Has anyone any experience with using a Garmin StreetPilot GPS (global positioning system) in order to make driving in Italy easier?

ALrighty then...does anyone have any experience with ANY GPS auto system in Italy?

If you rent a BMW 525 thru AutoEurope it comes with a built-in GPS - of course the instructions are in German

Drew, Someone posted a message about using a handheld GPS on the board a while back. I'm having the darnest time trying to find it. I'll look some more.

Chuck,

Did you use the system? In Italy? If so, can you describe the +'s and -'s?

Finally.. Here is the thread I remembered. I hope this helps.

Marta,
Thank goodness you found that thread! I knew we'd recently discussed GPS but my search on 'gps' didn't bring up anything. I'm glad you were more successful than I!

Thanks Marta and Colleen..those posts were helpful but deal mostly with handheld GPS, not auto related ones. I am searching for someone with experience using the current technology for driving in Italy.

BTW..for those of you familiar with Microsoft Streets and Trips, a mapping program common in the US, did you know there is a European version (sold only in Europe) Its called AutoRoute 2003 and can be invaluable if you have a laptop on your trip or need extensive mapping capability in the USA....see http://www.microsoft.com/autoroute/

Drew: The GPS is an amusing diversion but really not useful or necessary. Get some good regional maps - I prefer Touring Club Italiano-and I think you will find navigating fairly simple.. The roads are well signed and if you get lost briefly - it's an adventure and who knows what you may find. Seriously, driving in Italy is a lot easier and less intimidating than you might think. A good map and a sense of humour and adventure will go a long way.

Yes, the maps we used were fantastic. Driving in Italy was very easy for us. The autostrasse was great!

ItalianMoonShadow Blog

We used the handheld Magellan SporTrak Pro. We had one person in our group who was familiar with the program and thus made it easier to use. While we could have done without it, and maps would have been fine, there were several times when it came in very very handy. One nice thing was that it remembers roads you have already been on. It helped a lot when we were lost, and believe me, in Tuscany we got lost. But most times when we got lost, instead of using the GPS, we just stopped at the nearest winery and tasted samples and got directions. Bummer. I know I for one didn't want to stop at all those wineries. Yeah right!!

How accurate was it in tuscany? Did it know the state road numbers well? How well did it perform in the cites?

It was very accurate in Italy, even got all the little roads that were'nt well marked. We were near Castellina in Chianti and on some very small roads and the GPS was a great help. We drove to Florence twice and used the GPS to help us get around. We even used it to get back to our car which was parked quite a way on the outskirts of town. Actually, we had three rental cars. When we first got there, the directions to the villa were not great and we obviously were not used to the roads. The guy that had the GPS found the villa first and then called the rest of us and told us how to get to the villa. So yes, it was a big help and quite accurate. I would make sure however that I was quite familiar with using it before I got over there. We got the maps and downloaded them via our PC to the GPS before we left.

thanks Dali Im there!

Drew - when are you going? Please report back about how your GPS works while there. I'm planning to take my Street Pilot on my next trip. I'm hoping for once I won't have to have all hands and eyes on a map!

They are available to rent from autoeurope.com, choose cellphones on the menu.

I will be there in early October. Streetpilot III is the one I'll be using. AutoEurope provides the European basemap and the City navigator but not the Metroguide. I will report the results of a drive from Venice to Florence, excursions around Florence, and the drive from Florene to Rome.

If you spend all your time hunkered over your GPS, how will you enjoy the scenery...and the chance to get lost. This all reminds me of the story (probably apochryful but still funny) about the German who got a new car equipped with GPS and followed it so religiously on the route it had given him that he drove the car right down a ferry slip and into a river.

Some random thoughts...

An involuntary return to the point of departure is, without doubt, the most disturbing of all journeys.
~ Iain Sinclair ~

If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.
~ Benjamin Franklin ~

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
~ H. L. Mencken ~

The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.
Leonardo Da Vinci

After reading Pauline's latest blog re: her frustration with the maps she prints out, I reiterate my belief that static maps and a GPS system would relieve the stress.

Perhaps someone at AutoEurope will read this and a light bulb will go off?

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or portion is more readily seen."
Leonardo Da Vinci

Hi-
We used a garmin GPS with our laptop for our first "driving" trip in Italy...it was great. We were able to explore a great deal more without being worried about getting horribly lost...Lots of "let's see where that little road goes..." in rural umbria. We bought the european road map CD, and with that and the 12 volt adapter, were good to go anywhere!