GPS France and Germany

I have a Garmin and have used it for my past few trips and it definitely makes life easier. I prefer to use my own so I know how it works, but the maps were about 100 for most recent set which did include France, Germany, Austria and more. I will probably use this again in Europe so did not mind the cost. I think they also had specific country maps, but I just took all of Europe. I have driven years without the GPS, but it was helpful for all the locations you are going to. Especially out of CDG to Normandy and back again. Did not want to end up downtown Paris!

Jon, My suggestion would be to get more specific information on the costs. Rather than "assume" that new Maps for your existing GPS will be more costly, it would help to find out the actual cost. Next, you should be able to find out from the car rental websites what they charge for a GPS unit. With that information you'll have some definite numbers to do a cost comparison. You could also compare the cost of a new GPS unit that's already equipped with the Europe maps. For example, Amazon currently has a Garmin Nüvi 1370T priced at $139.99. Good luck and happy travels!

A GPS comes standard with many rental models, and it usually only affects the overall price if you order it as an extra. For example, compare prices on Sixt.com. You'll see that the major determinate of overall cost is the size of the vehicle, not the presence or absence of a GPS. PS- This is just me personally, but if you have some basic knowledge of geography in Germany (ie, knowing that Stuttgart is south of Frankfurt and that Frankfurt is south of Cologne, etc), I find a GPS can actually make things more confusing in this country than just using a basic map and following signs. Road signs point you to virtually anything of interest to a tourist, including towns, cultural and heiritage sites, trail heads, restaurants, hotels, most businesses, etc. Go with your level of comfort, but for me, I've had a GPS give me strange directions enough times that I turned mine off permanently.

We borrowed a tom tom that had eauropean maps already loaded. Even though they were 4 years old it did help us travel a route from Frankfurt-Innsbruck-Venice-Bologna-Milan-2 very small towns in eastern France and back to Frankfurt. I will agree about being careful as to where it can end up taking you. We had difficulty a couple of times in the route it wanted to (or not) take us. I would back it up with a good map. We found the roads in the part of France we traveled to be well marked and easy to follow. We have driven many miles in Germany in the Frankfurt - Munich area and find that to be a very easy area to navigate without a GPS. Since you are taking 4 days to go from Frankfurt to Munich I will assume that you will be on back roads. These are very easy to follow with well marked road numbers and cities/towns/village signs. AS has been previously stated, compare the cost and go from there.

Frankfurt to Munich is all autobahn with good signage as has been mentioned, easy peasy. If you are taking 4 days to get there, stopping somewhere along the way, just beware the GPS does some crazy things sometimes, taking you along bike paths, etc. You should reference with a printed map, too. One note--you should check traffic before you head out on any of the main routes, traffic can be seriously nasty at times.

You could look for European map chips for your TomTom on eBay. Many people sell them once they return from their trips, figuring they won't be using them again soon.

An alternative might by buying a TomTom app for you iPhone (assuming you have one). IT costs like € 49,00 for Western Europe (19 countries) and the app is pretty much like a basic TomTom device.

I prefer having something you know how to use before you start driving in Europe. Most of the good TomToms, like the one I purchased last year, come with lifetime map updates. Unfortunately, the last one I bought didn't work out of the box. Rather than immediately return it for a refund, I worked with TomTom support. I ended up sending it to them and they sent the wrong model (cheaper model, not for Europe, refurbished, no traffic, no map updates - not even initial). I complained immediately and shipped it back to them a second time (I paid shipping both times) and received the wrong model again, this time with Europe maps but still the wrong model, refurbished, no traffic, no lifetime updates. I complained again and they sent me a code for one map update, either the US or Europe. I could have bought what I ended up with for less than half what I paid. I have always liked TomTom better than Garmin but I can't recommend them any longer. The iphone idea might be great if you had a European phone. With an American iphone it's likely to cost a fortune in data transfers.

I read recently that TomTom is dropping their independent standalone models and concentrating on their built-in business. Seems everyone is using their phone apps instead. I just looked online and Western European maps on a SD card was 59 pounds on the TomTom UK site; did not see that on the US site. You can order from Amazon UK for not too much in shipping costs.
I like a GPS I can put in my pocket; mark the location of the car, then wander, find my way back to the car quickly.

Traffic, as mentioned by another poster, is a key consideration. Many of the newer Garmins have a traffic feature (probably others too, just I only know Garmins as I am on my 4th generation of them) which works well. It is usually a small subscription, or may be included. As long as the traffic dot on mine is green I know its good. If it turns yellow or red (can have audio signal too) I press it and get the detail. It will tell me where the delay is, which direction, how far and how long. I can also be automatically routed around it. In some areas I can also see recent photos from the traffic cameras. Oh yes, BTW its all in English. I listen to German traffic reports but much of it goes over my head. I also listen to the 107.5 (I think) reports on French radio but again miss much. And I do have a fair amount of French and German skill.

Take your own GPS. The Europe map cards don't cost that much and you don't want to have to learn how to use the one in the rental car when you are starting to drive in a foreign country. Also you can take yours with you when you are walking in big cities. If you declare your car to be "HOME" you can always find it again. Don't forget some good paper maps so you can track the big picture. A GPS screen has real limits on how much it can show.