vic56

Hello friends.
I'm planning to drive a rental car in Southern Tuscany for a week.
How reliable the GPS is in Tuscany? Do I really need a detailed local map or GPS will be good enough?
Thanks for your help.

StuDudley

The "most rewarding/scenic" drives in Tuscany are when you leave the paved roads and "get lost" on the dirt roads. Don't let the GPS tell you where to go - you decide. Use some of my ideas:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-171368-2.cfm

Stu Dudley

hetismij2

Get a map. How reliable GPS is depends on the map it uses.
As Stu says getting lost and using the map make for a more interesting trip.
Have a GPS to get you out of trouble if it makes you feel better, but don't rely solely upon it.

vic56

Thanks guys I'll follow your advice and get myself a map.
I'll be looking for the "most rewarding/scenic" drives.

HappyTrvlr

We use the GPS but always have a good map along. There have been times when we didn't get a signal to the GPS due to ancient city walls blocking it or unmapped areas. One hotel was on an unmapped area and the GPS told us to turn around when we were almost there.

iris1745

We have found the sign posting in both Tuscany and Umbria very good.

Never needed a GPS.

However if you will be driving into Florence [not advisable] a GPS would be welcome.

bvlenci

I live in Italy, and I really don't recommend taking the dirt roads. One of our cars is four-wheel drive, and we've been on some roads that looked fine at the beginning, but where the dirt soon turned to gullies and boulders, and where there was no place to turn around. Even with four-wheel drive, it can be scary, and I really wouldn't do it with a rental car. At least make sure that someone local tells you what the road condition is. Even that may not be enough. Last summer, we took a road that someone told us was fine. It turned out to be anything but, and when we got back the man admitted he hadn't been on the road in ten years.

StuDudley

We've taken the dirt roads in the Val d'Orcia hundreds of times - even in the rain. No problem at all. However, we only take the roads that are marked on the "Touring Club Italiano" map.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

I use the Touring Club Italiano for the entire Tuscany area, but I use the Edizioni Multigraphic Carta Turistica E Stradale - Val di Chiana Val d'Orcia to get more "details" on the roads. it is on the scale 1/50,000.

Stu Dudley

rbciao

We use a Garmin GPS every summer during our annual pilgrimage in Italy and it has made traveling much easier, BUT... You still need a good map, patience, and a huge sense of humor when it takes you on some unusual routings. We've been through vineyards, chicken coops, people's driveways, and narrow dirt roads, but we've always arrived at our planned destination.

We're leaving next month for Italy and Sicily and the GPS will be packed in my carry-on along with the European maps micro SD card.

Buon viaggio,

Jean

"You still need a good map, patience, and a huge sense of humor when it takes you on some unusual routings. We've been through vineyards, chicken coops, people's driveways, and narrow dirt roads, but we've always arrived at our planned destination."

On our last trip (to France, not Italy), we asked the GPS to find us the nearest petrol station. The closest place it directed us to was no longer a petrol station. The next closest place was in the middle of a cultivated field.

But, otherwise, the GPS was great, and we only referred to the paper maps to see "the big picture."

JeanneB

You need this (as mentioned above):
http://www.amazon.com/Tuscany-Toscan.../dp/8836548288

joan

LOL RBCIAO, that reminds me of the roads in the Caribbean. Once with a carful we ended up in someone's driveway, and one of the guys in our car shouted "Honey! I'm home!"

stududley and JeanneB, I'm planning on buying maps for Loire and Tuscany for upcoming trip. That map on Amazon is from 2014. I guess the roads are ancient, but would that be accurate?