maps

Wife and I like this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/Michelin-Map-Italy-Toscana-Italian/dp/2067126679/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1533484252&sr=8-2&keywords=michelin+tuscany

I trim off what we don't need in order to save ounces, but the whole map is not at all heavy. If this one does not cover all of the area you need, Michelin is bound to have another one that does.

This is a fun place to drive. The car had a GPS and we also used Waze.

Have a great trip.
Sandy

Buy a WizGear Universal Air Vent Magnetic Phone Car Mount Holder with Fast Swift-Snap Technology for Smartphones and Mini Tablets from Amazon for about $6 and plan on using Waze on your mobile phone for navigation.

If you do commit to buying a map get the most detailed one you can find. The Michelin Map, at a scale of 1:200,000, is indeed one of the best. There are others out there that are not nearly so detailed.

I like the TCI (Touring Club Italia) road maps. They are printed on a plasticized paper/fabric and fold like a paper map but are much more durable and not easy to rip. They have one for Toscana that is 1:200,000 scale.

For driving, I found it helpful to have a GPS in addition to a good map. Some of the turn-offs weren't intuitive, and the GPS minimized getting lost. I took along a GPS with European maps that I found inexpensively on Amazon, which was much cheaper than the cost of renting a GPS and didn't take up much room in my luggage.

Roger and SandyO, you both mentioned Waze. Is that better than Google Maps? I know that Google Maps bought waze, and utilizes the traffic updates as you go along, so I would think that would be better, since you can download offline maps and even routes.

Also, we were amazed how un-useful our Touring Club map was, mostly because the signposts along the routes mostly use endpoint names, not route numbers as on the maps....so you are navigating by town names more so than numbered routes. Just my experience in Tuscany....We are going back this year, and bringing our paper map, but going to rely on those offline maps to save data and get us through all the roundabouts (Spain too).

I have used both. Waze gives the advantage of real-time community-based updates (including traffic cameras and police). I have also found Waze to be more accurate in some situations. The advantage of Google Maps is you can download and save offline, so you don’t need to burn through your data plan.

I just learned of a hack to us Waze offfline. It requires you enter your data when you are connected to a network. As long as you don’t such the app, Waze should cache it. You will not get any real-time info.

Hope this helps.
Sandy

I used Waze last year in Costa Rica and found it very accurate. I imagine Google Maps will be satisfactory also. I find that either of the two is easier and more accurate than using paper maps.

We use GPSbut always have a paper map, either Michelin or Italian Touring Club paper maps.