bea_001

We will be driving from Lisbon to Porto and from Vigo to San Sebastian in Spain. I have a large Michelin map for driving between cities. Any suggestions on where to find inexpensive good city maps? Kemwel quoted 18 Euros per day for a GPS, which is not an option.

Thanks in advance.

iberiantraveler

Good city maps are not that readily available. Michelin only has city maps of Barcelona, Lisbon and Madrid. About the best I can recommend would be to order a Regional Map #573 (Pais Vasco / Euskadi, Navarra, La Rioja). They do not have any Regional Maps of Portugal that I am aware of.

There are some Zoom Maps available at bookstores in Porto and San Sebastian-Donostina, but you will have to wait until you get there to buy one.

If you want, you can download maps at Campsa/Repsol, which I think is every bit as good as Michelin: http://www.guiarepsol.com/es_es/home/

kja

IME, Michelin generally has the best driving maps. You can also check specific routes on michelin.com or mappy.com and print out what you find. For maps of sites within cities, my experience is that The Rough Guide has better maps than other guidebooks.

OR buy your own GPS to take along. I have a TomTom that has served me well while in Europe; when I bought it, I bought the version that has free lifetime upgrades for European maps.

Hope that helps!

BomDiaLisbon

I find Google Maps (on my iphone) to be very useful for driving directions around Lisbon.

It's also excellent for walking and public transportation. Should you want a hard copy map of the city, I like the laminated "Streetwise" map, available in the U.S. Additionally, the official tourist office offers free paper street maps.

ribeirasacra

Purchase your own GPS you will understand how set it up to your liking and to operate it better than trying to get used to a new one in each car.
So practice with it before you go on vacation even for drives which you take regularly.

bea_001

Thanks very much for your replies. I purchased City Maps 2 go for my I phone, but it only has large cities. My problem is finding the hotels in cities like Oviedo and San Sebastian without city maps. The idea of getting my own GPS has crossed my mind, but I´m trying to convince my son to lend me his In the case I purchase my own GPS would I have to additionaly get maps for Spain and Portugal?

Thanks again for your help

kja

"In the case I purchase my own GPS would I have to additionaly get maps for Spain and Portugal?"

I suspect that depends on which specific GPS you buy. Look into (a) what maps come with the version you are considering, (b) what the policies and prices are for adding maps of other areas, and (c ) what the polices and prices are for upgrading maps. For example, the TomTom I bought some years ago allows me free map updates for any part of the US or Europe. Other GPS systems that I looked into at the time specified that map upgrades would bear a cost or that one could only have one free upgrade for the life of the GPS unit or whatever. SO its one of those things you need to research and read the fine print.

Hope that helps!

bea_001

Thanks, Kja for your reply. I will look in Amazon to see what I can find. I had looked up Garmin and will check TomTom.

Thanks, again