Hi

We rented a car from Avis for 6 days in Tuscany a couple of weeks back. Initially I was just planning on driving round based on the map I had in my guidebook and the maps that I would pick up along the way. But I started getting nervous when we were getting closer to departure so I borrowed a GPS from a colleague. I'm VERY glad that I did this as it was a great help for us getting out of Florence, finding our way to the airport, finding our Tuscan accommodation etc. I don't think that I will ever go on a serious road trip again without a GPS. The one that I borrowed is shown below...a Sony Nav-u

Gard, I know what you're talking about, and I fully agree.
Travelling in Italy is slighlty different compared to Germany: When you want to travel from A to B in Germany and you see twon B on a road sign, be sure you will find B on each subsequent road signs as well.
To make a long story short: In Italy, you need to know a couple of cities between A and B, the capital of the related provinces and - sometimes - where to turn when arriving at a crossing with multiple road signs saying "tutte le direzione" (and no other signs).
I travel with both GPS and road map/atlas, switching the GPS to very high (=detailled) resolution, so I don't miss any small road. The road map (scale 1:100'000) will help me to monitor the environment. Even if I am cruising without a designated destination, I do it that way, i.e. using the GPS as a road map only.
By this, travelling has become much easier, for me (as a driver) as well to the person next to me. Hope this helps you, too.
Buon viaggio

Hi

I have now bought a GPS together with a friend. We got a good deal on a Garmin 350 model and I hope that it can be useful for future trips :-)