Garmin has a GPS advertised in Costc stores with European maps. Has anyone used an American made Garmin in Spain? Are the maps accurate and does it pick up the signals?

My husband and I used our Garmin 370 when we dipped into Spain from France in October 2007. It worked fine and we had no trouble with it, in fact we highly recommend it. I noticed the one in the Costco magazine, it sure looks like a good deal, a friend of mine is planning on getting it. Good luck!

I have a Garmin nüvi 670 which works perfectly in U.S.A., but has some shortcomings in Europe:

- Due to different structure of administrative units in North America and Europe, the Garmin does not find small villages. - In Europe, you often get an address just with the name of a village but not of the encompassing city. Garmin cannot identify the village, so you cannot enter the address unless you know the name of the city. - European GPS systems have redundant information about place names.

- Especially in Spain, most (!) street names are not listed. Garmin obviously has problems with the street names in Spain, which can be complicated. E.g. in the town of Somo, Cantabria, there is a street called Barrio de Somo Pinar de Arna, which is not listed in my Garmin (but in Google Maps). Things get more complicated, because the Spanish often abbreviate street names, e.g. Barrio de Arna. The only address you get with the Garmin is "Arna, Calle de la" - which is, however, not the Barrio, but a different street. Thus, the Garmin will mislead you. In other Spanish towns, I could not find streets at all with my Garmin.

- Another serious shortcoming is that Garmin sometimes mistakes layovers for junctions. This means, you find yourself under a bridge when you have to join the road which goes across the bridge. In such situations, the Garmin is not able to find a junction at all. You have to switch it off and to find your way using a map or following signs.

Conclusion: North America and Europe are differently structured. Use an American-made GPS for America and a European-made GPS in Europe. In Spain, my father's Tom-Tom never failed.

We are heading to Spain in September and will likely bring our GPS but it is great to have the basic problems highlighted so we can be smart in adjusting. Thanks

>>>so we can be smart in adjusting<<<

What I am currently doing (I will travel to Spain on Thursday):

I am already programming my Garmin. If I cannot find an address, I use Google Earth, get the coordinates and enter them.

Problems raised by traveller1959 have nothing to do with the unit, but by the map software installed on the unit. New maps come on SD card, but can be costly (around $100 for Spain/Portugal, $150 for whole of Europe). Garmin units bought in Europe have the facility of downloading up-to-date maps online for free, but I don't know about US-sourced units (you have to enter unit's serial number). You can buy a new map online at Garmin website.

My wife and I just returned from Spain (June) and we used our Garmin Nuvi to navigate from Granada to Seville (via Ronda and several other white villages).

We had no problem with the navigation, though there were several times as we were travelling in very small cities the GPS had us turn on roads that I wouldn't have turned on otherwise. But every time, we ended up where we were supposed to be. I'm not sure we would have gotten there on our own.

Good luck!

>>>Problems raised by traveller1959 have nothing to do with the unit, but by the map software installed on the unit. <<<

Updating the maps does not help. The problem is that the Garmin software is not able to deal properly with the geographical structure of Europe.

In the U.S., addresses are unambiguous which is not the case in Europe. E.g., in Europe, you often find several streets with the same name in the same city (the historical reason is that formerly independent villages had been incorporated into this city without changing the street names). And in Europe, you might find a Calle Real, a Plaza Real and a Paseo Real. And often, these three are far away from each other. European GPS systems have ways to deal with this kind of ambiguity while Garmin has not - this is at least my experience. You should always check Garmin's route suggestions with an internet-based route planner or with a map. And be alert if Garmin suggests a destination which is in an outlying district when you would expect a downtown location.

Or you can try reflashing the unit's firmware with European standards.

>>Updating the maps does not help. The problem is that the Garmin software is not able to deal properly with the geographical structure of Europe.<<

I will respectfully disagree with this statement, at least for France. We have not yet used our Garmin nuvi (don't have the model number handy, but it came with European maps preinstalled) in Spain. But we drove through small villages in Brittany, Normandy and the Loire two years ago, and had no real problems. (Other than some rather quirky pronunciation!)

We did supplement with paper Michelin maps, and learned to ignore instructions to turn down tiny unpaved lanes so that the unit would "recalculate". We found all our destinations with amazing accuracy at a level of detail that a printed map simply doesn't provide.

Reading this has to make me smile. I got shot down by the GPS lovers on the thread below. Now I read htis and you users say they are not so good and use a paper back up.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ps-or-maps.cfm

traveller1959 writes: << I am already programming my Garmin. If I cannot find an address, I use Google Earth, get the coordinates and enter them. >>

I believe your GPS has to be set to the time zone you are in.

Years ago, at his request, I brought a Garmin GPS I bought at West Marine to a cousin in Madrid. It worked just fine in Spain! But it was primitive: no maps, just geographical coordinates. They used it to find their way back to where they had parked their car when they were on a wild mushroom hunting outing; I used mine to get back to the Marina and even to monitor speed of my boat.

ribeirasacra has a point! Don't count on only a GPS that shows streets and highways for your sole source of driving directions. Use a little common sense.

Does anyone have the Garmin Nuvi 257T the OP is looking at? I am considering this great deal from Costco too. It is not voice activated though
Feedback?

Using a GPS in Normandy at a relative's urging (he was accompanying us on the trip) back in 2005 made a believer out of me; they're not perfect but they're great, IMO. Used his Magellan again in France in 2006, and since then we've have bought our own Garmin 370 and will be trying it out for the first time in Alsace in Oct.

Lauricelli,

I have a TomTom One that I like. The only thing I wish it had, and would advise you to get, is what's called 'text to speech'.

My unit will say "turn left in 200 meters"... but in an old town, in traffic, it can sometimes be hard to decide if it's THIS street or the next one... text to speech will say "turn left in 200 meters on SuchandSuch Street".

Minor point, but it does make life easier. Unless the unit you're looking at is direct cheap, pass unless it has text to speech.

Rob

Is there a wesite for mapquest in Spain. I'd like to map out some of our destinations?

Millie

http://www.mapquest.es/mq/common/changeLanguage.do

I'm looking to buy a GPS specifically for my trips to Europe. I have rented them during past trips. And, yes, they have told me to turn into brick walls, the river, etc. but I still think they are great to have.

I'd like to buy one with pre-loaded maps of Europe and the USA. I think I'd prefer the 3.5" model so it will be smaller to fit in my purse.

I was looking into the Garmin 275T model. What brand/model do you like?

Any thoughts, feedback, comments, recommendations?

Going to Italy in October and getting ready to buy the new Garmin Nuvi 1370T. Preloaded with N American and European maps. 4.3 inch display but "ultrathin" for portability. Lane assist, custom POI input, voice prompts, speaks street names, touchscreen. About $450 US.

joannyc,

I bought a TomTom One last year on eBay with European maps on an SD card. It cost $130 at the time.

My thinking was that I wanted it primarily for Europe so I'd buy from a company that is European. It worked great in France and works fine back in Canada too although I rarely need it here.

I also like the 3.5 inch size... easier to carry. Yes, 4.3 might be easier to read but when driving I almost never look at the screen... I go by the audible instructions.

I bought my daughter the same model for Christmas but a newer version... it was noticeably slimmer.

Last thing, and since I don't have a Garmin or other model I can't comment on them, but I like TomTom's online site for owners where you can update maps, download literally thousands of points of interest as well as customized itineraries.

Rob