France by car with GPS

I have used a gps (Garmin Nuvi) all over Europe many times with great success. There were a few times it did not know exactly where I wanted to go (good reason to have a paper map as backup) but I always knew eventually I would end up going in the right direction. Well worth it, especially if traveling alone.

Our rental car came with a GPS and it was awsome! I would say it is worth the extra expense.

Dennis,

I've been travelling with a Garmin Nüvi GPS for many years and while it's not perfect, it has been indispensable on a couple of occasions. I find that it works better than a Smartphone for that task, especially as it doesn't require a data plan and also "speaks" directions (especially helpful when travelling on my own).

You mentioned a "three trip driving". Is that three days, three weeks, three months?

Happy driving!

Thanks for your input regarding GPS experience with Garmin units. My question is specifecly with repect to use of the Maps app provided by Verizon on a Droid smart phone. Anyone used this GPS combination in France? I'd like to avoid buying a stand alone GPS if my smart phone and Maps will get me around France. It works fine in the US as long as I am withing cell tower range.

Hi Dennis,
It is my experience that the use of data on an American smartphone in Europe (even with a plan on your account in place) is a VERY expensive proposition. If my experience is normal, you can buy several GPS units for less than using data on your phone will cost. I bought a little card of European maps for my Garmin Nuvi. It has taken us all over the place with great accuracy.
Best regards,
Tom

We downloaded the tom-tom Western Europe on our iPhone for our trip to France last fall. It worked great and didn't require data.

I just returned from two weeks in France, one in Normandy and the other in Provence with the TGV in between, and rented a car for 12 of those days. We rented from Hertz in Bayeux because we could drop the car in Rouen with a small drop off fee and from Sixt in Avignon because we were also returning it there. Sixt is also in Rouen snd I ha used them in Scotland. That said, I took my Garmin GPS on which I had downloaded Europe Maps. It cost $99 to download them and it was worth every penny. I could have upgraded to a car with GPS for an extra daily cost, but it wasn't necessary. There is another benefit to taking a GPS vs the one in the car that most people don't think about, or at least I didn't. I was exploring London alone while my travel companions were on a bus tour, sometimes on the Tube and others walking. Big cities in Europe can be confusing at times and I had for some unknown reason stuck my Garmin in my day bag. It became very helpful to me in finding what I was looking for as though I was driving a car. I highly recommend taking a GPS with the European Maps.