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Which GPS system is best for England

My English friends here in the states are in a disagreement on which GPS system to use while traveling by car in the UK. It's a 30-day trip, picking up a car in York and heading north. Then dropping off the car in Bath.
So is Garmin still a factor?
GPS rented from the car agency?
iPad?

Suggestions?

Thanks.

Posted by
4164 posts

Renting a GPS ( SAT - NAV , in Britain ) will be overpriced . I bring my own ( Garmin ) I'm familiar with its operation , which saves me a great deal of angst , rather than using one installed in the car with which I am unfamiliar .

Posted by
237 posts

If you own one, take it. Make sure the maps are current. If you do not own a GPS, it will be cheaper to purchase a GPS at home and take it with you.

Posted by
109 posts

We used our own Garmin with the Roads of and Ireland micro SD card. The card cost us $70 on-line from Garmin. Since we use it a lot we didn't mind the price. We picked up our car in Galashiels and drove all over Yorkshire returning the car in Harrogate. Only got us turned around in Whitby...

Posted by
286 posts

Last summer in England and Wales we used the Co-Pilot app on my iPad. It worked great including routing thru round abouts. The cost is about $20 to download the maps for the U.K. The app also works on iPhones.

Posted by
1221 posts

Note that cell coverage can be spotty in some to many parts of the rural UK, so you do want a system, whether standalone sat nav or phone software, that relies solely on GPS links and not cell data.

We use a Garmin with European map set and back it up with google maps on my iphone in more urban areas where the real time traffic info is very useful.