Hi
We are travelling around Croatia and Slovenia by car in Sept and are wondering if a GPS is essential. If not does anyone know where I can get hold of City street maps before we leave Australia.
Thanks

The cities in Croatia are so small I doubt you will need maps in advance. I don't think you could get lost. You can get maps from guide books and copy them or print maps from mappy.com or viamichelin.com

You could also see if you have a tourist office for these countries and phone them and ask for an info packet. I usually do this but it's easy for me as there are tourist offices for most countries in NYC.

I can't answer about the GPS since I've never used one. You don't call GPSs Sat Navs in Australia?

I don't think you will need a GPS. We drove through that area with just a road atlas. The main thing you need is a map to help you get into a city, then you can park and find the Visitors' Centre. The online maps, and google maps/earth are good for checking places out in advance. Have you tried your local library? Public libraries in New Zealand often have excellent guidebooks and road atlases and you could copy the maps you need. We also found that supermarkets and petrol stations in Europe have good maps.
htttp://www.travelmagpie.com

We were there for 2 weeks last month - had a GPS for Italy but didn't download the maps for Croatia and didn't need them. We bought a good road map at the first gas station and were fine.

I didn't use a GPS and got to where I was going. I used directions I had downloaded from viamichelin.

Thanks everyone - I feel much better about driving around Croatia now - was a little aprehensive!

I don't think you really "need" a GPS but I used one in October and it really was a nifty device to use to zip around.
Almost all of the roads are very easy to drive on. I was only in the North so I cannot give advice in the South.

Have a great trip.

I agree with Sher. A GPS is rarely 'necessary' but if such a device is available why not use one?

I have also driven in Croatia (and the length of the former Yugoslavia twice) without a problem and with sketchy maps back in the 70s. Now that I own a couple of GPS devices I wouldn't be without one.

My advice is to buy one at home. Deals are available on eBay, Kijiji.com and Craigslist. Amazon often has decent deals too. Get a TomTom
(my preference) or Garmin. Get one that comes with European maps or download them from the manufacturer's website. That way you can pre load
points of interest, driving routes and have the latest updates. It's also easier and less stressful to get familiar with the unit on your home turf than when you are in a strange car in a strange new land! ;^)

Have a great trip with or without a GPS! ;^)

Rob

No. People drove throughout Europe for over 100 years without GPS--and many still do. It can be helpful, but it is certainly not essential.