GPS in Europe

[Ken_V]

@Peter Kleban

We used Tom Tom in England last year. Worked very well but the UK map package was $60 IIRC. Using iPhone on a US carrier should indeed cost mega bucks–data is typically (ATT or Verizon) $20/mbyte, tho I believe T-Mobile is considerably cheaper.

Verizon gave us 100MB for $25 in Israel. Much better than your $20 per milibyte.

[PaulMills]

We have a three year old Nuvi and for a trip to Italy last year, we bought the EU maps for about $75. Worked great and we will be taking it to France this fall. It is the way to go.

[Brian_King]

If you buy, just be careful to buy a model that includes both NA and European maps - otherwise it will be extra expense

Hertz is $10 a day for GPS - much better off buying unless you are taking a short trip

[Walter_Nissen]

For various reasons there has been a revolution in the quality of free cartography in the last few years. You can download a Garmin-compatible map of pretty much any country in Europe for free from:

http://mapas.alternativaslibres.es/downloads.php

Way, way cheaper than Garmin’s prices, especially if you’re hopping from country to country (e.g., Italy to Germany to France). Requires a microSD card and a tiny bit of technical ability to copy the file to the correct directory.

Also, if you are using your phone without a SIM (e.g., in airplane mode) you can permanently save an area of the map while you’re on WiFi.

How to Use Your Google Maps — Offline

It won’t calculate directions in this mode, but you can see yourself on the map without paying for data.

[Peter_Kleban]

@Ken V

@Peter Kleban

We used Tom Tom in England last year. Worked very well but the UK map package was $60 IIRC. Using iPhone on a US carrier should indeed cost mega bucks–data is typically (ATT or Verizon) $20/mbyte, tho I believe T-Mobile is considerably cheaper.

Verizon gave us 100MB for $25 in Israel. Much better than your $20 per milibyte.

I never pay that, just quoting the price

[Marshall_Gelb]

@doug johnson

@Todd F r e n c h

A bit embarrassed to ask this question, but are those Garmin GPS receivers ready to go out of the box, no subscriptions to data service needed? They simply go off GPS satellite signals, with preloaded maps, correct?

I bought a Garmin Nuvi for my last trip through Denmark and Germany. It came with North American maps on the memory and I had to buy the European maps, which came on a little SD card you insert into the device.

I have the same story as Doug. I have an older Garmin Nuvi and simply purchased the SD card for Europe. I have used it predominantly in France and Spain and it has done quite well. The funniest part is listening to the voice trying to pronounce all the foreign words.


Cheers!
Marshall

[alan_weinberg]

@jordan whitehead

last couple of cars rented in europe already had GPS built in. No additional but didn’t rent the basic car model

yes but be sure they have each country you are visiting in it–we did great in Germany but as soon as we hit Austria, we were screwed.

[ToddFrench]

I’m now looking into this, as AutoEurope had a promotion for a ‘free’ GPS, but of course when I called to confirm mine, it required that they ship it to me here, in the US, and that it required an economy size car (the third level of car, and we’re just below it) so I had to upgrade $5/day for that, but not per day I had the car, PER DAY I HAVE THE GPS, which would be around 14 days, plus $40 round-trip shipping.

Now I’m looking around at what to do, as this is a pain in the butt now.

[M.Kaplan]

What dates/countries will you need gps?

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

We used to (and still do) use amazing technologies - a map and road signage - to get where we are going. Certainly have had a couple of interesting adventures, but we’ve never not made it. We will use Google Maps if we are in a pinch, but we haven’t had to yet

[ToddFrench]

@M.Kaplan

What dates/countries will you need gps?

Only France, May 20-24

I wonder if I should just map everything out while at the hotels the day of, as GPS in Europe is $20/day at the counter, and the b.s. that AutoEurope has for requiring us paying for it for the whole time we are gone is silly.

[ToddFrench]

Because iPhones and iPads have built in GPS receivers, can’t one use them as the GPS tool and buy one of the many navigation apps via iTunes??

[Peter_Kleban]

@Todd F r e n c h

Because iPhones and iPads have built in GPS receivers, can’t one use them as the GPS tool and buy one of the many navigation apps via iTunes??

Yes, but if you are on Verizon or AT&T you pay thru the nose for the downloading ($20MB IIRC). T-Mobile may be a lot cheaper, at least the calling rates are. On the other hand, Google Maps works even with data roaming turned off, at least to some extent (some features didn’t work, I forget which, and it was slow).

[ToddFrench]

@Peter Kleban

@Todd F r e n c h

Because iPhones and iPads have built in GPS receivers, can’t one use them as the GPS tool and buy one of the many navigation apps via iTunes??

Yes, but if you are on Verizon or AT&T you pay thru the nose for the downloading ($20MB IIRC). T-Mobile may be a lot cheaper, at least the calling rates are. On the other hand, Google Maps works even with data roaming turned off, at least to some extent (some features didn’t work, I forget which, and it was slow).

I’m AT&T, but wouldn’t I download it here, over wifi, or at the hotel, over wifi, then use it on GPS alone?

[Larry_Stein]

@Todd F r e n c h

I’m now looking into this, as AutoEurope had a promotion for a ‘free’ GPS, but of course when I called to confirm mine, it required that they ship it to me here, in the US, and that it required an economy size car (the third level of car, and we’re just below it) so I had to upgrade $5/day for that, but not per day I had the car, PER DAY I HAVE THE GPS, which would be around 14 days, plus $40 round-trip shipping.

Now I’m looking around at what to do, as this is a pain in the butt now.

My friend and I also came across this with AutoEurope, but since we’re splitting the cost ($65 total), we figured it was worth it. We’ll be taking day trips from Beaune to Chablis and to Arbois so I believe it’ll pay for itself.

[Peter_Kleban]

@Todd F r e n c h

@Peter Kleban

@Todd F r e n c h

Because iPhones and iPads have built in GPS receivers, can’t one use them as the GPS tool and buy one of the many navigation apps via iTunes??

Yes, but if you are on Verizon or AT&T you pay thru the nose for the downloading ($20MB IIRC). T-Mobile may be a lot cheaper, at least the calling rates are. On the other hand, Google Maps works even with data roaming turned off, at least to some extent (some features didn’t work, I forget which, and it was slow).

I’m AT&T, but wouldn’t I download it here, over wifi, or at the hotel, over wifi, then use it on GPS alone?

Right, you can use wifi free when it’s available, such as in a hotel. So you could get the maps you need and store them in your phone or tablet. But those will be static, not like GPS which can tell you exactly where you are, when to turn, traffic conditions, etc. When you are driving there isn’t any wifi so you have to use data roaming (connecting to the internet via cellphone signals) and the charges are horrendous. Actually, I turn off data roaming as soon as I arrive, to avoid surfing by mistake.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

There are apps that work without internet access. Try googling iphone navigation without internet

[Walter_Nissen]

The best app I found for Android offline use was OsmAnd. We had the Garmin GPS all loaded up with Europe map, but never used it. OsmAnd had all the points of interest and routing information, and didn’t use data. The only hiccup was that one time it couldn’t calculate a route to a popular attraction, so we had to select the parking lot as the distination and all was fine. Also handy when on foot.

The car (Ford C-Max) had pretty good in-dash GPS (not just France, thank you very much Ms. Renault Megane) even though we didn’t pay. Quite a difference from eight years ago when we paid big bucks to get a car with “navi” and even the BMW had you use a dial to painstakingly select each letter. And god forbid if you didn’t know the exact address and spelling. I’m all for serendipity, but with GPS I spent a lot less time anxious about whether we’re heading the right direction and can feel anxious about other things instead.

[Leonard_Taylor]

This is cool as hell: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140617-903897.html

You can load maps onto your iphone and no data usage.