GPS vs Google Maps
 

My cell carrier is Verizon. We will be touring the Val d'Orcia by car and later driving from Bologna to Ascoli Piceno and on to Naples. At least one of the car rental locations does not have any GPS devices to rent. My choices seem to be either to buy an international chip for my long dormant GPS device or to get an international plan from Verizon. My research tells me that using google maps does not use data--data is only used for downloading maps. I am currently leaning towards using my iPhone for directions (backed up with paper maps). Does anyone have any experience with using their Verizon cell services for navigation in the areas we will be traveling? Thanks for any advice you may have!

Google Maps does work for navigation without data - try it before you leave for Italy, I have. You can download maps in advance, but you don't have to. (They can take up a lot of memory; you can choose an area to download, and the bigger the area the more memory it takes to store them in your phone.)

You can simply start navigation while on WiFi to download a route, turn off mobile data, then go. I did a local day trip at home to the ocean and back using Google Maps without mobile data on. I found occasional glitches like my phone telling me it had lost a data connection, only to have it resume a minute later like nothing had happened. It had the maps in the areas I was driving through but I suspect it would not have had maps had I done an unscheduled detour. But I hadn't downloaded an area of Google Maps ahead of time, either.

You might want to buy a local SIM in Italy anyway. Typically people buy a TIM SIM card I think - i did but it was a few years ago. Note that unlike some European countries, Italy is more strict about selling SIM cards; they will ask for your passport and make a copy of it so be prepared for that. In other European countries, it can be as easy to buy a SIM card as buying a pack of gum at a convenience store.

If you use Google Maps in offline mode you do not get information about congestions, construction, blocked roads etc.

Real paper maps, like the Michelin ones, are infallible. I just don't understand people's reliance on iffy GPS systems to get around Europe - we managed just fine eons ago before electronics got in the way.

Italy is not, by far, the only European country that asks for your passport and requires registration for a SIM card. They all do, IME.

Paper maps are certainly not "infallible." If they were they would never ever be "updated" or is that some sort of scam by the map companies to make money?

Dukey

This is one of the least intelligent posts I've seen on this forum.

But clearly paper maps do show roads that existed at a time, prior to printing. I had the last available map of Mexico and discovered that a highway had just been added which was not on the map.

That's part of the scam by the map companies : they ask countries to add roads so they can update their maps.

Neither Google maps nor a GPS gives you an overview, and for that I always want a paper map, even when I use a GPS (including Google) to navigate.

I would want to have a data connection if using Google Maps as my GPS device. For €30, you can get an Italian SIM card and the TIM for Visitors plan, that gives you 4 gb of data, and 100 minutes of calls to over 60 countries, including Italy, of course. The plan expires automatically at the end of a month and can't be renewed (although the SIM card can still be used with a different plan).

https://www.tim.it/offerte/mobile/es...for-visitor-uk

Vodafone has a similar plan called Vodafone Holiday, with more talk time but less data. Just make sure to tell them you don't want to renew the plan at the end of the month, because that's the default.

http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privat...oliday-English

Finally, I recently learned of a US company that sells data-only SIM cards that can be used in a number of European companies.

http://www.keepgo.com/

It's considerably more expensive ($69 including the SIM card) than the two plans I mentioned above, but the SIM card remains usable indefinitely. (The credit expires after a year of nonuse, but you can add credit when you want to revive the card.) For people who travel to Europe frequently and visit multiple countries this could save money over the long run. The only thing that would give me pause, especially for you, is that their Italian partner is Wind, which doesn't have the best coverage in rural areas.

All of these options would require your having an unlocked GSM compatible phone.

I haven't used Google Maps overseas but use it all the time while traveling in the US. It is so much easier and convenient that a hand held map.

You simply say (for example) Hilo Airport. The response is immediate - the amount of time it will take to get there is noted, number of miles, and the route is clearly outlined, the "navigation lady" will tell you when to turn etc., it really is so trouble free. I can't imagine ever using a paper map and having to go to an index, then getting the coordinates, then straining my eyes to see the print, folding and unfolding it, figuring where I last left it when I need it, etc.

We always have paper maps as well as the GPS which we bring from home and my husband puts in the routes we will be using in advance (if we know them). I used Google maps a bit on my last trip on my phone.

In Italy I would not rely solely on GPS or Google maps. On one of my winery tours recently there was a couple from Texas who got horribly lost using both of those things. (they didn't have a paper map but were going to get one after I told them they should) They were only coming from Siena to Gaiole but got all turned around and were half an hour late for the tour as well as being well out of sorts.

>>Neither Google maps nor a GPS gives you an overview, and for that I always want a paper map, even when I use a GPS (including Google) to navigate.>>

I can zoom out on Google Maps so far out it is like looking from outer space! You can zoom in and out and see the same thing as on a paper map. The problem with a paper map is you can't do it automatically you'd have to have separate pages for up close street by street or overviews.

There is a difference between some GPS maps and Google in my opinion. I've never had any trouble with Google maps, but have had plenty with my GPS particularly on my car.

You could always try Here instead of Google. Good offline maps and directions. https://itunes.apple.com/app/id955837609

I love maps. I have a good sense of direction. I resisted GPS for years, didn't think I needed it. But now that I use it, I will never willingly give it up. So many arguments averted, so many decisions made easier, so much time saved. And I have learned all sort of new routes, even for journeys I make all the time.

Maps infallible? This far from infallible human being has a lifetime of stories of myself and others getting turned around and confused. If that happens with a GPS, it will just set a new course to correct the error.

From my point of view, Google Maps is every map in the world, folded up pocket size and expandable to the smallest dirt road. As a rule, I don't adapt well to change, but Google Maps has changed my life for the better.

In France a few years ago, we requested the in-car GPS to direct us to the nearest gas station. It sent us into the middle of a cultivated field. We then went to the next nearest station location (according to the GPS) and found that it no longer sold gasoline. The second situation can be explained by software that hadn't been updated, but we never figured out the first one.

I think "what to bring" depends on your personal preferences. I like paper maps for planning, overview and for pointing out things you didn't know about. I like the portable GPS (Garmin) device we bring from home for the screen size and graphics. I like having a phone for backup. I'm the designated navigator, so we take whatever I want.

If you are comfortable using google maps at home then you would appreciate its ease of use in Italy.
It's easy to zoom out google maps to get an overview. I always do this before we get started.
The maps are up to date and the input of your destination is easy because Google maps is so intuitive that you don't have to know the exact address or name of your destination. Google will make an intelligent guess from what you enter.

You can start navigation on wifi, get your route and then continue after you no longer are on wifi. However if you make a wrong turn or want to change your destination then you need data to do that.

To save data you can turn off the data after getting the navigation going, then if you need to redirect, then turn the data back on.

We just bought a data only SIM card today from Tim for €25 for 4 gb, good for a month.
It works very well. Just make sure you bring a car charger for your phone and that your phone is unlocked.


We were so glad to get a simcard today after fighting with the built in gps in our rental Audi. It just couldn't find half the places we were looking for.

<i> >>Neither Google maps nor a GPS gives you an overview, and for that I always want a paper map, even when I use a GPS (including Google) to navigate.>>

I can zoom out on Google Maps so far out it is like looking from outer space! You can zoom in and out and see the same thing as on a paper map. </i>

If you zoom out on Google Maps, you lose all detail, including the numbers of numbered highways and the names of smaller towns. If you zoom way in, you see a tiny square and nothing outside that square.

Here is an example from my own recent experience. This is done on an Android tablet. On my Windows computer, there is somewhat more detail because of the bigger screen. On a Windows computer, I could also request a multi-destination itinerary, but Google has removed this possibility from their Android app. In any case, I wouldn't be bringing a larger computer on my trip, so the tablet is what I'd be using. If someoone were using a phone as a GPS device, they'd be even more constrained.

I'm planning a trip to Ireland. When we arrive, we're renting a car at Dublin airport and driving to the Omagh area in Northern Ireland.

I wanted to see if a stop at Newgrange along the way would be far out of my way, but not knowing exactly where Newgrange is, just that it's not very far from the airport, and just off the M1, I tried zooming in on various segments of the route, but never found Newgrange. (On my Windows desktop computer, I'd be able to indicate Newgrange as an intermediate destination which would make it easier.)

Now I open up my spiral-bound AA Glovebox Atlas, and I easily find Newgrange, and see that it's near Drogheda. However, although Newgrange is a world-famous UNESCO World Heritage site, it's extremely difficult to find on your Google intinerary map even if you know where it is. You have to zoom in to extreme detail, and then it's difficult to keep the focus on the right spot. I had to go back and forth between the printed map and Google Maps to be able to zoom in on the spot where Newgrange is found. Of course, I could just search on Google Maps for Newgrange, but then I would lose the connection to the itinerary map.

Near where we're staying, there is a National Trust site that's equally difficult to find on Google Maps. This means that people who don't know of interesting sites on their route will never find them on Google Maps, even though they stand out very well on the printed map. Part of the problem is that Google Maps shows so many paid sites, such as malls, businesses, restaurants, and B&Bs, that they don't have much room for world-famous archaeological sites.

I do use Google Maps quite a lot, especially for Navigation, but they have many shortcomings. In cities, you often can't see the names of the streets you're supposed to be turning onto, because of all the shops and restaurants that are shown on the map, taking up every bit of space.

I like paper maps and I do use them. For hikes. For driving, if you have access to a GPS/Navi or Google Maps (and a fast enough data signal), it's way more convenient (not to mention arguable safer) to use them instead of a paper map.

You are living in 2016; if you have access to real-time traffic information, why not take advantage of it? Do you also refuse to use ereaders because you like the feel and smell and weight of paper?

That being said, there is a sense of wonder and exploration and self-satisfaction using a paper map to get from the Frankfurt Airport to some quaint little apartment in a backstreet somewhere in Brussels.

Bvienci sums up many of the flaws of Google Maps. There are some things for which paper maps certainly remain better, especially in the planning stage. But for use while navigating, I find GPS invaluable.

We prefer to use our Garmin with the European Maps SD card installed. It's easy and we always arrive at our destination...eventually. We've had some unusual field trips, but we just laugh it off to another traveling adventure. After the cost of the GPS and the SD card everything else is free. We do not need to worry about data plans or service. For us it works and we can use it in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

Buon viaggio,

I use a 40 year old map for planning and "here" for GPS