Best GPS Systems for Foreign Travel

For the person or family that loves to travel, a Global Positioning System, or GPS, is almost as necessary as a roadmap to help determine where you need to be; but much easier and convenient. Before purchasing a GPS system for your foreign travel, you need to keep in mind that not all GPS systems are created equal. If you have foreign travel in mind, you need to make sure that the GPS system that you purchase, already has the maps of where you will be traveling programmed into it. If not, make sure that the maps can be downloaded into it. This of course will be an added cost. There are several GPS systems on the market that have foreign maps already programmed into them. Even though they tend to be a little more expensive, they more than make up for the cost, with the ease of their use.

Garmin Nuvi 775 T Personal Travel Navigator

The only bad thing about this system is its price. At $799.95, it is definitely on the expensive side. If you plan on doing a lot of foreign travel; even at this price it should pay for itself in no time.

This Nuvi is one of the most complete navigation systems available. The Garmin Nuvi 775 T Personal Travel Navigator comes with free traffic updates, lane assist, 3-D buildings, and pre-loaded maps for the United States and Europe.

For foreign travel, I like like the fact that it gives road sign detail; but I have to say my favorite feature on this system is its 'lane assist' feature. It will tell you which lane to be in for your next maneuver.

DeLorme Earthmate PN 20 Handheld GPS

This unit comes very affordable at $249.95. The display is only 2.2 inches, but it has an impact resistant rubber housing in case you should accidentally drop it, and it is waterproof in case you get caught in the rain. Loaded to the DeLorme Earthmate PN 20 Handheld GPS is a basemap of worldwide highways and major roads, with the ability to accept additional detail from the included DeLorme Topo USA 7.0 software.

Not only is the price great on this GPS system, but it runs on 2 AA batteries. Isn't that great?

TomTom Go 920

This TomTom has maps of the United States, Canada and Europe preloaded on its 4GB memory; and it's quite affordable at $449.95.The TomTom Go 920 has clear visual and spoken instructions, with a Speeding Alert that can come in real handy; especially if you aren't used to traveling at kilometers per hour instead of mph.

The 'Help Me' feature tells you where the nearest police station, hospital or car service is based on your current location.

TomTom Go 920T

This TomTom Go 920T has all the same great features as the TomTom Go 920, with the added feature of 'fast route recalculation' just in case you deviate from your original route. You just never know when there will be a road detour. The cost for the unit runs about $499.95

The Garmin Nuvi, as well as Dell and HP have several GPS systems in the $200 range, that though they don't have foreign maps programmed into them, they can be downloaded individually; for wherever you are going to be traveling. It is up to you and your budget, which route you want to go.

Resource:

http://www.consumerreports.org.

http://gps.rated4stars.com