We are preparing maps for our upcoming driving routes in Ireland on Google maps. Google maps shows the American right side driving instead of the Irish left side. Has anyone else had this issue? Will this change when google map has our location once we are in Ireland? This is concerning as we want to follow Google's directions especially through the roundabouts.
Also we usually download so we can access offline. Has anyone had experience with downloaded google maps showing the American directions?
Hopefully this is an easy fix in settings??
Posted by
Pennsylvania
260 posts
Google maps shows the American left side driving instead of the Irish right side
I’m a little confused about what you mean, since we drive on the right side here in the U.S.
But perhaps to answer your question, we were in Ireland last month and used Google Maps a lot. It worked well and we had no issue with it guiding us to the incorrect side of the road (including roundabouts). We used it with data, not downloaded, so I can’t speak to that aspect.
Posted by
OP
Tacoma, WA, USA
540 posts
Thank you. I corrected the post
Posted by
Washington State
347 posts
We had the same experience as Barbara, and as she said, used data rather than downloading…maybe that’s the difference? Also, we were only in Northern Ireland…Google maps worked flawlessly in the tiniest of areas! Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
OP
Tacoma, WA, USA
540 posts
Thank you maybe it’s just an issue on our laptops here at home. We have unlimited data so we’ll go that route.
I was just concerned we might not have any service on the SW peninsulas (especially Beara) but then again we may not have as many roundabouts either.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7239 posts
I've driven in both Scotland (2023) and England (2024), using Google maps extensively, and never had any problems. I would definitely use data rather than downloading if you can afford the data. It makes things so much easier, imo. And there's no need to change the settings. Google Maps will known where you are and adjust accordingly.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7239 posts
I was just concerned we might not have any service on the SW peninsulas (especially Beara) but then again we may not have as many roundabouts either.
If you do get to an area with poor service, check your settings to see if Data Roaming is on or off. If it's off, turn it on until you get to a place with better service.
Also, keep in mind that while you need internet to access Google maps, once it's on the satellite kicks in, then it will keep running as long as you don't exit from it. What I did was download maps for the areas I thought might have poor service, just in case, but use data as much as possible, as it's easier. Luckily I never had to use the downloaded maps, but it was good to know they were there. Also, if you download them, make sure you download them using wifi, not cellular data.
Posted by
SoCal
802 posts
We drove in some relatively remote areas in Ireland, and cell service was generally excellent. Tipperary wasn't, but few people go there. Google Maps worked great.
Posted by
TX, USA
4483 posts
I just spent 3 weeks driving in Ireland last month and Google Maps worked fine. While I did have data to use as desired, I also downloaded my offline maps as a fallback. I took no extra care differentiating what was being used, but data didn’t seem to be a factor.
I did have to be careful about it recalculating a route if I missed a turn. It might send me down some very interesting routes if I didn’t go back and correct my mistake.