Hey Folks
Our Garmin Nuvi is on the Fritz and we're heading to France in a few weeks. While I'm conducting some research on my own, I'd be interested to hear what all of you think is the best GPS with European maps. Thanks! Darren
Posted by
Lakeville, MN
68 posts
Darren, Our Garmin NUVI has been invaluable on trips to UK and Europe. Warning - Buy your map chip from Garmin, we bought one on e bay a few years ago to save a few bucks and it was useless. On our trip to France last year we got a rental car (VW) with a built in unit. Our Garmin worked better than the one in the car. J&D
Posted by
OP
Boulder, CO, USA
719 posts
Jeff,
Which model is ur nuvi? Ours has been great for the last few years but its currently unresponsive.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Our Garmin NUVI 1490T worked great for our 2,000kM journey through France. That was 18 months ago.
Posted by
Dallas
1021 posts
Our Garmin worked well in France a couple of years ago. My son has rented a TomTom with a France car rental and liked it. Now I'm inclined to go the app route since its one less thing to worry with and maps get auto updated. I used the TomTom ipad app in the UK last year and like it.
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
Ditto Brad. Both Garmin and TT are top rated. I have had my TT for years, and it has been to Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy( including Sardinia),etc. And I have used it for some cross country US trips. All of my maps were built in. ( I don't any of them do that anymore.) Upgrade to a new one with a larger screen, and bring a Michelin map and a compass.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
Darren, As you're heading to France in a few weeks, the easiest solution would probably be to buy another GPS unit. One model you could consider is the Garmin Nüvi 2475LT, which comes equipped with both North American and European Maps. Amazon has it listed at $172.99 (which seems like a good price). Best Buy should have them in-store as well. If the unit has been sitting on the shelf for awhile, the Maps may not be entirely current (but probably still adequate). I might consider doing one Map upgrade prior to the trip. Happy travels!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Garmin and TomTom are the top rated brands. I currently have one Garmin and three TomToms. The two brands have a few differences in how they operate. If you're used to Garmin, I'd stick with that. I like TomToms a little better, probably because I started with them.
Posted by
Beverly Hills, MI
797 posts
My wife and I both have Nuvi's and they have given us excellent results. Both the Tom Tom and the Garmin have excellent reputations but even the best can have problems. If you can't get your Nuvi repaired, I would recommend getting another Nuvi simply because you already know how the Garmin products work and don't have to start over. Have you contacted Garmin? My experience with their marine products has been excellent ... once it turned out to be a damaged antenna lead and they sent a whole new antenna free of charge and the other time they sent an SD card with a software update. The nice part about calling them is you only have to talk to them for 2 seconds to know that they are looking out the window at Kansas, not India. If the unit is new enough to be repaired they are very good. Good luck
Posted by
Lakeville, MN
68 posts
Darren, Our NUVI is a 265W, pretty basic unit. I think everyone is spot on, you can't go wrong with either a Garmin or a TomTom. My maps were not downloaded but are on an SD chip, which worked perfectly and will not take up any memory. I don't know if any TomToms use chips, ours does no. Jeff