We'll be driving from Florence to Perugia (renting a car)--is it possible to buy a GPS here in the U.S. and use it in Italy? Has anyone done that? I wonder how one would get the oorrect maps into it?
Thanks.
Cassie

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LisaM

Why use a GPS? It is really easy to get around Italy if you have a good map and getting lost is part of the adventure. Yes you can program a GPS for different countries and you can also get one with your rental car for a fee.
Go for the gusto and don't use one.

I used a GPS when travelling through Germany, Austria, into Italy down to Rome last year. I also use mine for travelling from here back to England. I can recommend it definitely as an aid, especially in towns. There was one area near Siena though that it didn't recognise and the screen went blank. It picked up the signal again shortly after but I was left guessing for a few minutes. Programme the speaker's language to Italian, and learn as you go!

I've traveled from Perugia to Florence and back again molte volte. E molto facile. Just follow the train tracks. LOL!
Nice drive. Stop along the way in all the little villages.

The center of Perugia, which is really worth seeing, is pretty compact, so you wouldn't need a car. You definitely
wouldn't want to drive to Florence, as most of the city is off limits to cars, and parking is expensive. Also, it's
easy to accidentally venture into a no-car zone, in which case your license plate will be photographed and a big fine
sent to the rental company, who will charge it to your credit card, along with a surcharge.

Driving from Florence to Venice is also a bad idea. Cars can't go anywhere in Venice proper.

Hey, dopo di tutto you're better off traveling on the train. The train leaves you right in the middle of Perugia
and or Florence. Besides it's fun riding the train in Italy. You meet a lot of people and it saves you money.

Last September, I traveled to Italy with my Garmin GPS model nuvi 270 (Sold with North America and Europe SW). The GPS even worked in the airplane and registered the plane location and speed. In Italy, it worked fine and it would also tell me where the speed traps and cameras were.
Another good usage was as a pedestrian in Venice. I saw a couple of items I was considering but did not know if it was the best deal so I noted the stores location on my Garmin and was able to find them later if I wanted.
I also marked several eating places for another return visit to Italy.
To challenge myself, I changed the Garmin so it would speak in Italian.

When you buy the GPS you have to make sure it comes with both software ( US and European maps ) - Sometimes buying the extra map will cost as much as the GPS unit

First, to answer your questions:

1) It is possible to buy a GPS unit in the US and use it in Italy. The cigarette lighter connection to power the GPS is the same. I use a TomTom unit (the 720 and the 930 models) because the price includes the maps for the US, Canada and Europe.
2) I've used the TomTom units for two years in Italy.

Now the editorial:

As Danno says it is easy to get around in Italy just using paper maps...with a couple of exceptions. If you are going to drive into a medium to large city a GPS unit will be of great assistance. Using a detsailed map of Rome we carefully plotted our course to our hotel in Rome one year. Unfortunately, the Roman streets department didn't know we were coming and closed one of the streets we'd used for the route. There was a great panic and much circling about before we finally found our way to the hotel.

You'll find it much easier to get around Firenze while driving using a GPS. Siena it doesn't matter - you can't drive in il Centro anyway - same for Perugia, Lucca, and other cities with traffico limitado. Pisa on the other hand can drive you nuts with just a map. Milano can also be a challenge.

I wouldn't drive in Napoli with 4 GPS units, six maps and a Caribinari escort.

//Siena it doesn't matter - you can't drive in il Centro anyway//

You can though, enter the outer city wall and drive through like I did by mistake. I'll never do that again. Brings a whole new meaning to the word "narrow".

OK, now you've got me laughing! I think I can picture that experience, creeping along, waiting for the pedestrians to make way for you. No hope of turning around. I just hope you didn't find yourself in Piazza del Campo...

Your rental car co. offers GPS units - they're about 90% accurate...

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fmaggi
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