GPS for Europe

I've got one of those and it works fine. Had a Garmin super-nuvi and it worked fine to. They all work great in a car, but stink for walking - - the battery runs down and they're cumbersome - - sometimes they don't work because you're too close to the buildings - - give up on that idea, get a map from the TI or something.

Thank you so much for your information. It was very helpful in helping us to make up our minds.

Check out a recent discussion on this subject, from a post entitled "GPS Choice In Europe". It is currently located on the third page of General Europe postings. Where you see "Page 1 Next >", click the word "Next" twice in a row.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 13XX. I took it with me to the UK, specifically to use in London and the area around that city. It worked well. If you purchase a GPS, regardless of the brand, you need to make sure, prior to purchase that you can download maps of Europe. You need to enquire if there are also downloads available for the specific cities you are going to visit. And finally, you need to make sure your GPS unit has the option to turn off 'drive' and turn on ' walk' when you want a walking tour. Having gone to all three cities, and having used both maps and the GPS, I would say save your money and skip the GPS. If you study maps (surface and underground, and bus maps and schedules) you will be fine.

Laura, I've been travelling with a Garmin Nüvi 370 (now discontinued) for the last few years, and it's been very helpful on several occasions, both while driving and as a pedestrian. That particular model came equipped both with North American and European maps. The Garmin 2370LT is the replacement for the unit I'm using. I haven't experienced too much trouble using it in cities with tall buildings. I find that if I first get a "lock" in a clear area, it seems to work reasonably well even with buildings. As someone else mentioned, the battery life is a bit of a weakness, but that's only a concern when walking. If I'm in a vehicle it can be connected via a Lighter plug, and if walking I tend to use it for short periods of time to figure out where I am, and leave it turned off as much as possible. GPS units are not infallible, so packing along a good Map is also a good idea. I tend to double-check the directions the GPS is providing against landmarks just to make sure I'm on the right track. I'm not familiar with the Tom Tom products so can't offer any comments. I you decide to buy a GPS, be sure that it's capable of "speaking" street names (foreign names are often mis-pronounced, but the speech feature is very useful). Happy travels!

We live in Germany and use a Navigon. It's been great to just follow the directions with the voice commands. We always print a mapquest or google maps as well, they do differ sometimes. If you're driving in the countryside, I recommend it, if you're just using it for in town sight seeing, not worth it.

I know it won't help walking, but every time I rent a car, I get one with a GPS, so taking one is not necessary. Between RS and Frommers the walking tours are pretty much covered.

Laura, TomTom was develeoped in the EU, and is the "weapon-of-choice" for many people over there. We have used a TT GPS for our many EU trips, and a cross country US trip, and absolultely enjoy it. We absolutly love two of the functions: its ability to quickly! recalulate when you miss
a turn, and the alams that it posts when you get near the fixed radar traps in the EU. No GPS in infallible. We always buy a fold out Michelin road map, that we use as a reference guide. The battery in ours won't last long enough to use it as a walking device.

I have a TomTom that I purchased after driving in Italy. You will definitely want it for driving in Italy and it will help a lot driving elsewhere in Europe. I have the same criticism with using it while walking, the battery doesn't seem to have enough life to do much. It might not be bad to save your parking spot as a destination, throw the GPS in your daypack and use it only to find your car later. Remember to switch to walking mode (and back) to get the best route. I prefer my own GPS to adding it to a rental. The price of renting can be nearly half the cost of a new GPS and it's better to have a unit you already know how to use.