have become pretty dependent upon GPS at home, and really missed one our last trip driving in Italy. We missed a couple exits when they weren't marked as the directions said, and trying to follow the maps within towns was really hard. We got rather hopelessly lost trying to find a remote country hotel and I'm pretty sure that a GPS would have taken us right there.

So for our trip to France, what's the best deal? I haven't priced a GPS with an Auto Europe rental yet (I think it will probably end up being Hertz), but the last time we checked it was something like 14 euro a day which ends up meaning we could probably buy one for the same total cost. Am I missing something here?

Do you rely on GPS in Europe or what?

Robert2533

Do you have a smart phone? iPhone mapping works very well when trying to find your way around, in the countryside, or in the city. And if you use T-Moble, then the data is free.

Rubicund

If you have a GPS at home, just buy Western Europe maps on a memory card for it, or download them from your maker's website, obviously as long as it's not built in to your car.

Otherwise, a stand alone Garmin or TomTom unit will cost about £80 here in the UK with European maps loaded.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Weste...ords=sat+-+nav

I'm certain that a basic model with European maps must be available in the US for a similar price. Remember that in France your model cannot show speed camera locations.

greg

GPS is a mixed bag. It helped me prepare for series of one turn after another as well as giving me a preview of upcoming complicated highway interchanges I did not have time to study beforehand.

On the other hand, the GPS has tried to send me to hopelessly narrow streets as well down pedestrian only streets. It is a great companion in addition to your non-GPS driving skills.

I no longer use dedicated GPS units. I use my smartphone google nav app with external battery to extend the operational range to 8 hrs. The smartphone alone would not last 2 hrs in nav mode with GPS on. I use T-Mobile USA simple choice plan with no international roaming charge in most European countries. Even through t-mobile only promises 2G, I have gotten 3G in most places and once I have cached the map around the current location, 2G was fast enough to keep up with downloading maps as I went. I carry a tiny vent mount unit which has so far worked on all my rental cars. Having a GPS of any kind before you arrive allows you to enter way points while you are planning your trip.

kerouac

I never rent a car with a GPS but I am often given an equipped car anyway, and I am increasingly horrified by the ridiculous directions that they give, since I assume that they are programmed for the shortest distance rather than the best route. I can't count the number of times the GPS wanted me to turn onto a tiny farm road when there were big signs for my destination saying to keep going straight ahead -- which is what I very quickly learned to do.

When are they finally going to invent a GPS that is actually intelligent and knows the difference between tractor paths and real roads?

However, I will admit that when you are going to some super obscure place, a GPS <b>can</b> be useful, but the last time it was the case for me was when I was looking for the Gorges of Kakuetta nestled among many deads ends along the Spanish border.

DebitNM

We have - in south of France -
1. used a Garmin we bought from home in 2012, worked so so until it was stolen.
2. used a friends[ local resident] GPS, worked ok.
3. Used paper maps with a plan set out by Michelin on line, works great.
4. Used my Samsung S5 maps app - google- with above paper maps as backup. T Mobile and free data is a great in Europe.

DebitNM

too soon.
For us, #4 worked best and didn't cost extra. GPS send you on funny routes, and in small village, it isn't the most knowledgeable way to go.

HappyTrvlr

We have a Garmin that has a slot to insert the Europe maps which cost around $100. We always have our Michelin maps along too.The one place the GPS doesn't work well is around medieval walled cities. Sometimes you'll come on an unmapped area and will be told "to recalculate." Our hotel was in that unmapped area one time. The best part, not unlike in the US, is if you're on an autoroute it tells you when your exit is coming up, get to the right, etc.
Beofre we bought this model of Garmin, we used one provided by AutoEurope. It was a special deal, free, because we had a certain length of rental in Italy.They mailed it to us right before we left with a pre-paid package for it's return.
We have successfully used our Garmin in France, Italy and Switzerland.

hetismij2

Most GPS units give you the option of what sort of roads you want, and also fast, scenic or economical route.
I know most TomTom units do.

In California we used Here maps, which I had downloaded to my phone before leaving home. Heavy on battery use with my phone, but with the maps downloaded I had no need of a data connection.

Many cars come with GPS as standard now, combined with the radio and hands free phone connection, even on hire cars, which tend to have the lowest spec possible.

cdnyul

Cars in higher categories usually have a build in and functioning GPS. On one occasion I got upgraded to a convertible Peugeot and the second time I booked a bigger Opel. Both had a working GPS.

I found them to be more accurate and up to date than the one I brought from Canada.

Mark

NYCFoodSnob

Patrick,

IMO, it's not worth renting a GPS. There are plenty of horror stories on the internet about customers showing up and the rental agency saying they ran out. Or, even worse, the one they give you is broken, or they don't have instructions for the make and model they supply. Who needs that hassle/gamble?

I own a Garmin, and I keep it updated. I've sold my older models on ebay. Even with the Garmin, I make custom maps as a back-up. When the Garmin doesn't work, and you care about a quick recovery, you need a decent map.

You can make low-res maps by simply printing out something from the internet, but I prefer high-quality, higher resolution results. There is a learning curve, and the program can be a pain to use, but I've come to rely on Aaron Cheng's Google Map Customizer. Map making is a lot easier if you know your way around a program like Photoshop.

joannyc

I have European maps on my Garmin so I take that with me.

I also use it in pedestrian mode when walking around cities/towns.

NeoPatrick

No, we don't own a GPS like a Garmin as we both have GPS in our cars. Yes, we have smartphones, but in Europe running data in a car for hours while driving would cost a small fortune, I think. (ATT).

So I'm getting the idea for us to buy a Garmin and buy the France card would cost upwards of $200?

The problem with pre-printing out directions, especially for driving around Provence, etc. is that we don't really want to make advance plans for exactly where we will be going. Entering directions to a hotel in Lyon -- not sure where we will be coming from exactly.

We'll just be renting a compact (they show Renault Captur). I can't imagine it would come equipped with GPS.

hetismij2

You shouldn't need to run data Patrick - you should be able to download the maps to your phone before leaving home and just use GPS, no data needed. AS I said that is what I did in California, and whilst it was heavy of the phone battery it worked really well. I had a phone charger with me so could keep the phone topped up.
Here was originally developed for Nokia/Windows phones but is now available for Android and iPhones too. It was free on my phone as are the maps. Don't know about for other platforms though.

cdnyul

In my case the Opel(Europecar) was in the midsize category.

I notice that the Renault Captur does not have a front center armrest. My wife missed having one during our drive through Spain in the Seat Ibiza.

In addition, the compact cars in Europe tend to be geared for city driving. As a result, with a 5 speed manual transmission they rev at higher RPM's (over 3000 at 120 kph) Usually, midsize cars have 6 speed transmissions, resulting in a quieter ride.

Mark

NeoPatrick

Oh, hetismij2, I totally didn't get that the first time.
So it is just maps, but no voice directions? Still might be a good thing. And I'm assuming you can just focus in on specific areas, rather than pre download specific routes?

cdnyul, we're looking at $137 (US) for an 8 day rental of the Captur. Next step up to midsize is $249. Not sure it's worth it to us.

Essentially we're just driving from Nice to Lyon, with short day trips in the area, and three stays between those cities.

hetismij2

With Here you can choose either Here Maps or Here Drive. Either way you download the maps you want - so Italy, or maybe just a specific part of Italy, and then you can get directions. With Maps it gives a route, and written directions, with Drive it behaves more like a normal GPS and can speak directions and I think change the route if you get lost.
We used it as a mixture of detailed routing for in cities or to find our hotel, and general routing and me using it almost like a paper map at times. It will also give you walking routes and where available public transport routes too if you choose them - it was invaluable for finding our way around San Francisco on public transport!

Anyway the apps are free so I suggest you download them and see what you think of them. You can always throw them off again if you don't like it.

NeoPatrick

And of course, I'm realizing with ANY map or map app, the worst thing is that it doesn't show you where you are. I think that was our biggest problem in Tuscany. We had accurate maps, but we just often weren't sure where we were on those maps -- especially if we had missed a turn or something.

MarySteveChicago

Europcar didn't have the size car we ordered at Avignon train station in June. This was during the train strike and cars were hard to come by. the only car they had was a small Smartcar. It had gps which we got for free, piled in our two large suitcases and toured Provence without a hitch. We were so glad to have it guide us without incident. Mary

hetismij2

Here shows you exactly were you are. You need the GPS turned on, not data. It worked perfectly for us as I said, and we missed a few turns, but found our way again. It was a great help the day we arrived in San Francisco. Since that was the day half the city was closed for the Giants celebration we couldn't go the route it suggested, but because it showed us where we were I could navigate us to the hotel with no problems.