We will be going to Florence and renting a car. We are driving out and staying in an agriturismo near San Gimignano , Sienne and finally back to Florence. We have iPhone 7 Google Maps. Will that work there or do we need to rent a GPS. They are pretty pricey (almost $90). Anyone with recent experience? The most recent I found on this was from 2 years ago and technology changes so much. Thanks.
Posted by
Boston
1814 posts
No need to rent. The GPS in your IPhone works independently of cellular or wifi service. If you download a Tuscan area Google map for offline use, it will guide you no problem. It won't be able to warn you about traffic jams or current events, but that's almost always useless anyway.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3303 posts
On my trip to Italy in December, I thought using the Waze App was better than Google maps. It advised about traffic conditions as well as warning about traffic cams. Try it at home before you leave to gain a comfort level.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16209 posts
Both Google Maps and Waze work.
If you intend to use your iPhone abroad be aware of international data roaming charges. Check with your mobile phone provider. Some providers (namely T-Mobile) are better (cheaper) than others (namely AT&T).
Purchasing a local SIM card with a data plan is another option, assuming your phone is fully paid and unlocked. If you want to buy a local SIM card with a local plan, TIM and Vodafone are the largest providers in Italy:
https://www.tim.it/tim-visitors-en
http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privati/Tariffe-e-Prodotti/Tariffe/Estero/Vodafone-Holiday-English
Be aware that with a local plan you will have an Italian telephone number.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for all quick responses! We really appreciate the advice. Sounds like we can drop that GPS addition and save ourselves about $90! And I always change my data plan to add international before going to Europe. Thanks for the reminder to check on that coverage though this this additional drain on the data plan. And I am with AT&T. :-)