travelcat48

We will be in the Dordogne - based in Sarlat - for 6 days, and will have a rental car. I have read on these forums references to a GPS being useful. We will only have the car for about a week, and we do not own a GPS. Is it really something we will need, or are there maps/road signs that can help us find our way to the surrounding towns? Would love to have some input on this.

(Also, a shout-out to St. Cirq.....15 or more years ago when I was planning a hopeful trip to France, I was introduced to the Dordogne through your wonderful input on the AOL Travel forums. Unfortunately, that trip never happened, but I have kept the Dordogne spark in my mind all this time. And now, finally, I am actually going there. I have a stack of your responses re: the Dordogne that I have kept all these years.....and was happy to see you so present on these forums. So, thank you thank you!)

iris1745

Been in that area twice and had no problem without a GPS.

Signage is good.

Never had a problem in France outside of cities.

But if you are going into any cities, a GPS is useful.

michele_d

I personally love our Garmin Nuvi GPS and have used it throughout Europe, including the Dordogne. Many times in the little towns it can get confusing where to enter, park, etc and the GPS made it quite a bit easier. It is also nice for the passenger to enjoy the ride and not be glued to maps. I always carry maps for the overall view of an area but love the GPS, as it is always on the lookout for where you are going. Check and see if your rental car comes with one, or maybe you will want to purchase one like we did prior to your trip.

StCirq

Nice to see you too, travelcat!

I'm probably not the person to advocate for a GPS, as I could probably drive all over the Dordogne blindfolded, but I don't think, apart from Sarlat, which is fairly large and can be a bit confusing, that driving into and out of the many small towns/villages is all that confusing. The signage is excellent, and the yellow Michelin map 329 has even the tiniest lanes on it. As long as you're familiar with the basic way one navigates in France (not with route signs but with knowledge of the towns ahead), you should be fine.

When are you going?

travelcat48

St. Cirq - we are going in very late September...perhaps just using the Michelin map will be enough? I won't really know where I am going, but will know the towns we set out to find each day, so with help from the hotel and the map, guess we will be fine? Trying to avoid cost of a GPS to use just for a week..

StCirq

Map 329 will be just fine! You can probably order it from Michelin ahead of time, or just pick one up when you get there. The tourist offices there also usually have town maps - all kinds of maps, actually, including one of antique and second-hand stores. They really have a wealth of information. Yes, you'll be fine!

iris1745

Where are you flying into? From Paris it's a significant drive and you may need an overnight.

But from Toulouse, it's an easy drive. Perhaps a few hours.

Michael

We use only the Michelin map with no problems. Friends of ours were coming to see us, driving from the Provence. They were using a GPS and had to spend the night in Périgueux because the GPS did not recognize our hamlet and they did not know which next larger town they should plug in. They got hopelessly lost.

travelcat48

Iris - we will be taking train from Paris to Brive and picking car up there, dropping it in Toulouse a week later.
And thanks StCirq and Michael for the Michelen map tip....found it used on Amazon so it is on its way.
Have ditched the GPS idea, thankfully

iris1745

Sounds like a good plan.

StCirq will verify if this works.

Never been that route.

StCirq

Yup, that route will work just fine.

La_Tour_de_Cause

After ten years of hosting guests at our B&B, I can honestly say that we have more people getting lost en route today than in the early years. Each year it's worse. And it's the GPS-users that are getting lost and frustrated. I think people have also lost their map-reading skills. Can't tell you how many times I've had people arrive hours late because they didn't even bother to purchase a map, despite my repeated recommendations, because they were going to be using a GPS and didn't think a map would be necessary. Here's what I say in my letters to my guests:

"GPS WARNING: A satellite navigation system is NOT a substitute for a good local map and common sense. Please be aware that in a rural area in France, the GPS unit may guide you over some extremely small, windy roads. It is NOT always the most efficient way for finding our B&B, so please use it as a suggestion only, and refer to a good map (Michelin #329) and our directions if the GPS seems to be leading you on a circuitous route."

I also then include specific instructions on what destination to search for on their GPS units, if they still insist on using them.

That being said, however, I don't think it's a horrible idea to use one in certain circumstances, but it's still IMPERATIVE to have a good local map and know how to read it!

clevelandbrown

I've taken a nuvi on our last few trips. I think most of them sold in the US only have maps for the US, so I buy a detailed map for the cities we will be visiting. I don't drive overseas, since my wife has no ability to navigate and if I ask her for information from a map it just leads to frustration. In the US, both of us have family reunions that move around, and the nuvi is quite good getting us there.
In Europe, with the specific city map I buy, the nuvi is excellent for routing you on public transportation (the printed maps are not as good because they usually only list stations, not places, so you need a source to give you the nearest station. It is less useful for walking, as it doesn't do well with small streets, uses names for some streets that are not on the street signs (if there are street signs) and doesn't alert you if you are walking in the wrong direction.

They do seem to do much better for marine navigation.

twk

A GPS is a tool that requires some skill to use. A lot of folks simply don't master the GPS (and won't if the only time they use it is for a trip rental). It works best when the user has experience with the device and combines the GPS's ability to tell you where you are at any moment (something a map doesn't do very well) with an old fashioned map for planning overview (computers aren't perfect, and when your GPS starts to take you on a route other than the one you plan with your paper map, you shouldn't be afraid to overrule the GPS). Anyone who simply puts an address in a GPS and blindly relies upon the device is likely to have a bad experience.

Bottom line: renting a GPS might not be worth the trouble, but if you're willing to buy one and master its use before the trip, it's a great tool (best used in combination with a map).

Carlux

I agree with La Tour de Cause - in France Michelin provides excellent maps, and you should use them. Maybe in conjunction with GPS, but don't realy just on the GPS. We too had lots of renters get lost because they ignored my directions, and were sure that the GPS knew better than someone who's lived in the area 18 years. The GPS, for instance, thought you could drive up a pedestrian street - about 1 1/2 metres wide. People have actually argued with me over this, so I just told them to try it.

Another time, coming home from a restaurant on a route we know, a friend and I were talking too much and missed the turn. Rather than turn around, we decided to rely on the GPS. I thought I was in a different country - we saw farms, narrow lanes, other people's gardens, which we had never seen before. Eventually it got us out back to a road we knew. Entertaining, and we werent in a hurry, but not something I'd try again.

While I agree that in a city, where street names aren't always indicated, a GPS can be a great help, in the country - or at least in the part of the country where I live, it can't always distinguish between bicycle paths and small roads. Ours, if set to 'fastest route' takes me on roads that might be fast if they didn't have so many twists and turns...

And have I said already - the Michelin maps are so good and so detailed they are a pleasure to use.

isabel

I have had the same experience that La_Tour has - only in the US. I live in a semi-rural area and if I had a nickle for every time a car with a GPS stops in front of my house, lost, I could finance my upcoming trip to the Dordogne! (The GPS wants to send them up a one lane rutted dirt road that is unpassable without four wheel drive much of the year. I have to send them back where they came from and around - a route that is several miles longer but the only way to get to their destination. God knows what drivers do when I'm not around to help them, their GPS has not only got them lost, it could get them very stuck.)

I have purchased Michelin maps for my trip to France next summer, but I'm also finding that the maps on line (Michelin is best, but google maps are not bad) are even better. You can zoom in on the area you want and enlarge it to great detail. If you have a Mac you can then take a screen shot and print it. I'm finding that much easier to use than the printed paper Michelin maps I purchased. I'm also using the direction finding tools at viamichelin, google, and mappy sometimes take you on slightly different routes between places.

crckwc1

We've driven in Europe many times over the years using only Michelin maps, road signs, and common sense and had no problems navigating. Then, along came the GPS which was included in our rental car. While a GPS can certainly be helpful, it can also guide you on routes you wouldn't have chosen from a map. That GPS must have been programmed to route us onto only the toll roads. In one case, we drove miles and miles out of the way, following directions from the GPS and paying lots of euro in tolls. When we consulted the map we realized we could have saved a lot of time and money by taking the non-toll roads. So, as others have posted, GPS is helpful, but you must also have a good map.