gps units
 

would you recommend getting a gps unit if you were renting a car in italy?? or just have really good maps and set yourself up for an adventure.

I would highly recommend a gps unit. We were in Provence and used gps unit to find our way to different towns.We also had a good michelin map but it was great to see the gps system show us that the streets or towns were right ahead. Even found it helpful when we had to return car in Nice and had to find a gas station.

Absolutely.

We brought a hand held with us to Italy and it worked like a charm.

Navigating through towns is the biggest challenge on any driving trip no matter how detailed one's maps.

Have really good maps too. GPS if fine for getting from A to B but to explore an area nothing beats a good map imho.

For our recent trip to France, my husband and I purchased a Garmen Nuvi 370 which came preloaded with European maps. I was a little apprehensive because of the cost, about $450, but it was money well spent. I would recomend a GPS to anyone planning on driving in Europe. We probably could have done it with maps, but travel was much less stressful with the GPS. If we made a wrong turn it would 'recalculate' and tell us how to get back on course. We even used it while walking in Paris to find our way to sites. It was a great buy!

I agree with the others. I used a GPS system for the first time last month, whhile in Italy. It took so much of the hassle out of driving - not worrying that we might be heading in the wrong direction.

Hi

I went to Florence and Tuscany this summer and my wife and I drove around in the Chianti district with a rental car. It was GREAT to have a GPS and I don't think I will ever go on a road trip again without a GPS. Where in Italy are you going? Here is my trip report with pictures and links: http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

we just spent 2 weeks in sicily with our gps. it brought us wherever we wanted to be without any worries. it had some minor difficulties in appreciating the level of importance of certain roads, but i don't know how we would have managed without it...

it is also very useful for visiting cities; for palermo, i chose a parking lot in the center of town. it brought us down there without any problem (and there was free parking space!!!)

you would however still need a map for a general appreciation of your travel.

Everyone's input has been great. My husband and I leave for our trip in a little over a month. We are spending 5 days in Radda in Chianti (well that's our "home base") planning on exploring Florence, Sienna, Pisa, etc and the remaining 3 to 4 days of our trip in Rome. The only time we will have the rental car is getting from FCO to Tuscany (Radda) and back to FCO. Then we will use public transit while in Rome. We currently have a GPS unit, but unfortunately Garmin has discontinued that model so we can't purchase any software with Italian maps. Grr... so now I'm grimacing at the thought of a several hundred dollar expense for a new GPS unit and software.

Don't dispair yet. Garmin is a French Company with a lot of presence in Europe.

Call US customer support or go online. Check either the UK sellers (since they speak English) or maybe some electronic chains online in Italy (I have no idea, but someone on the forum probably has some names) - or use Google.

You can get airmail/FEDEX from the UK real quick. If it is an Italian chain, they may have a location in Florence, or whever else you will be.

That's the method I used to get my Garmin GPS map for France at about 1/2 the price they were selling for in the US.

Good luck!

Steve