GPS driving Florence to Positano

Much more detail on Google Maps, and you can zoom in/out. It also uses very little data. You can download maps to use offline as well.

A dedicated GPS such as a Garmin would be the best solution as it won't use the data allotment on your phone. While there are some off-line maps available for iPhones, the small screen is not as "user friendly" as a proper GPS device (in my experience).

A few other points to mention....

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). You may never be asked for an IDP, but failure to produce one if requested can result in fines on the spot!

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home. In addition to the actual fines, renters will also be charged by the rental agencies for providing information to the authorities. You may find this website helpful - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

There’s also the possibility of fines for driving in bus lanes, parking tickets, tolls and speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which not only monitors instantaneous speeds but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow!

I'm happy for this opportunity to report on my first European use of the Garmin I bought last summer. I updated the maps just before I left home a week ago, and today I picked up a car and drove from Salerno to Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast and then back on the inland highway. The device worked nearly perfectly, except for a few user-related issues (the user did not read the manual which led to a couple programming snags :=)

There were I think 2 places where Garmin told me to turn where it was impossible, but that was on the coast, and it was obvious how I should go. Someone reported that it took her Garmin several minutes to recognize that it was in Italy. I turned mine on a couple days ago and it found me in Italy within seconds of connecting to a satellite.

Not to overstate the case, I recently read an article about Alpine Rescue in Iceland, in the New Yorker. Up there, where the roads are few and the towns way apart, the police sometimes use a term like "Death By Garmin". Now, that's unfair to one manufacturer. But trucks in the US regularly end up stuck under overpasses, and accidents happen when thoughtless, distracted drivers mindlessly obey a "Now Turn Right" prompt. It happens.

Thank you Jim, Ken, Chani and Tim.

Today Garmin tried to take me on a piece of road that was closed. There was a new road that detoured around it. It meant a u-turn at a dead end and backtracking about 300 meters, but I just followed the signs. Garmin isn't foolproof but if you look at the signs and the Garmin map, it's usually obvious what you need to do.