renting a gps device before traveling

When I rented from Autoeurope they sent a GPS to me prior to our trip with a box for returning it to the company after we returned home.

I don't know about GPS devices. I bought a Garmin in the US that includes Europe and just take it with me. However, all my friends here swear by Waze - easy to download and use if you have a smartphone and a data plan. I just bought my first smartphone last week, so I haven't tried to use it yet. It's better than GPS because it's interactive.

I just use my personal GPS with European maps loaded. I also download google maps to my tablet for offline use, and, take a paper map.

Any smart phone will work as a GPS even without mobile service . (Some tablets will work too.) Just download the maps ahead of time on WiFi - for example download the "offline" map in Google Maps for the area in which you will drive. Then put the phone in airplane mode and try asking the phone for directions somewhere, see how it works at home first (download your home area first).

When traveling in a foreign land (especially one where they drive on the wrong side of the road, have skinny roads, and other distractions), the last thing you want is to be fuzting with (and even worse, relying on) some gizmo that may or may not work, may be unreliable, and may be confusing and/or annoying. Been there, done that.

Don't screw around, don't be penny-wise and Euro-foolish - driving is dangerous enough already. Buy a real GPS at home with European coverage. They're not expensive. Try it out, get used to it at home on familiar roads before you jump in a car overseas. Bring it with you, and enjoy hassle-free, safe, easy driving. To me this is a complete no-brainer.

I'll add:

1. Never, ever rely 100% on electronics for navigation. Devices all fail eventually (out of juice, lost, stolen, no coverage, etc.)/ It's not a question of "if", it's a question of "when". Always, always have a good paper map handy, available and ready to use, too.
2. Don't just be a passive fool, driving off a cliff or into a lake because your damn GPS or phone told you to. Your head is the most important navigation device you will ever have. Don't leave it in the back seat. Clueless drivers who have "signed off" and are just blithely following their GPS commands are dangerous both to themselves and others unfortunately enough to be nearby.
3. Before you leave home, program the addresses for your hotels, car rental offices, etc. into your GPS and save them. This will unload your tasks so much you will be happy.

A "real" GPS would be a waste of money and just another thing to learn and lug around if you are already used to your smart phone. Once I realized how good Google Maps is on my phone, I was able to sell my old Garmin before it became completely obsolete. I did use it in Croatia and Bosnia in 2015 (before I had a good phone), but the maps were often way out of date (especially in Bosnia), even though I had bought the latest Europe map card for it right before leaving. Google's maps are updated regularly.

I've used my phone all over Europe now to navigate on foot and also to drive in Slovenia. It's extremely reliable, certainly at least as reliable as my Garmin was. And people regularly recommend even better apps (Waze?) than Google Maps, even though it works fine for me.

You will want a suction cup for your windshield to take with the phone and also a car charger (some rental cars may have a USB port now). GPS navigation will eat your phone battery otherwise, so you will want to keep it plugged in. If you have a USB charging cable, all you really need is the USB power adapter that plugs into the "cigarette lighter" power port. Near me, Dollar Tree carries them for...a dollar.

A "real" GPS would be a waste of money and just another thing to learn and lug around if you are already used to your smart phone.

No, no, no, no NO. Respectfully, I completely disagree, very strongly, for many reasons.

Maybe that has worked for you, for a while. Doesn't mean that will always work for others. There are so many ways that a phone can (and does) fail for this. Some of which you mention/allude to, some of which I did. Some of which Rick Steves points out himself. Here's his advice:

My best tip for navigating unfamiliar terrain: Don't rely blindly on your phone's mapping app or a GPS device for directions. Always have at least a vague sense of your route, keep a paper map handy, and pay attention to road signs so you can consider alternatives if you feel the GPS route is Getting Pretty Screwy.

There's more from Rick on the subject here: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/navigate-european-roads

I am convinced that generally suggesting to travelers that they rely entirely on a phone for navigation is extremely foolish, and does not do them any favors. You obviously disagree. That's OK.

Take a look at what's posted here from many other travelers. While some folks do have good experiences with their phones (just for making calls and connectivity) others have major issues or are unable to get connectivity at all. Lots of things that work fine at home don't work as well in another country. Fiddling with that, and spending time trying to troubleshoot while you're supposed to be on vacation (never mind while you're actually driving), is not what I want to wish on anyone as they're struggling to get around safely in a foreign country.

We will have to disagree on this.

Andrew: "A "real" GPS would be a waste of money and just another thing to learn and lug around if you are already used to your smart phone."
No, no, no, no NO. Respectfully, I completely disagree, very strongly, for many reasons.

Maybe that has worked for you, for a while. Doesn't mean that will always work for others.

Neither will a regular GPS "always work for others."

And this is why I suggested to TRY IT AT HOME FIRST, right? I would say the same thing about a new GPS unit: don't turn it on the first them when you hop in the rental car. Take it out for a spin, understand how it works. If you find you can't get your particular phone or tablet to work well as a GPS? Then buy a stand-only GPS. But I suspect most people will do just fine with a phone.

others have major issues or are unable to get connectivity at all.

They don't NEED "connectivity" - they can keep their phones in airplane mode. It's not like trying to connect to a mobile network in a strange country. GPS in Europe is like GPS at home. If your phone works as a GPS at home, it will work AS A GPS anywhere - at least, if a regular GPS can pick up a signal, so will the phone. I've lost connectivity here and there with both my phone and with my old Garmin GPS now and then. No need to panic. Have a general idea where you are going ahead of time - follow the planned route, and you'll get GPS signal again soon.

I will say that in terms of accuracy, my old Garmin was often poor (the maps I mean) compared to my Google Maps experiences. The 2015 map I bought for my 2015 trip was horribly out of date, especially in Bosnia but often for Croatia too and would sometimes lead me out into the middle of nowhere. I didn't get lost - I had a sense of where I was going and didn't panic. I'm glad I've moved on to my more accurate phone instead.

I also found it a huge time saver to save Google Maps ahead of time with my destinations saved, so I can just call them up later while driving.

There are so many ways that a phone can (and does) fail for this.

I've found that the human mind is good at imagining all of the things that could possibly go wrong but awful at imaging the real odds. But nothing is 100%, even a regular GPS. The most important thing, I stress, is TRY IT AT HOME FIRST. Go into say Google Maps settings, find the "offline" area, download it for your home area in WiFi. Then, put the phone in AIRPLANE MODE to turn off all but GPS connectivity. If that works for you at home, it will work the same way in Europe. (Or rather, it will work with the same degree of certainty a regular GPS unit will work - no 100% guarantee there either.)

And if your phone actually has mobile data when you drive, it will work even better. (Google Maps "offline" won't have traffic info whereas Google Maps "online" does.) But the "offline" version will work just fine for the average person's needs. Mobile data is really cheap anyway - I can't imagine doing without it myself.

The only thing I agree with you on is to not rely 100% on an electronic device for general navigation. I ALWAYS study my driving routes ahead of time, so I have a general idea where I am going. (I don't see the need to buy a real map anymore, but I do sometimes print out driving routes from Google Maps.) I know how to get around without a GPS. I learn the names of the major towns and features of my route. When I first drove in Slovenia in 2011, I didn't have any sort of GPS. All I had was a big tourist map of Slovenia and some Google Maps routes I had printed out. I got around just fine - never got lost.

But - feel free to disagree and recommend smart phone owners waste their money and bog themselves down with an unnecessary GPS unit that may not be as accurate as their phone. People worry and waste their money on all kinds of things when they travel, and I suppose given the big cost of a trip it doesn't add up to too much more.

So my tech saavy son is home. And he was saying for Europe he has heard that the app Maps.me is quite good. Does anyone have any experience with google maps or maps.me in Europe? We plan to rent a car when we leave Sevilla and will return it when we arrive in Granada. We want to use the car in the Pueblos Blancos. I've heard that wifi can be a problem in that area.Does that mean my phone may have problems "locating me", as well? I plan to also have a Michelin map of spain. Pueblos Blancos looks to be pretty straight forward (though I'm sure we'll find a way to get lost) its more just getting out of Sevilla (picking up car at train station) and into Granada.

So my tech saavy son is home. And he was saying for Europe he has heard that the app Maps.me is quite good. Does anyone have any experience with google maps or maps.me in Europe?

I too have heard good things about Maps.me . I've never used it myself (anywhere), but I suggest you try it out at home. Try Google Maps too. I have used Google Maps all over Europe for walking directions and also for driving in Slovenia (driving with "offline" maps). It works fine that way - you need to download the maps "offline" ahead of time however. Not sure how that works with Maps.me.

We plan to rent a car when we leave Sevilla and will return it when we arrive in Granada. We want to use the car in the Pueblos Blancos. I've heard that wifi can be a problem in that area.Does that mean my phone may have problems "locating me", as well?

I think you are confusing "WiFi" (what you use at home or in a hotel or airport to connect to the internet) and cellular data (where your get internet through your phone's cell phone provider whenever you have phone service). You lose "WiFI" as soon as you out of range of the hotel, restaurant, etc., but you still have cellular data as long as your phone has reception, even out in the rural areas.

But, we all know our phones can lose reception out in some remote areas (which I'm guessing is what you were thinking), and that could be a concern if you had not downloaded maps "offline." GPS in your phone is different, though. You can put the phone in airplane mode (no WiFi or cell phone reception at all, same as being out in the middle of nowhere) and it will still find GPS signal (at least, like a regular GPS unit would - even those drop out sometimes where it can't communicate with the satellites).

What your phone doesn't have though is a detailed map of the entire world saved in it - that would consume far too much storage space. So normally, when you navigate somewhere with your phone, connected to cellular data, it is downloading just the pieces of map it needs as it needs each bit of map. It doesn't have to store all of the information about a map of the world, just know from the GPS signal the latitude and longitude where you are on earth then ask for the maps for where you are at this moment - and keep getting the next map as you move.

The "offline" maps mode of apps like Google Maps lets you download a big piece of the map ahead of time and store it in your phone - not the whole earth, but maybe a big part of Spain at least - so your phone doesn't need any cell connection at all. You can leave it in airplane mode (also: no cost for mobile service!), the GPS will still work, and you can still navigate around.

Again - try it out! Get your son to show you how. When you have downloaded a map of where you live now, put the phone in airplane mode and go for a spin with your phone and see how navigation

I plan to also have a Michelin map of spain.

Buy one if you having a map like that makes you feel more comfortable. Many people still buy them even if they have a phone or GPS with them, just in case.

We have enjoyed eight road trips in the British Isles, exploring all sorts of little country roads without needing a GPS. We use a Michelin map for planning and a road atlas for navigating. Both are at a scale of about 4 miles to the inch. These work very well for driving in the country and smaller towns, assuming your navigator is "map literate."

A GPS or Google maps would be useful for navigating in larger towns such as Salisbury, especially for locating a hotel or for a person driving solo.

Thanks Andrew, thats helpful. I'm not sure that I will have data. I typically don't even use my phone in Europe except when I have free wifi. People keep in touch by sending us emails or texts that we receive when we have wifi. I thought the texts were supposed to cost me a bit, but I've received a couple and it doesn't seem to change the bill. I guess I was thinking that if wifi is intermittent, that it would be similar for satellites for GPS and for cellular data. I was thinking of buying a SIM card when I arrive Europe, but my son wonders if my phone is so archaic (his term) that it might be "locked". My iphone is almost 3 years old, haha.

I'm also told that I can work it out with Verizon that if I choose to use my phone in Spain, I can for $10/day, and I'm only charged if I end up using it on any particular day.

There have been a few times that having a phone might have been handy--when we've been struggling to find a hotel or want to make a restaurant reservation, but not really all that interested in the extra expense. I did have the impression I could use the phone for emergency calls (whatever a particular country's equivalent to 911 is) My son says that he does not believe the phone would work for emergency calls.

Earle-Tyler: Can I ask why you are set against getting a gps unit included in your car rental? Are you completely unfamiliar with the technology? If not, and you know the basics you should do well, although you might need to take ten minutes or so and play around with it before you leave the lot, or at worst, ask the rental people to help you.

Let me add our car rental/gps experience in Scotland from last month (May 2018): The car we ended up getting for a rental had the BEST built-in gps I have ever seen, but I was nervous about it beforehand, like you. We ended up with a Peugeot 3008 SUV - not our first choice, but perfect in the long run, medium sized, not huge. (I would highly recommend renting from Arnold Clark and using Celtic Legend (the go-between for those in the US) to reserve it. We ended up being extremely happy. I can give you more info if you are interested.)

For example, our Peugeot built-in gps model was excellent at roundabouts, stating several times which exit to use to get off ("take the second exit off the roundabout"), in a constant calm voice, plus it showed us exactly where to go on the large screen map. It's hard for some of us used to US driving to easily navigate UK roundabouts (especially those larger ones off the M roads). Plus, our gps even went so far as to use postal codes to direct you to your location. Not really a plus? It was when you consider that of all of the sites we Googled for information (for example, Culloden Battlefield) all but one also listed a postal code (Culloden was IV2 5EU). Input it, and that's all you need - the directions come right up. Postal codes are much more precise than our zip codes here. It never steered us wrong.

I can certainly understand, though, if you don't want to rely completely on gps. We didn't at first. Before leaving home, we also took screenshots of places we were going to visit from Google maps, and downloaded those onto our iPad. Our tablet is NOT gps enabled, just our small screen phones, but I need a bigger screen than those. Within a day, we were no longer even looking at those maps, though. Our built-in gps was that good. YMMV.

julesmenssen:

Thanks Andrew, thats helpful. I'm not sure that I will have data. I typically don't even use my phone in Europe except when I have free wifi. People keep in touch by sending us emails or texts that we receive when we have wifi. I thought the texts were supposed to cost me a bit, but I've received a couple and it doesn't seem to change the bill. I guess I was thinking that if wifi is intermittent, that it would be similar for satellites for GPS and for cellular data.

Well, these are three different types of radio technologies built into your phone. WiFi as mentioned above is short-range, cellular data is long range, and GPS "super long range" (connect to a satellite not a tower on earth). I've definitely experienced intermittent cellular data connections at home and when I travel and sometimes lose connection entirely.

But GPS is different. Your phone is communicating with satellites, not mobile towers. (though it may use the mobile towers to improve accuracy if it can communicate with them.) Not much data is exchanged in GPS, and it's one-way. Your phone (or GPS unit) might not be able to communicate with satellites if your view of the sky is obscured or something - like you are driving deep through a woods full of tall trees. This happens to me routinely too. But because I have studied the route I am driving, I have a general idea where I am going. I would never want to rely on a phone or GPS without having some idea where I am going and roughly how to get there.

I was thinking of buying a SIM card when I arrive Europe, but my son wonders if my phone is so archaic (his term) that it might be "locked". My iphone is almost 3 years old, haha.

Verizon, unlike the other big US mobile companies, does not (at least until very recently) locked their phones. So I'd almost guarantee your phone is NOT locked now. If you buy a new one from Verizon, it might be, because they have announced a new policy of locking their phones.

I'm also told that I can work it out with Verizon that if I choose to use my phone in Spain, I can for $10/day, and I'm only charged if I end up using it on any particular day.

Yes - that is a very easy option just not the cheapest, obviously! Buying a SIM card is mostly about saving money. When you buy say a UK SIM, you're going to have a UK phone number while that SIM is in place. Some people make a lot of local calls when they travel (I don't) so like having a local phone number they can give to people. If you travel for 2-3 weeks, then $10/day could add up, and a SIM would be much cheaper, just a bit of trouble. But you could always go into a mobile store when you get there and ask them to set up a SIM for you. (Just keep your old Verizon SIM safe so you don't lose it!)

There have been a few times that having a phone might have been handy--when we've been struggling to find a hotel or want to make a restaurant reservation, but not really all that interested in the extra expense. I did have the impression I could use the phone for emergency calls (whatever a particular country's equivalent to 911 is) My son says that he does not believe the phone would work for emergency calls.

I'm pretty sure it will work for emergency calls - just dial 112 instead of 911 in Europe!

Does anyone other than me rely on road atlases any more? After many visits to Scotland, I have to say that road atlases published by AA or RAC are just as dependable as any GPS. Maybe I'm old school, but navigating around Scotland doesn't need to be so technological. You just need an idea of where you're going next. Scotland is well signposted. Also, road atlases are a hell of a lot more fun to look at than a wee box on your dash.

And if you do take a wrong turn, well, getting lost is half the fun! You never know what serendipitous sight you might find if you end up going a mile out of your way.

That being said, I do have a small flip phone which I buy a new SIM card for each time over. It comes in handy if I'm running late for my B&B. It came in especially handy during a long hike in the Cuillins! So I'm not completely 20th. Century. :)

Happy travels (technological or otherwise) to all!

Mike (auchterless)

Just did a trip to Scotland where I had my cell phone and printed maps. The only time I really used the cell phone was on the way to the airport when I was stuck in a traffic jam and wanted to make sure I was going to make it in time. I was relieved to find that the exit was soon and it was just a roundabout that was causing the queue, not an accident!

Pam

Quite a popular topic :) We've used our phones with the maps on four Europe trips so far without any issues, except maybe losing coverage for about an hour in remote Tuscany (but the map was cached so we were fine). This includes Scotland, France, Switzerland, Bavaria, and Italy. My husband prefers it b/c he can get the voice prompts ahead of time and I prefer it b/c then I don't have to be the navigator the entire time and can enjoy the scenery. Just remember to bring a car charger. A couple gave us a paper map at a restaurant b/c they thought we were crazy to rely on our phones, but it just didn't have the level of detail we needed within the towns.

Google Maps isn't perfect either - I've heard stories of people being guided by it to the wrong hotel, etc. Then again, my old Garmin guided me to a hotel on the other side of the river in one town in Bosnia! Other times it would try to take me down roads that didn't exist. Google Maps has worked quite well for me, personally, too, better than my old Garmin did.

I have used the app Co-Pilot successfully in the US, Canada, and Wales. It runs on iphones and ipads. The maps are downloaded and there is a cost for them. The app works great. In the UK the a postal code is essentially a GPS address.
It is very important to be intimately familiar with your device before your trip.