Taking a trip in September to Ireland! We are renting a car in Shannon and making our way to Kerry, Blarney/Kinsale area and Dublin. I am planning on bringing my TomTom but am wondering if there might be some reception problems. Anyone run into this? Or should I put my mind at ease and not worry about it. I am planning to purchase the Ireland maps for the TomTom before we leave. Also, will my TomTom cord that I use in my car here in the US be compatible with our rental in Ireland?
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Cord will work, reception will be fine.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9369 posts
GPS receivers in Ireland get signals from the same satellites that they do here. I haven't had a bit of problem anywhere with picking up satellites. And yes, the jack is the same in Irish cars as it is here.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
In Ireland right now. The cord is the same that goes into cigarette lighter of car. We rented a GPS here, because the rental car company offered it to us for 5 Euro a day instead of 15. I talked my husband into getting it. The maps in it are great for back country roads, but we found they are not updated for some off the newer "M" roads that opened recently. It kept "recalculating" and saying to turn left or right where roads no longer existed of the new roadways. Also in some areas "new traffic patterns" were marked in towns that our GPS had not been updated to. Be sure to bring a map and read road signs as well as relying on your GPS.
Posted by
Spring, Texas
635 posts
I'll second what Marie said. My Garmin worked great but didn't have all of the new roads in it despite my buying the newest card available. It was particuarly confusing with all the new work that's being done to the Dublin airport.
Posted by
CA, USA
333 posts
The Garmin doesn't pick up the new change on the M8 after you pass Cashel. It will show you driving in a field.
Also, if you rely on it in Co Donegal you will most likely end up driving into a lot of farmer's tractor roads. It's a good way to meet the Donegal locals, though
Posted by
OP
Marietta
5 posts
Thanks so much for all your answers and pieces of helpful insight. I will put my mind at ease, purchase some good maps once in Ireland and enjoy!! And a little detour here and there is to be expected, that's what travel is all about, right?!
Posted by
Taylor, TX, USA
416 posts
I was in Ireland last fall with my TomTom that I hadn't updated since I got it in 2007. Occasionally it got a little confused, but never for long. It worked fabulously (especially for the roundabouts) and meant my elderly parents could watch the scenery rather than a map (and meant that we got along much better than if I were trying to follow their directions). Since you will have more up-to-date maps than I did, I bet it will work even better for you. :-)
Posted by
OP
Marietta
5 posts
Thanks Nancy! That is very good to know!
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
We used my sister's Garmin in Ireland last summer, ran into some problems with it. I'm definitely a "map person", I like to navigate and have a picture in my head of where I'm going. There were several times when the Garmin had us turning just before getting to the major highway (which prompted a call to my sister in the car in front, who insisted that the Garmin must be right). We got a nasty scratch on our car as a result of getting sent down a little farm road. We also ended up in the middle of a 5K road race, when, if we had just gone a little further, we would have been on the major highway. But, then again, we were able to get to some places that would have been hard to find with a map.
I'm assuming if you've had the TomTom, you know how to work with it. Have maps and a ballpark idea of where you're going, remember that you can tell the GPS to take a hike if you don't like the directions it gives you.