Anyone out there use a GPS in Spain? If so, where did you get your map of Spain?

I'm wanting something with POI's (points of interest). I'm not sure which GPS to buy, but I think I want one with a color screen. Which GPS do you have and where did you get your map?

Thanks!
-Ricarod

It does depend what you want to use it for. If it is only for the car, Tom Tom seems to be widely used here.

If you want if for hiking, marine or aviation Garmin makes a good range.

This is a particularly interesting topic for me. I came home (as a passenger) from Cantábria to Madrid a few weeks ago and the car had a NavMan GPS unit. It really sparked my attention. I noticed a number of Madrid taxis have GPS units too.

I'm considering getting one myself for an upcoming long-drive from Madrid to Geneva, Switzerland but not sure it's worth the expense. Someone told a friend who then told me that when you buy one in Spain you only get (as a default) the maps of Spain and not other countries. Does one have to pay to get other country maps? Can they be downloaded to the GPS unit directly or do you have to do it at the shop or via computer/internet?

Also, I was certain there was a monthly subscription charge to access the satellites but a friend (who doesn't have a GPS unit) told me that no, you dont't. This would surprise me.

One last "newbie" question, can you generally take GPS units from car-to-car? I only ask because the friend who had one in one car couldn't use it in another car - but that friend didn't really know much about GPS units as it was installed at the shop or by a friend.

Saludos, MadridMan

Sorry, I can't help much on the car to car issue. But I can say that using one that is out of date is no fun (or rather the source of many jokes). We drove my BIL's BMW from Salamanca to Ribadesella last month. His CD (maps) was out of date and many of the roads are new. We'd be on an overpass, and the lady's voice would say "turn left". Huh??!! I knew where I was going because I printed really great directions from Guia Campsa....the most annoying part was that I couldn't figure out how to turn her off! I didn't use it at all in the return trip. The nice thing tho, was that it was great for my kids to see where we were on the map, so it eliminated some of the "are we almost there yet" questions.

Yes GPS!

I too have been wanting one for a long time. They are getting better and more portable. The "Tom Tom" mentioned above and other compact models CAN be moved from car to car. Furthermore you can walk down the street with it! You will have to get maps (Usually on CD) for the countries you plan on visiting and have them downloaded onto the units memory. The larger the memory the more maps you can have loaded.

Units purchased in North America usually come with maps of Canada/USA/Mexico. Other maps will have to be purchased. Look for deals as some places "might" give you other maps as a bonus.

NO there is no fee to use your GPS.

some info here;

http://gpsinformation.net/

GPS is a free service developed, paid for and maintained by the US. The Europeans are a bit jealous of it and so are spending quite a bit developing their own system, which is due on line in the near future.

The most basic units simply recieve the signal from the satellites and then give a position in terms of latitude and longitude.

What you pay for is the software, equipment and updates, depending on what system you go for. Both Tom Tom and NavMan are available with full European maps or just the Iberian peninsular. The more info you want, the more you pay. It is also worth bearing in mind that these use RAM memory so if you need a European map you need a more complex unit.

You can then subscribe and download updates of maps as they are released, or you don´t have to and it is the equivalent of not renewing your road map.

Personally I use GPS as backup. Go on the theory that it is going to malfunction and navigate primarily the old fashioned way, otherwise one day you will be stuck in the middle of no-where with no way out.

I just purchased the TomTom Go 910 (here in the US). It comes pre-loaded with maps of North America and Europe. I checked the maps for Spain and they seem reasonably detailed and when I spoke with TomTom they said the maps are "current." I will be testing this unit in late September on a drive from Seville through Andalusia. We'll see.

MadridMan, you are correct, during my visit to Madrid in April, every taxi I used had GPS and they used it to get around the construction that seemed to be lurking everywhere.

Hope this helps.

El Almirante de la Flota Que Sundio

I did look at some Tom Tom units available at Radio Shack.. however, the ones with the Europe maps were upwards of $800. I'm only planning on using it for a couple of weeks and can't justify that expense just because it's neat!

I think I'm going to continue to look online.

I did find some maps online for around $150.. I'm going to continue to look into this.

Thanks for the replies.
-Rick

Wichita, KS

Update

My dad bought a GPS for me. (Found one at a pawn-shop at a really good price). It's the garmin Streetpilot i3. It's really, really neat. However, no maps of Spain. And, sure enough, maps are running about $135-180, depending on which online store you choose.

It's less detailed than others that I've seen, however, it's really, really neat. I've downloaded other voices as free extras (Espanol de espana) being one of them, and I also downloaded British English, which makes me sound like Im' in a James Bond movie.

It's really neat. But I'm just not sure I want to shell out the $150 for a map. Still contemplating before my trip on Sept 9.

I have the Magellan Roadmate 800. It is portable, but has a reasonably good-sized screen.

It has touch-screen technology which is a feature that you want. I bought the North American model that comes loaded with the US and Canada module active and available by default. The European module is on-board, but has to be activated at a cost of about $250.00. They make a European version which is probably the reverse, meaning you would have to pay extra to activate the US module.

It works great!! I used it in France and Spain this Summer. It flawlessly guided us to our hotel in downtown San Sebastián. A major feat..

It is not without its little pecadillos, and it sometimes takes awhile to acquire the satellite signal. After you learn how it works, and it doesn't take long, you will be happy.

I cannot compare the Magellan to any other unit, but I am satisfied. You can select from about fifteen languages in male and female voices to provide route guidance. They have, for example American English and British English. Sorry, only one Spanish.

One good feature of the Magellan is that it has a re-chargeable battery. Some units are totally dependent on a car power supply.

I got it as an expensive geek toy to keep from getting lost in Europe, and now I sleep with it under my pillow.

I have a TomTom 710 (the higher the number the more countries that come pre loaded) and I'm quite happy with it.

We rented a car for one day to move everything from our apartment in the city centre to Tres Cantos from Europa Car and they offered a Nav for 7 euros a day, money well spent, would never have gotten around Madrid if we had tried maps!

If you only need it for limited time see if you can rent one from them.

And yes Nav systems are portable, you can even use them for walking around a strange city. I put mine in my back pack and it turned it's self on and all of sudden I heard "turn left in 50 mtrs"

After taking my new GPS to Spain, I was disappointed to find out that it couldn't pick-up any satellites. I have no idea why. I didn't end up needing it.. however, it would've been nice to see exactly where I was at. Frustrating!

Wesrick, did you eventually get the download for the Spain map? It should have worked (picked up satelite).

Anyone else have any GPS experience in Spain?? Model they use/recommend etc?

I had a wierd experience with my tomtom, the thing wouldn't turn on! Going to visit friends and all of sudden no GPS,the only saving grace was I had thier address and phone number written down from a previous visit so I was able to get to the city and then call for directions.

I was a littel worried as I didn't have the sales receipt anymore. According to the web you just need a pin to reset it, and that did the trick.

still a real pain

RE: TomTom910 and GPS in Spain.

As mentioned above, I gave this unit a test during my visit to Spain in September. I rented a car in Seville and drove to Vejer, Gibraltar, points in between and dropped the car at Seville.

The 910 did very well. I don't use the NAVIGATE TO function but prefer to have it as a scrolling road map which is better for the driver than a paper one. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD. Anyway, most roads, streets, and even some dirt tracks were available. The only problem is the tremendous amount of construction. The new freeways are not on the unit and it will be hard for TOMTOM to keep up. The good thing is the unit can be re-loaded with maps. It comes with a USB cable and through the interet come the maps.

Of course this takes some of the fun out of getting lost. Then again, you can always turn it off and just drive.

Admiral44

I ended up just buying the $150 map. I need to return it.. but probably can't now. So, I think I'll just sell it on Amazon marketplace...

It was unfortunate that the map didn't work. I think if I would've had a difference GPS it would've worked. Because, when I got over the US, it immediately picked up land (over Florida).