GPS Questions

Andrea:

There are a variety of ways you can get the European maps. Some GPS units come with both NA & E maps. Some come with both, but you have to chose at initial installation which you are going to use - and there is no going back. Some come with only NA maps. In most instances you can buy the other maps - often by downloading over the Internet. I looked at that for mine, but found it expensive - I could have bought a new GPS in Europe for the price of the maps.

I suggest you look at the website of the manufacturer of you unit and see what it tells you.

Maps for Garmin devices for Europe were pushing $250 as an add-on last time I check. If you can get a device that includes the Euro maps to begin with, it is generally cheaper that by a North America one and then adding them on later.

Most travelers here who buy a GPS get a model that comes with the Euro map already in it. Google GPS, the 3 brands that come up here are Garmin, Tom-Tom, and Magellan.

Thanks for the information. The GPS I have for work is a Garmin. When I go to work tomorrow I will check out the paperwork, but it is extremely doubtful that my government employer purchased systems with European maps. In that case, would I be better off purchasing a GPS with European maps now, when I will be driving for approximately 3 - 4 days in Ireland, or waiting until next year, when we plan a long car trip in the fall?

We have a Garmin 350 without the European maps in them. We had to pay for the France maps... however, and I know no one here will probably agree with me, but we like to get the maps as we use them because they are more up-to -date. For instance, in France, they are adding round-a-bouts everywhere and the GPS we had with the European Maps did not have any of them in it, but the single France map did and was upgraded as we went.We travel alot so you may want a different one, but we surely noticed a difference in the different maps.

My daughter is planning a trip to Ireland; so today I brought up the Garmin page to determine the cost of buying the Europe program to install in my unit.

For my model it is priced at $140. The description states that it covers all of Europe and some parts of E Europe. Sounds like a bargain compared with the cost of renting one over there.

I love my TOMTOM 920 with pre-loaded US and EU maps. It has worked flawlessly in both the EU and in our US cross country trip that we took last summer. TOMTOM is made in Europe, so it was perfected with all things EU.

My updates are free. I just plug it into my USB port, log in to TT, and ask for the latest upgrades. You can also receive "instant updates". If several users report an error or addition to a route, TT updates the files. You can download these at any time also.

I don't have to buy new upgrades each time I go somewhere.

GPS's are selling for such low prices, I think it would be good idea to invest in one that can cover all areas....not get nickeled and dimed to death buying a new map each time you go somewhere.

But, on another note, there is a cheap option that you can pursue once you find out how to load new maps in your current GPS.

You can buy maps for your GPS on EBay, and re-sell when you get home. The downside to this is the hassle, and not knowing if they have the latest files.

We used our TomTom GO 920 driving in France last spring, and it was great. I'm sure it saved us from being lost on a couple of occasions. One of the things I like about it is the next time I plan to be driving in Europe, I can download a current map of the country I plan to be in or upgrade all the European maps at once. It is cheaper to do just the countries you need at any one time however.