GPS Units
 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good GPS unit with European maps preloaded or with a compatable program? What is the easiest to travel with?

The Garmin Nuvi models that end in 70 are pre-loaded with European maps.

We used Garmin Nuvi 670 least year in France in Italy and it worked fabulously... couldn't have survived the trip without it...

Thanks for the suggestions. In the past we have traveled with maps and info printed off the internet. Did you find you needed them at all or can I finally leave them at home?

Take maps with you too. GPS is not infallible and it is sometimes fun to try a different route, the road less travelled, which you can see on the map but which your GPS may not be keen on.

Definitely check out the TomTom brand. It is excellent and was recently recommended by many many people on here. If the model doesn't come with the maps you can buy them separately from TomTom and download them.

I use a TomTom 920. The 920 and 930 come preloaded with Europe and North American maps. It works great.

Get it here so you learn how to use it well before your trip. You can also preload your points of interest ahead of time.

It's not a bad idea to have some maps even though you may never use them. I wouldn't pack maps they are cheaper there, you can give them away before come back or highlight your route and keep as a souvenir.

Definitely bring maps along! You'll never know what might happen to your GPS... it may run out of battery, it may be broken, etc.

My garmin nuvi 370 worked great in Germany and Croatia(with limited service in Croatia) Small enough to fit in a pocket and use the pedestrian mode while in Berlin.

Garmin 670 on sale for 319 on Amazon.

Just FYI, the Garmin Nuvi 670 model has been discontinuted by Garmin. That's why it's so cheap to buy now.

On our trip to Germany last September, we took our Garmin 670 with us in our carryon bag. When we told the taxi driver to take us from Frankfurt Airport to Kelsterbach to pick up our rental car, he put the address into his Tom Tom. Well, 20 minutes later we were out in the boonies somewhere and no Avis rental location in sight. DH pulls out our Garmin and within a few minutes we found the Avis location.

Tom Tom may be wonderful, but it didn't work too great for this taxi driver.

We loved our Garmin. It worked great on our trip to Europe.

Hi 5swissmiss

Definitely have a map that at least gives you an overview of where you need to be. On a couple of occasions our GPS has lost the plot or lost satelites for around 30 minutes, so we would have been completely lost without the paper maps.

Also, with our GPS we are always heading up the screen i.e. you can completely lose the sense of whether you are travelling east, south etc. So I (the designated navigator) sit with the map on my lap just so I can check that Ms Garmin is not leading us astray.

Happy travels, Di

I used the Garmin Nuvi 370 in France (including Corsica), Italy, Bosnia/Herzogovia and Croatia this summer. The only place where the Nuvi was weak was on the island of Hvar, though I wasn't surprised.

I didn't use a paper map during the 5 weeks I was in Europe, though I did have Michelin maps with me just in case.

I would recommend as well a Nuvi, 670, 760, 770. A Six hundred or seven hundred series, with FM receiover for traffic alerts, and for sure: Talking street names, so you dont have to have your eyes glued to the screen.
Used my 760 all the past two months here.

We recently used a Garmin 670 in Europe. We also had our maps along which we needed several times. Several times the Garmin had a blank space where the road we needed was located in Italy. It also sent us through some less than nice areas. It was excellent on autoroutes/stradas warning us to get in right lane as the exit was coming up.