Driving in Ireland

When you buy a GPS in the States or Canada, it will come with navigation for that area. You will need to purchase a European map. My husband and I do go to Ireland quite frequently so it was worth it for us. I don't know if a one time trip would be worth it, it may be cheaper to rent one.

The GPS has gotten better over the years but be careful, we took a route back from Myshal to Borris Carlow that he had never taken (he grew up there), I will add it was through a cow field.

Before our last trip I bought a used Garmin on Amazon that already had European maps installed which worked fine for us. Believe you can still find used or refurbished units for less that US $100.

You can get downloadable GPS maps for iOS or Android which let you use your phone as a GPS while in airplane mode. There are free programs, some you pay for. This morning I installed one (HEREwego) and used it in airplane mode to navigate me to my gym. It worked perfectly with voice directions etc. I also downloaded their Ireland maps.

Garmin with European or Ireland maps should work just fine. On my 2010 trip I used a paper map and had no problem, except in the Burren.

I have a Garmin that I update thru my computer and I took it to Ireland last May. My unit, a Drive 60, has a slot for adding additional maps via a minidisc or you can load from your computer. You can purchase those from Garmin, around 80 bucks, or go thru ebay and purchase the map you want. I am not sure if you are violating copyright laws or not but I purchased a map for Ireland and the UK on ebay for $15. Due to memory size on my Garmin I had to remove the US maps I had on my Garmin and move them over to my computer and then I loaded the UK Ireland map. It worked great over there and was very helpful. So if your unit has a minidisc slot or links to your computer you can load Europe maps. if you have no real cash issues it is probably more seamless to order the maps from Garmin but I had very little trouble with the ebay map I bought. At first I could not load it without a problem but I contacted the seller and he walked me through it and I used it all over Ireland. It was cheaper and was nice to have a unit I know how to operate. If you go to the garmin website you can see available maps for your version of Garmin. We also used a paper map and it was helpful. . You can also download maps from google maps to your ipad or phone and use them offline just as if they were online...but you are limited with size for your phone or ipad.

Thank you for the great feedback. Based on what you’ve all said, and that I don’t currently own a GPS, have decided to use google maps and I’ve also gotten the HERE we go downloaded. And if we get lost, that’s all part of the adventure🙂
Thanx again, much appreciated.
Suzanne

When I drove in Ireland last June, I used my personal cell phone (Samsung Galaxy), and my maps App worked great.

I went through google maps and picked my own routes. Some route that GPS thinks saves you 3 minutes might take you on a tiny road that might be challenging for tourists. I'd pick the slightly wider road sometimes. Otherwise, used the GPS on the phone.

If you have any specific routes in mind, use Google street view and get an idea of where you're going. Some of Ireland's photos are very old (some roads suggested by GPS not even in the picture) but it did help when I had to turn on 'unnamed road's.