Sat nav for use worldwide.

ema1503

Hi- this might be an odd question, but I am hoping someone out there has looked at something similar and might be able to help!

I need to buy a sat nav because just got a new job and will be driving up and down the country (will save me trying to read a map with one hand on the steering wheel!)
However, I am also planning a round the world trip in a couple of years (hence the new job- need to save, save save!!!). :rotfl:

So, I want to get something that I will be able to use in the main countries we plan to go to, rather than having to replace it with a new one when we go. We plan to go to USA, Australia, and South Africa as the main places we would be using it. Since it will be a general driving holiday (planning to overland in each country as much as possible), we want something that will stop us from getting horribly lost, and not take up as much room in our bags as hundreds of road maps.

To be honest I am really confused- I know you can get tomtoms with usa maps on (not too bothered about Europe), but it's really expensive to upgrade/ add on other maps. Anyone know which brand/ sat nav is the best to add these maps on?

What mapping system is the best/ cheapest.

I saw some threads on the really cheap sat navs and the fact that you can get tom tom on those, but I am worried how easy that is to do since I am not too technical. Advice appreciated- basically I am looking for the cheapest possible system that will allow me to put all the maps for those major countries (and obviously the UK) on. Might not put them all on at once, but would like the option of being able to upgrade to all of them at a later date, without buying a new system.

Thanks in advance!!:D

ema1503

Hi- further to my OP.
I finally settled on a garmin nuvi 300T- a bargain at tesco's direct at £100.
After lots of research I found out you can buy the maps for other countries for this sat nav on sd cards- so no need for a huge internal memory.
Searched around for ages, and maps are generally available pretty cheap on ebay. (I know they will be out of date by the time I do my trip, so not buying them yet- I just wanted to know I could get them at a reasonable price!)

So with any luck, problem solved. Just wanted to update in case the info was useful to anyone else considering the same thing. Cheers!:beer: