We are renting a car in Venice from Hertz and they do not offer a GPS unit for rentals at that shop. We will have a car for seven days as we tour northern and central Italy, until we return the car at FCO.
Can people recommend a device that might be under $300 for our driving in Italy?
We rented a GPS through autoeurope.com It was sent to us at our home a few days before our departure and I fed-exed it back upon our return. The GPS directions were in English. It was about $125.00 for the 8 days we rented it (not counting drop off and return days). It was perfect for our trip.
Marty, you might want to check either the Garmin Nuvi 370 or 670. Those models are equipped with both North American and European maps, and are available for about $375 or so (for some reason, the higher end 670 is priced below the 370 at the moment?). Check the current prices and description at Amazon.com.
I'd suggest buying a GPS unit rather than renting it, as you'd be able to use it not only on future trips, but also for domestic travels.
I've been travelling with a Nuvi 370 lately, and it's really helped on a couple of occasions. However, the routing it chooses is a bit unusual at times, so I'd suggest taking a Michelin map as well (always wise to have a backup!).
Happy travels!
We have also rented from AutoEurope. My husband says he is getting e-mails from them advertising free GPS with a rental car. Rentals must be fewer this year. We had GPS on our cell phone, and it definitely did come in handy.
We rented a GPS from autoeurope for 10 dollars/day. It arrived the day after I ordered it, and I have 2 business days to return it when we get back. I decided not to buy a GPS at this time because I feel they may actually go down in price in the future, and the exchange rate is so horrible we are more comfortable spending 120 on a rental rather than over 300 to have a GPS we would like, but don't really need. But if money is not an option, of course buy one and enjoy your trip! Also we have been using it around town for practice and feel very comfortable with it.
We just got back from 23 days in Italy and Greece. We rented a car and drove from Rome to Milan for 12 of those days with our portable GPS device as our guide. We used the Garmin Nuvi 650 (bought at costco for $299) and got the 2008 Europe City maps V120 from Garmin. This solution worked amazingly well. In fact we got so dependant on it that it was scary. Don't forget to have a good map just in case. I would highly recommend this solution. There were times when it tried to send us down a one way street or on an undesired route, but 95% of the time it was accurate on how to get to our destination. This is a case where technology truely enhances the experience. Big thumbs up!!
Thank you all. I will research the prices and buy one prior to out trip. I think it will get used by the family, State-side, in the future.
When searching for good prices, consider Amazon.com.
Don't forget to check out Garmin's entry-level nuvi 270. It also come with European maps pre-installed, and is priced under $300.
I just used the Garmin 370 with Europe maps pre loaded and it worked flawlessly. I beleive it was about $300 or even a bit less 6 months ago
I think you can get a TomTom 920 for about $300 now. Mine was a little more but they have now introduced the 930, so the older 920 is selling for less.
I really like my 920 and am glad I purchased it. I've heard good things about Garmin, but haven't used one.
