Hello, all,

I'm leaning toward renting a car for the Dordogne portion of my trip next June. I've never driven in Europe, but folks here claim the Dordogne is easy driving.

I want to buy a GPS ahead of time to get familiar with it, and also program it with addresses before the trip.

Some here have stated that Tom Tom is more prevalent in Europe and the maps more accurate; others swear by Garmin. Garmin gets much better reviews on Amazon.

What do you think?

Susan

Hi Susan

I purchased a Garmin nuvi 275t in November 2009 on Amazon.It came with European maps. I have used it on two European trips, Germany, Switzerland, Italy,Slovenia, Croatia, France, and Austria, including a trip in 2011 to the Dordogne.I also used it for walking in some medium to larger cities. Also used it for finding gas stations in Avignon and Munich before turning in the car.It performed very well. I programmed destinations at home.

Hi dugi_otok. Thanks for the review! I'm looking at a Garmin nüvi 2370LT on Amazon - I think it's a newer model. It also has European maps and people seem happy with it. Since I've used a Garmin before (only in US), I may go with that one.

Whichever model you decide on make sure it does not have speed traps in France loaded in the maps - it is illegal to have them loaded even if you have them switched off, and you could face a hefty fine!

Hi susan,
We just returned from Europe and used our Garmin Nuvi in Austria, Denmark and Norway. Never any problems, although a couple times it did try to send us down a pedestrian only street. Very easy to use.

Thank you, Hetismj2. I've read about this, but forgot it was an issue. I'll check.

Thanks, Michele_d. I'm leaning toward getting the Garmin Nuvi.

We've had a garmin nuvi for 5 years (on our second - it cost more or less the same to buy a new one than upgrade the maps). We love the Garmin, but I think it's probably not much different than the canon/Nikon debate - they're basically the same, but once you get used to one you'll stick with it.

I'd buy whichever one has the features you want but is the cheapest.