I was in the bookstore and found the 2009 Fodor's Ireland book but couldn't quite get a peek at the inside of the map without separating it- so quit trying before I messed it up. How useful (or not) is this map for driving? For walking around towns? Has anyone actually relied on this map for their travels?

Thanks.

"<i>How useful (or not) is this map for driving?</i>"

I haven't seen that particular map -- but essentially <u>almost no</u> folding map is adequate for driving. And I can't imagine how one in the back of a guide book could be even close. For driving, you need a very detailed road map which usually means a road atlas format.

Thanks, janisj. From the little bit I could see it looked like a road map you might see in an atlas and seemed like it would fold out fairly large (it's a thick, accordian folded map tucked inside the back and has perforations for removal) but I didn't want to buy the older book just to satisfy my curiosity.

As far as road maps go, though, I think since I will be the only one in the car I want one of those spiral bound ones that lay flat. Michelin?

Then again, if the Fodor's map was usable 'on the ground' then it might persuade me to pay for the 2010 guide when it is released so I would have a backup map.

"<i>From the little bit I could see it looked like a road map you might see in an atlas and seemed like it would fold out fairly large</i>"

A good road atlas will be in the region of 3 or 4 miles to the inch. For a fold up map to be that detailed - it would have to be huge.

And - again I haven't seen that map - I'd guess it is a basic map of Ireland. I can't see how one could be usable for "on the ground" walking around. It would be very helpful for general itinerary planning since the whole country would be spread out on one sheet. But if it isn't detailed enough for driving, how could it be detailed enough for walking around?

As an example - my Fodors 2009 Italy guide has a thick-ish map in the back. When you open it out -- on one side there is a map of Italy at 100 miles to the inch, a map of Venice at approx 200 meters to the inch, and on the reverse is a map of central Rome at about 300 meters to the inch (basically covering from the Vatican to the Coloseum). Neither the Venice nor Rome maps would be enough for walking since only the most major roads are labeled.

Not all foldable maps are bad. The OSI Touring map (http://www.irishmaps.ie/product/disp...roductID=23309) is a foldable map and is perfectly fine for getting around the country. I've used it twice and I'm not still wandering the countryside, so it can't be all bad.

That being said, for walking and city touring, no - it's not well suited for that.

The OSI touring map costs nearly €25 -- which is more than the cost of the entire Fodors guidebook Rosa_Mundi is asking about -- totally apples and oranges. It is 1 inch to nearly 8 miles so not all that detailed - but not terrible for sure.

IMO working w/ a road atlas format is a lot easier than folding and re-folding a single sheet map.

janisj: It sounds like the one in your book is probably the same type as in the Ireland book. Not quite as detailed as I was hoping for but maybe if it was, with that size, I'd need a magnifying glass to find things. And the touring map is showing about 6euro now so they must have caught their typo!

jefe: Thanks. I'll look for something with a larger scale for walking about, then. There are several days where I will have absolutely nothing planned at all and just want to basically have a decent map and some food in my pack when I set out in the morning.

Where will you be walking? For Dublin, I love the Streetwise Dublin map, which you can get from Amazon and at some Borders / Barnes and Nobles / etc. Plastic (so durable), very clear labeling, handy size to carry around.

If you mean walking in the countryside, that's a different matter altogether, and I would wait to buy an appropriate map until I arrived near that area.

tahl: Both, so thanks for the Streetwise suggestion! I've also decided to stay a week on the Dingle Peninsula and plan on giving the car a rest for a couple of the days.

One thing I do if it's convenient is to stop off at the Tourist office and check for some of the local-oriented flyers and other pamphlets. We found a nice walking-route map when we spent part of the day in Wicklow.

jefe: Thanks! I put that on my trip notes.

Any map in a book is good enough for locating major sights and major streets, river etc. They are never detailed enough to be really good walking maps = since they're too small for all the details. And they're not meant as driving maps - which would have to indicate one way streets, pedestrian areas etc.

For the latter get a good Michelin map for driving between cities and go online and print off very detailed driving maps of any cities you will have a car in. For walking, get a good quality detailed map when you arrive in the city. Or, use a general map and just keep asking for directions.

I don't have the Ireland version, but I do have my Fodor's map from the Paris book. I use it at home for locating things and making plans (and it's so big and clear that I really value it for those purposes) but it's much too big and unwieldy (all floppy) to use on vacation. Like Tahl, I like the Streetwise or similar laminated fold-out maps for actual travel.

nytraveler & PegS: Thanks. I've seen Michelin suggested so many times now that I've decided I will definitely get that one for driving! And once I'm there I will look for the area-specific ones. Border's just recently sent out a 40% off coupon (was waiting for one of those!) so I'll get the guide and just use that map in the back for planning through the winter.

I can just visualize me pulling a big old paper map out and sailing off the Cliffs of Moher when the wind catches it Mary Poppins style.