McNeill

I'm renting a car in Ireland, landing in Shannon, cruising the south west coast and then leaving from Dublin. I'm bringing my Garmin Nuvi 260 but I've read mixed reviews for relying on GPS in Ireland. Should I purchase the famous Michelin map in addition to bringing my Nuvi? If so, can I buy it at the airport on arrival and what might be approx. cost? Or should I trust my Garmin?

TimS

The Michelin Ireland map is on a scale of 1:400,000. I've found it detailed enough for my driving in Ireland. Scenic sections of roads and highways are highlighted in green. You can buy it from amazon.com.

If you want more detail, buy the Ordnance Survey maps for the appropriate sections of the country through which you'll be driving. The scale is 1:250,000. You can buy them, as well as the Michelin map, here: www.languagequest.com/traveler.

McNeill

Thank you--so it sounds like I'll need the map in addition to my Garmin?

alanRow

You might want to be a bit careful on using a GPS

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7362254.stm

McNeill

Thanks for sharing that article link. GPS systems are supposed to help with navigation, not do it for you!!

BigBlue

McNeill, I've traveled with my Garmin 340 in Germany and the Benelux countries as well as throughout the US. It may be me, but I'd never go anywhere without a good detailed map as well.

My first problem in Germany was that the car I leased had tinted windows which inhibited the signal getting through on a consistent basis. Try to picture me driving in Brussels and holding the GPS out the window trying to find out where we were. If that problem exists with the car you'll be renting and you know about it ahead of time you can buy a booster antenna at the Garmin website which would help you out.

Regardless, having a good map resolves most questions unanswered by a GPS regardless of how good it is (and, let's face it, any set of maps, GPS or otherwise, is out-of-date by the time you and I buy it).

I don't know when you're leaving but you can buy, usually through Amazon.com, most Michelin maps. For the UK I personally prefer the AA or Ordnance Survey atlases which are in book form and much easier to handle. But, I don't know whether both companies also do Ireland. As to expense, I have a Phillips Atlas for Britain which uses the Ordnance Survey maps and sold for seven pounds. Comparable prices should apply in Ireland.

Did the Nuvi 260 come with mapping for Ireland or did you have to buy it separately?

Again, personal preference, good maps are worth every penny in saved aggravation and frustration.

Happy traveling,
BigBlue

In add

lexiecat

I recently rented a car in Ireland in Shannon with a GPS . I do not have one at home. I would DEFINITELY not drive in Ireland without a GPS. I found that many of the roads were not clearly marked. Although I had maps and wrongly listened to the GPS, I would still feel more comfortable with the GPS just in case. I experienced road construction and detours. I don't know how I would have gotten through the burren to Cliffs of Moher with all of the detours had I not had the GPS. It directed me to exit too soon and sent me off into wilderness unnecessarily but what an adventure! I never really was lost. With a map, on those stupid little raods, I would have been really lost!

McNeill

Thanks everyone!! Looks like I'll take both. BigBlue, I had to buy a separate card for the Nuvi 260. It came with the US but the one for Ireland includes and other European countries. I plan to use it when I walk through cities in Belgium, France, Germany and Netherlands.

pjdscott

This is a very interesting topic since we've just purchased a GPS and are heading back to Ireland in May. Having done a lot of driving in all parts of Ireland, I suspect a GPS will be a really useful tool. I would also consider buying any of the excellent maps published by the Ordance Survey of ireland (I think some are available on mail order):

http://www.osi.ie/

Part of the pleasure of driving in Ireland is getting off the major routes (the "N" roads) and finding the minor roads. Either you need a good local map or a detailed GPS map or both, as you're suggesting!

If this thread is stil going at the end of May, I'll report my findings! Enjoy your driving and leave plenty of time to get there.

Peter

Dukey

We've used our Magellan Roadmate 760 extensively both in the UK and on the Continent but we always had back-up maps.

Being aware of the "tinted/coated windows" issue we have found the external antenna attachment solves that problem completely.

I agree with the recommendation of having a decent paper map just in case and am happy to see that nobody did the usual "scold" post about paper maps being "perfectly adequate" blah blah blah....so were two Dixie cups and a piece of string until they discovered electricity.

Have a great trip.

hetismij

The nice thing about having a map as well as GPS is that you can look at it beforehand and decide if there is a more scenic route from A to B (via C,D and E maybe) whereas the GPS will tend to give you the most direct route and the alternatives may or may not be very scenic. It's also nice to look at the map at the end of the day and see where you have been.
If the car you are driving has a heat resistant windscreen it can interfere with the GPS reception. Generally you then need a separate receiver which sits up by the rearview mirror. (There are always two holes in the coating there for toll passes, carpark devices etc.)

pompa1

We just returned from Ireland Saturday and I have to say that our Garmin 660 with the 2008 Europe maps chip was an absolute lifesaver. I was amazed at it's accuracy everywhere we went and the fact that it took us to the doorstep of every B&B that we stayed at. The only hotel it couldn't find surprising enough was the airport Hilton in Dublin on our last night. I finally had to call to get directions. We had one short spot between Cashel and Cork just outside of Cashel were I could see that I was paralleling the chicken road it wanted me to go on because I was on a new highway next to the old road. It was obvious by looking at the display that we were ok and after a couple of miles we were back on track. I also found that the Garmin estimated times to destination were good within about 15 minutes and that the times were reasonably close to the via michelin estimates.

Once on our way to Doolin it told me to go down a small side road which I followed and ultimately it ended up faster and more direct than I had planned because it had found a short cut that avoided traffic. On the Dingle peninsula it showed us going down a dirt road and was completely accurate even in the remotest locations.

We also used it in pedestrian mode in Dublin.

I'll do a trip report later this week.

mamaclark

I was so glad to read your post as we have just purchased the chip for our Garmin 660 for our trip. We leave May 12 and plan on lots of driving and sightseeing, just taking in the sights. Good to know it is fairly accurate, although we always make sure we have a map as well! Thanks for the update.

pompa1

You will find that with the Garmin the roundabouts are a piece of cake. Make sure that you pay attention to the display to know which exit to take. In most cases it would tell you to take the second exit which in reality means you are just going straight. First exit, expect an abrupt left turn. Third exit, is essentially a right turn after going around the roundabout.

After the first day I was driving like a local and could spot the tourist immediately. Ain't technology wonderful. Driving in Dublin was actually very easy except for parking which is nearly impossible. The Guinness Storehouse has a nice, free, parking lot and if you plan it right you can park there for a bit. We stayed on S. Stephens Green, so it was easy to park at the hotel and walk 1km in any direction to see the sights.

GreenDragon

I've had our JVC GPS want to send us off a cliff while driving around rural Maine, so always watch where you're going!

pompa1

Watching the road is fairly obvious, but the Garmin helped me visualize what was coming up next.

I would take it into the B&B at night and plan my route over breakfast. For example, we wanted to go into Dingle by way of the Conner pass from Kinsale. The Garmin wanted me to take the shortest route on the southern side of the peninsula. I put in Tralee as a via point and it routed me along the north end and over the Conner pass.

To a large degree because I trust the Garmin, it allowed me to enjoy the scenery and focus on the traffic without having to search for road signs and street names that typically were no where to be found.

We went to Dublin, Cashel, Kinsale, Dingle, Doolin, Cong, and back to Dublin. Never got lost and if I saw an interesting side road I would turn down it to explore, tell the Garmin to stop, and when I was done exploring I would simply reset my destination and it would calculate the shortest route back to my destination.

Enjoy!!

mamaclark

Great info on the roundabouts -- I'll probably be navigating most of the time so that will help me keep it straight. Hope you had a great trip in Ireland and came home with a little money! LOL

Pegontheroad

In some of the Gaeltacht areas in Ireland, the directional signs are all in Gaelic, whereas our map was mostly in English. We were hopelessly lost at one point and were saved only when a Polish truckdriver led us out of the labyrinth.

wojazz3

I personally prefer getting lost in Ireland. I've never used GPS. To each his own.

Bill