My wife and I will be renting a car to tour the country side and smaller towns in Tuscany and Umbria. Never been there. Should we should pay for a GPS service in our rental car or set up a phone app navigation program to move us around the non-urban areas? Thanks so much.
Mark
Santa Cruz
Do not pay for a rental GPS! It is a rip-off. Increasingly, even cheaper new cars come with their own GPS units embedded in the console anyway (rental agencies often won't bother upgrading/updating the cartographic base anyway), and if that is the case you can use them regadless of paying for outrageous navigation device fees.
Even if that was not the case, figuring out an unfamiliar navigation interface, maybe not set up in English, in an unfamiliar car, is really not something to look forward to!
Use a smartphone GPS navigation app instead, one you already know how to operate at home.
We've taken our personal Garmin with Europe maps loaded on it. That way no worries over data charges.
Agree with other posters...GPS is not necessary. Google Maps on your smartphone worked fine for us in Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. You can also download the app called "Here" and download the Italy map Works well in tunnels and gives you the speed limit, tells you how fast you're going and alerts you to upcoming speed cameras.
Jean,
My wife has downloaded HERE on to her smart phone, but can't seem to download a map of Italy? Any tips? Thanks.
Mark
Santa Cruz, California
After you install the app, open it up and on the left hand side is your main menu. You should have a download option and then it breaks it down by continent then country. It might take a while/ use a bit of data to download so see if you can do it in a free wifi spot. Once its all installed you can use it offline so will save you data usage while traveling.
We double up on the electronic maps- our own pretty base model Garmin with both North American and European map sets because you never know where cell phone data will be sketchy and GPS signal will still work just fine there, and then google maps or such for more congested areas where the real time traffic info and the ability to route around slowed to stopped traffic becomes very useful.
We rented a car and added GPS a few years ago in France. We never could get the GPS to work at all. I complained when we returned the car and the charge was removed. This was before GPS was available on phones. That's what I would use now.
