Traveler2 -
We rented our car through AutoEurope in the US and requested the GPS system with them. They didn't offer the option of sending it to me in advance. That might not be a bad idea if you want to guarentee that you have it on your trip. It's possible that when we arrived at Europcar in Rome (I think AutoEurope works with them quite a bit.) that the GPS would not have been there waiting for us. This wasn't the case for us. Maybe we just got lucky? How much is AutoEurope charging you to have it sent in advance?

I didn't think about the insurance situation as Flame123 mentioned. It was very small so we always put it into the glove compartment or into my bag. Maybe if you order it through AutoEurope they insure it themselves?

It has many different language options (English being one of them!) and was very easy to program our different destinations.

I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if you need any more information.

Budman - I agree with you. We did get lost one day when we hadn't plugged in the system yet b/c we thought it would be a quick easy drive. It was getting dark and it just became too frustrating. It was definitely a smart choice for us!

Thanks Budman. I'll check it out.

We wish we had GPS during our last trip to Piedmont, Italy. Northern Italy in autumn/winter gets foggy. We were trying to drive back to Milan’s Malpensa Airport from Piedmont. Fog was so think that we could not see road signs at all. We made wrong turn and headed to opposite direction. If we had GPS, we would not have missed our flight!

bmccadas: I talked with AutoEurope today as I could not remember if they had quoted me a price. Got a different story today. They said that Europcar provides the GPS when I get there. I guess you get different answers from different people even though they work at the same company. (You can get that anywhere; as I have been dealing with this type problem at a hotel)

They quoted me 11 euros a day.

Did you drive out of Rome or in Rome? If so, did it help getting around there?

We are travelling to Europe in April and here in Australia have been offered the hire of a Seymor Garmin Nuvi 300 GPSwhich sounds great. It's $10 Aus. a day and they ( Driveaway Holidays) deliver it a few days before we leave and pick it up on our return so it just goes everywhere with us. It also has MP3 and translator. Extra sortware is only $66 per card.
Sounds a good deal.
Rosie:)

Traveler2 -

Yes, we did drove out of Rome. We picked up the rental car at the location near the Borghese (spelling?). We had some challenges leaving Rome but they weren't necessarily related to the GPS. It took time to get used to the GPS directions. The traffic was crazy in Rome with the cars and all of the scooters. Often the GPS would be telling us to turn but we couldn't get over in time! In general, I think you will find it very helpful.

I have used a GPS receiver in Ireland, England and Wales. In the hedgerows in Wales, you can easily drive right past a road you are looking for to reach your destination. We were in Ireland in 1999, and the road signage was not what we were used to. Even without the maps downloaded into the receiver, I was able to create wayponts using www.multimap.com to get the lat&long for the places we planned to visit. If you don't have the place pre-programed, once you have made it to a destination, mark the waypoint and you can find your way back MUCH more easily.

Beth: Thanks for your reply. It seems most of the car rentals are picked up near Borghese, so I will also have to find my way out of Rome and I think the GPS will help make a bad situation a little better.

For anyone who is looking for a Garmin StreetPilot C340 GPS, Costco.com has it on sale for $350

We bought a Garmin Nuvi 350 and tried it out in Italy a couple of weeks ago. It was wonderful. We won't be leaving home without it now.

The maps available are excellent for Western Europe and Poland, but are only ok for parts of Central and eastern Europe.

Traveler2 -

I am so glad the informatin was helpful for you. Good luck with the driving! Have a wonderful trip.

Beth

Buona sera tutti,
Just this afternoon I confirmed my car rental with Auto Europe and ordered a GPS as I will be spending 4 days touring around southern Umbria. They will ship the GPS prior to my departure date. In fact, they even asked what date I wanted to receive it. I asked that it be delivered 2 days prior to my departure so I could pre-program a few routes and POIs. My trip totals 9 days, and my cost is $99US. There is no charge for the days before or after. There is a $40US shipping and return charge. My only shock was the $2.50US per day theft insurance which has a $300US deductible. Naturally, I declined that coverage. When I leave the car, the GPS will leave with me.

I do have a question for those who have used these GPS's. I was told by Auto Europe that they run on normal alkaline batteries, and warned that if the battery runs down, it won't recharge, and you lose the use of the GPS(hence do not use it as a hand-held while wandering through Perugia). If that is so, then why does it plug into the cig-lighter in the car?
saluti,
BellaLuna

Dear bmccadas / Beth,
Thanks for starting this thread. My Family is heading to Italy in 2 months & I will rent a Van is we are 5 people. I bought the latest Garmin "nuvi" navigation unit. I AM DELIGHTED TO KNOW IT WORKS IN RURAL AREAS. We will spend 3 days in Rome (car free) and on last day have this wonderful 'Europe Auto" drop the car @ my Hotel so we can drive to rural parts & head back to the airport after 7 days. Your comments have put me @ total ease. Thanks a bunch. Shawn (Montreal Canada). P.S.If anyone has any comments on driving into airport for car drop off.. please let me know.

Kerouac and Ira: We are also a family that loves to get lost in Europe. GPS is for tourists not travelers. Our best experiences are when we were lost.