Italy Driving - Rental Car GPS or Phone App GPS?

This is a great question. We are bringing a GPS with updated maps with as as I did not want to trust my phone in remote areas.
Thankyou
Pat

Good question indeed.
I find the rates charged for car rental GPS to be outrageous.
While I hope our phone's GPS can work uninterrupted I did not know, much like you.

I decided not to chance it and picked up off of Ebay a used Tomtom GPS with European maps installed.
Some risk involved so not for everyone.
Only cost $45.00, I imagine the maps (which are on an SD card) are not the most recent update but the $45 for me was worth the backup plan and will cost a fraction to own this unit rather than rent something similar from the rental car place for 2 weeks.
From what I could tell it seems in the US Garmin is highly preferred but TomTom seems to be better for much of Europe.

In May my rental happened to be equipped with a GPS. I still used my phone. I have T-Mobile so there was no additional charge for using data. Google maps worked like a charm. For prior trips I brought my Garmin, but the maps were not as up to date as my phone was. Google maps GPS still works if you are in an area with no cell service. You can't program it when you don't have service. If you do use your phone, bring a car charger. It does use your battery up fast!

I have used Maps With Me (Maps.Me) with good success on both IOS and Android devices. The app works even when in 'Airplane Mode' and no WIFI.

The downside is getting all your maps loaded before you leave. The maps are pretty good sized so you need a device with a lot of storage space and loading them when on WIFI will cut down on the data allotment used.

If going to Montalcino, then spelling it correctly is key to finding it. Most of your trip can be done on major highways (unless you plan additional detours), and Montalcino is not very far off the highway. I see no need to pay for additional GPS if you have a smart phone.

I go to Italy every year, and I have property in rural Tuscany so remote that most Italians would get lost.

You will have no problem with using your phone Google Maps.

The issue might be that you will need data for Google Maps, therefore you should use either an international data plan with your US mobile phone provider, or purchase an Italian SIM card once you are there. Cellular coverage in Italy is very extensive nearly everywhere.

A GPS navigator from the US will also work (I have a Garmin and works in Italy, although sometimes the GPS sends you through strange itineraries, but that is true in America as well).

Renting a GPS from the rental car company would be my least desirable option since they charge at least €15/day and if you stay 2 weeks, you can buy a brand new navigator with the money you spend in GPS rental.

However I also rely a lot on road signs. Those are the most reliable in Italy because the GPS sometimes sends you through strange tortuous itineraries on minor roads, while the road signs always indicate the fastest route on the main roads to the next town.

We are in Italy now and had a car for a little over a week while visiting Lake Garda and Tuscany/Umbria. My hubby insisted on bringing our Garmin (with Italy card that's a few years old but I didn't want to pay $100 to update it). I also used Google maps on my IPhone because we ran into several situations where the GArmin didn't know about new roads and indicated it would take much longer than I knew it should to get to our destination. Google Maps worked out really well but it does drain the battery fast so I brought a battery pack with me to charge while driving. The only thing my hubby didn't like (he did all the driving) is that Google Maps doesn't have a lane assist feature and the Garmin's lane assist feature is really good. For our next trip, I'll invest in a better driving app with a lane assist option (maybe Sygic?) but I won't bother with a GPS unit as there's no point. If you're okay with Google Maps and you have a battery back-up/charger, I wouldn't bother renting a GPS. Even in rural areas, Google Maps worked just fine.

We are planning to bring our cigarette lighter iPhone charger to keep Google maps alive. Do you think it will work?
Patsy

Sure, Patsy, that is how we always do in our car, keep the phone always connected so it stays charged!

Unlike electrical outlets, which are different in Italy and in the US, the cigarette lighter outlets in cars in the two countries are the same - no adapter needed. However, Roberto has warned to check that the cigarette lighter power is working in your rental car, before you find out when you navigation device (phone or GPS) dies on the road.

Works2Travel, is it not true that Maps with me works but does not show you where YOU are on the map? So you still have to figure that part out...like having a paper map?

Thanks

Also, some of the newer cars don't have actual cigarette lighters anymore. They have UBS ports instead, so be sure to have that cord as well....

I bought a lifetime subscription (I think it was about $30) to the Sygic app which includes maps for all of Europe and the US. The maps are regularly updated and can be used in airplane mode meaning no data usage. We used it in Germany and Austria last year while driving and also while walking through towns and cities. I would definitely recommend it.

I spent two weeks last fall driving around Sardinia and Corsica. In some remote areas, there was spotty to no cell service. I used my iPhone with Google Maps and prior to the trip loaded off line maps of the islands to the app. I never had a problem navigating and found Google to seamlessly switch from on line to off line and back as needed. In the past, I've always taken my Garmin GPS with me but now, after seeing how accurate Google was on a trip to Spain and Portugal where I ran phone and GPS simultaneously, I found no need to pack the Garmin with its chargers, cords, etc.

I took a GPS unit with me (my original post is above) and never once used it.
Phone GPS proved far superior, I used the Waze app.

As long as plugging in destinations and downloading the directions from a large town starting point it was no problem and far more advanced than any separate GPS unit I have ever seen.
If you got to an area where there was no cell service and needed to reroute your way that could be an issue and is the downside so paper map backup is a good idea.
Fortunately that never happened on our travels, we lost cell service plenty of time on country roads but since we stayed headed toward point B from point A ; the phone's GPS still tracks where you are where you are going.