Cheap satnav for USA

gadjah543

I am going on a roadtrip to the USA in March. The car hire is resonable but they want £167 to hire us a satnav. Would it be cheaper to buy our own over there or in the UK or any other suggestions welcome.

marvin

Google navigation and download the maps before you go on wifi

gadjah543

Thanks. Could I do this on my Samsung tablet. I don't want to risk accidental roaming charges on my phone

Moto2

Switch roaming off?

Anyway, you could simply use something like Nokia Here Maps which is an off-line sat nav app

Kernow666

you can pick one up cheap over there


head over to trip advisor and ask on forum for places your going for more local knowledge


places like best-buy & target stores will have them cheaper than you have been quoted , or if you prefer to buy one before you leave check out eBay maybe bag a bargain providing its got US maps on it or can be downloaded

jackieblack

We bought ours at Wal-Mart, under £100 with lifetime updates, have used for several trips since.

PeacefulWaters

I use an EPlaza one I got for £40 off Amazon.

Been fine. Out of stock at the moment!

michele-p

We hired one from here http://www.gps-hire.com/, around £16 for 2 weeks. Thought that was cheaper than buying one, since we have a Europe sat nav, and this was also cheaper than buying the US maps. There are also loads on ebay. You just post it back when you return

marvin

gadjah543 wrote: »

Thanks. Could I do this on my Samsung tablet. I don't want to risk accidental roaming charges on my phone

Yes you can they have offline options now for maps as well and yes simply turn off data if worried.

bagand96

Why buy an extra piece of technology just for a holiday, when you already own technology that can do the job for very little cost, or even free.

You have a smartphone and a tablet both of which will do this. There's apps like NavMii or Nokia Maps that are free and offline. (I've not used either but the Nokia one gets good reviews).

I've used a payed for app on my phone called CoPilot, for 4 USA driving holidays and it's not let me down once. USA maps are only £7.99. You download them to your phone before you go over wifi and you're all set. It even splits the USA maps by state so you can just download the states you want.

To be sure of no data charges, in your phones settings disable Mobile Data for the satnav app. If you really want belt and braces, turn off nobile data completely whilst using it as a satnav.

NiftyDigits

For mobile data, make sure that your phone is unlocked, then use Three At Home or get a local SIM. As for a SatNav, we rented one, but didn't even bother to turn it on. Happily they gave us a rebate which negated the cost of the Satnav rental.
Don't use your contract SIM, you'll be tempted to use it if there is no free WiFi available.