Best Sat nav

[Kevintube1979]

Looking for advice and opinions on navigation devices,I have travelled through Europe in my California just by using "waze" (a phone app) and google maps,(I find phone based navigation a bit hit and miss),getting places on a wing and a prayer and quite stressed when we arrive,im looking at travelling through Europe next year for an extended period so im researching sat navs,ive looked at Motor-home specific devices that are expensive and im not sure they would offer much over just a normal sat nav for our size of vehicle.

I find locating camp sites difficult and very frustrating after a days driving.

I would like a stand alone device so I dont have to use my phone and/or app connect as I find both not very reliable.

any recommendations?

 

[MartG]

I have the VW Discover satnav, but I have used both Garmin & TomTom based devices, both very good, but prefer the TomTom software for ease of use and clarity, but that's just my opinion. The Garmin based BMW unit is for my motorbike and TomTom was a phone app, so no hardware recommendation, but essentially any device using their software should look / behave the same.

PS - we still like buying paper maps - great to look over for wider view planning and grabbing quickly for reference...

 

[Kevintube1979]

I have the VW Discover satnav, but I have used both Garmin & TomTom based devices, both very good, but prefer the TomTom software for ease of use and clarity, but that's just my opinion. The Garmin based BMW unit is for my motorbike and TomTom was a phone app, so no hardware recommendation, but essentially any device using their software should look / behave the same.

PS - we still like buying paper maps - great to look over for wider view planning and grabbing quickly for reference...

Yes Thanks MartG Garmin and TomTom apear to be the leaders,I dont like using the sat nav phone apps on app connect as the screen is just not in the right place for a sat nav in my opinion the sat nav needs to be located where you can see it without taking your eyes off the road,yes you can locate your phone in a more ideal position but then your phone is tied up and you cant use it for anything else..

 

[Rich20]

I use a Tom Tom in our Beach set up as a car. It can be set up for any vehicle ( Truck version) but it has been fine for us. Easy to use and reliable.

 

[BubbleBus]

Hiya..we had the same problems travelling around France and into Spain with my old Tom Tom oneXL which is no longer supported and is way out of date. Had a offer come through on email for lifetime licence for Sygic (8.99) who I think use Tom Tom maps. What I liked was the maps were offline and didn’t use any data. We have it running on an old Tesco Hudl but there is also a version for iPad. The Hudl just sits on the pull out drinks drawer and is plugged in to the 12v supply via a USB adapter, works brilliantly and you can also put in your own points of interest eg. Aires, campsites, rest stops etc.

 

[Alan Andrews]

I bought the TomTom 5" touch screen Go5200. Is excellent. Various settings to restrict type of road etc. Also handy for walking trips.

They do a larger screen size, but I found the 5" screen perfect to fit in to a pocket.

Also has voice commands and provide mobile hands free.

I bought it from Halfords at a very good price, with cashback on an old and defunct satnav. Just track Halfords for when on offer.

It comes with Lifetime Maps and Live Traffic Updates. The Live traffic Updates have proved invaluable to avoid congestion. You just need to have faith rather than say to yourself I know a better route. Once you get over this instinct it is great.

 

[Meoncoast]

We have had both a TOM TOMS & a GARMIN. I used various TOM TOMS for many years. My preference was for the TT hower I found they were developing after about 18months. While away were lost function on the one we had. So needing one quickly we were forced into getting a GARMIN only made available. After a short period of time I decided that I preferred the GARMIN. It has also remained to function fully after 5 years of use.

 

[WelshGas]

Looking for advice and opinions on navigation devices,I have travelled through Europe in my California just by using "waze" (a phone app) and google maps,(I find phone based navigation a bit hit and miss),getting places on a wing and a prayer and quite stressed when we arrive,im looking at travelling through Europe next year for an extended period so im researching sat navs,ive looked at Motor-home specific devices that are expensive and im not sure they would offer much over just a normal sat nav for our size of vehicle.

I find locating camp sites difficult and very frustrating after a days driving.

I would like a stand alone device so I dont have to use my phone and/or app connect as I find both not very reliable.

any recommendations?

Get the satnav of your choice TomTom or Garmin, Not the truck/Motorhome version, and download and install the Archies POI file to display the 32,000 + European campsites. Or use the Archies App and just type in the GPS co-ordinates into your SatNav.

Archiescampings

Europe Campings download poi pdi free gratis

www.archiescampings.eu

 

[rod_vw]

I'm happy to use MS Autoroute on a laptop PC with various POIs added and a GPS receiver Bluetooth connected but it does need a co-driver working as navigator plus the fact that Autoroute is getting out of date.

As a replacement I use Waze on a phone associated with Search for Sites, that way I can look at whatever area I want then when I have chosen a destination Search for Sites will link to Waze or Google Maps to navigate to that destination.

By using both of the above I find that I can roam Europe and the UK finding all the sites or destinations that I want.

Having built my own database of about 750 stop-overs over many years loaded into MS Autoroute we holiday with ease. I also have all of these POIs on a personal Google map just in case I loose other services or devices.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

During our 2019 Europe Trip we used Google Maps through Android Auto on the radio screen. During the more than 6,200 km we never had a problem in any of the countries we visited (small roads or motorways alike). Now with the free roaming we had no problems with the download quota. I have a 10 GB allowance which I guess we used not even 1 GB of data during the 3x weeks.

Late afternoon my wife used Park4Night to look for a campsite close to the motorway. If we agreed to a site we added into Google maps on Android Auto and so found our campsite. It worked very well.

Wherever we ware in Europe we had connections and got our information. We did not get stuck once. The cost for this form of navigation was the subscription for Park4Night for a year (I can't remember I think it was around the EUR 10 - 15.00).

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[rod_vw]

Eberhard - That sounds just about like us and it works well.

 

[Deskman]

I was using Navigon on the iPhone for many years. Very well designed app with graphics that were much better than any other app or navigation hardware. Then the German company was bought by Garmin and not long afterwards terminated, which is a shame in itself. Now I'm using Sygic which is getting better with each update. Plays very well together with my CarPlay Alpin 700 iLX

 

[kave]

I am using Park4Night to find spots and Apple Maps or Google maps to route there. I have a perfectly functioning Garmin GPS with updated maps in the glove box just in case. However, beeing able to just navigate from and adress is so nice. Also, a dedicated gps takes a very long time to calculate a long route through Europe. One advantage with the Garmin is its rock solid recording of the trip, I find the various phone recording apps lacking in stability so I might leave the garmin connected to power so it records next summer.

 

[SimonB]

I am using a TomTom premium X which I bought direct from TomTom for 30% off a couple of months ago. I use it with a dashboard bean bag mount and find that is the perfect height without blocking any of the windscreen.
It comes with world maps, Sim card for traffic delays and for updating, traffic cameras, free regular map updates etc. I spend a lot of time in Wales and with phone based maps unless there is a signal you don't have a map, unless you download it beforehand.
I am very impressed by the speed it reroutes in the event of traffic delays ahead and the accuracy of the time the delays will take.

 

[Legin]

I have tried most of them and find Google maps and Waze my preferred. Between TT and Garmin i prefer TT. If having your phone tied up is the main issue then one suggestion is use a second phone rather than buy a dedicated GPS. Being able to save google maps just swings it that way for me.
I like the app connect as it keeps things current. Never thought much of the VW nav , best is probably the one in my BMW but mainly for the integration.

 

[daz60]

Looking for advice and opinions on navigation devices,I have travelled through Europe in my California just by using "waze" (a phone app) and google maps,(I find phone based navigation a bit hit and miss),getting places on a wing and a prayer and quite stressed when we arrive,im looking at travelling through Europe next year for an extended period so im researching sat navs,ive looked at Motor-home specific devices that are expensive and im not sure they would offer much over just a normal sat nav for our size of vehicle.

I find locating camp sites difficult and very frustrating after a days driving.

I would like a stand alone device so I dont have to use my phone and/or app connect as I find both not very reliable.

any recommendations?

Hi Kevin, I use a Snooper sat nav, the best.

 

[Kevintube1979]

Get the satnav of your choice TomTom or Garmin, Not the truck/Motorhome version, and download and install the Archies POI file to display the 32,000 + European campsites. Or use the Archies App and just type in the GPS co-ordinates into your SatNav.

Archiescampings

Europe Campings download poi pdi free gratis

www.archiescampings.eu

Yes Welshgas I got all excited thinking that it would be easy to download all the campsites on to a device, after many frustrating hours trying it just has not worked for me,nothing seems to be compatible with my windows 10 laptop and/or nothing available specific for TOMTOM devices....

 

[briwy]

I'm not sure why you are having problems as both my Windows 10 machines work fine with the downloads.
The Archies site specifically mentions TomTom and others at the top of the download section.

This domain name is registered with Netim

 

[Alan Greensall]

Looking for advice and opinions on navigation devices,I have travelled through Europe in my California just by using "waze" (a phone app) and google maps,(I find phone based navigation a bit hit and miss),getting places on a wing and a prayer and quite stressed when we arrive,im looking at travelling through Europe next year for an extended period so im researching sat navs,ive looked at Motor-home specific devices that are expensive and im not sure they would offer much over just a normal sat nav for our size of vehicle.

I find locating camp sites difficult and very frustrating after a days driving.

I would like a stand alone device so I dont have to use my phone and/or app connect as I find both not very reliable.

any recommendations?

You could use an iPad if you have one Then install NAVMii. You can download all of Europe and not use any data. And it's free!
Just a thought