# GPS recommendation



## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

HI All, We just got back from Staples trying to buy a GPS for our car, for the trip. The guy said it would not have maps of Mexico. Any suggestions? I sometimes read on this forum people talking about the GPS (I think it was this forum..), so I thought I'd throw it out there. Thanx for any input!


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## kazslo (Jun 7, 2010)

I bought a TomTom XL at walmart last year, I think it was around $100. There _are_ many gps with maps of Mexico-USA-Canada straight out of the box. Confirm the route on your computer and with the Rutas Punto a Punto page and adjust as necessary. On my last trip through mostly cuotas, I think the GPS lost its signal maybe once or twice for about 3 minutes, but other than that it did a wonderful job.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

*Garmin Nuvi 1350 LMT*

I also bought a TomTom which came with Mexico. Unfortunately the mounting system for a windshield mount leaves a lot to be desired and, bottom line, while I was trying to get it mounted, I pushed the screen accidentally while I was mounting it and that was the end. It worked great in the USA - but sitting in a hot car trying to stick it to the windshield was no fun.

So, I went out and bought a Garmin Nuvi 1350 LMT on line. It is last years model so it was inexpensive. LMT means it comes with life time map updates and traffic notification. It comes with the USA and Canada built in which you can constantly update at no additional charge. There is a $39.95 Garmin Mexico map addition (updates on Mexico at additional charge) you purchase online. I did, and then took it with me on my last trip to Ajijic, it worked fine, the maps are very detailed. [I think Rolly has something posted about GPS, check it out].

The mounting system to the windshield is almost fool proof, there is no chance of destroying your machine. It has text to speech, in English, for all the maps.

Yes, I recommend it as a low cost, lower end solutions. There are higher end ones, but I didn't seem to need them.

BTW - when you come, also but the Guia Roji to keep in your car, the 2012 edition is available online, for us old time map readers.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

If you have a smartphone with google maps, AND you keep it running in MX, I've been told that the google maps for MX work well.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

mickisue1 said:


> If you have a smartphone with google maps, AND you keep it running in MX, I've been told that the google maps for MX work well.


Doesn't that mean you are linked to your USA carrier thru their network? I know that to avoid weird charges on my USA AT&T phone, I need to take it off the AT&T network when I get to Mexico and can only access the internet on it by using a wireless signal at a hotspot, or I get a phenomenal bill. But then I am not to savvy when it comes to mobile phones.


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## Ken Wood (Oct 22, 2011)

We use Tom-Tom and are completely satisfied with the service in Mexico. Just today, we were in an area of Celaya that we were not familiar with, and it got us where we wanted to be with no hiccups. I have used it to travel across Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, and the list goes on. It does lag a little in finding a precise business if you only have the name of the business, but I attribute that to a less than optimum system of getting the business names into the data base, not the unit itself. Our Mexico download was free, if not free, it should not be prohibitively epensive to buy.

Regarding the windshield mount, we do not use it because we feet like it is a distraction to the driver. We also will not drive cross country without another human awake and conversing with the driver. This person then functions as the navigator, whose duties include interpreting Tom-Tom. Maybe a bit overly cautious, but it works for us.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

Thanx everyone for all your comments! I just wrote this and one key stroke deleted it arrgghh.
Anyway we found ourselves in Costco & purchased the Garmin nuvi2460 that comes with Mexico maps. It's now charging...oh boy oh boy a new toy for hubby (to be set up by me ha ha). 
I do have a smart phone (IPhone) but the battery gets sucked dry so quickly with google maps/directions and in Mexico the roaming charges kill me. The plan is to disconnect ATT as soon as we land in Playa Ventura and hook up with Telcel who doesn't require the data pkg like ATT. I'll "do data" on my laptop since I have wifi but no cell service...have to drive 5 min up the road to get cell service. Anyway did I say you all are great??


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

FHBOY said:


> Doesn't that mean you are linked to your USA carrier thru their network? I know that to avoid weird charges on my USA AT&T phone, I need to take it off the AT&T network when I get to Mexico and can only access the internet on it by using a wireless signal at a hotspot, or I get a phenomenal bill. But then I am not to savvy when it comes to mobile phones.


There are at least two ways to deal with it.

The first would be to have your phone broken and unlocked, and get a sim card for MX as soon as you cross the border. In an iPhone, google maps is an integral part.

The second would be to buy a month's worth of international airtime, and turn off texting, so you can use the cell towers for your American sim card, but not rack up tons of text costs.

I'm sure there are others, but that's the limits of my "expertise".


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## RPBHaas (Dec 21, 2011)

terrybahena said:


> Thanx everyone for all your comments! I just wrote this and one key stroke deleted it arrgghh.
> Anyway we found ourselves in Costco & purchased the Garmin nuvi2460 that comes with Mexico maps. It's now charging...oh boy oh boy a new toy for hubby (to be set up by me ha ha).
> I do have a smart phone (IPhone) but the battery gets sucked dry so quickly with google maps/directions and in Mexico the roaming charges kill me. The plan is to disconnect ATT as soon as we land in Playa Ventura and hook up with Telcel who doesn't require the data pkg like ATT. I'll "do data" on my laptop since I have wifi but no cell service...have to drive 5 min up the road to get cell service. Anyway did I say you all are great??


May I suggest, Telcel has an option for either 3gb for smart phone plans per month or unlimited internet for iPhone for 379mxn per month or just under $30usd. The other part of the plan, which makes all the difference in the world, is how many minutes, SMS etc and ranges from 390mxn up to 1300mxn per month. The practical exchange rate yesterday was 13.85mxn to $1usd. You will be able to obtain a Telcel plan with your Passport and FMM.


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## Levi_501 (Aug 13, 2011)

I have a Garmin and cannot fault it.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

RPBHaas said:


> May I suggest, Telcel has an option for either 3gb for smart phone plans per month or unlimited internet for iPhone for 379mxn per month or just under $30usd. The other part of the plan, which makes all the difference in the world, is how many minutes, SMS etc and ranges from 390mxn up to 1300mxn per month. The practical exchange rate yesterday was 13.85mxn to $1usd. You will be able to obtain a Telcel plan with your Passport and FMM.


ooh thank you very much!


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## Grizzy (Nov 8, 2010)

I have used my Garmin Nuvi all over Mexico and it has worked well except for some glitches in larger cities with lateral roads. I try to remember to update the maps every month or so as there always seem to be upgrades for Mexico roads on the Garmin database.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I've tried GPS but still prefer a good paper map, which allows me to familiarize myself with the surrounding areas and alternate routes. I need to know more than just where to turn next. A GPS can take you to where you want to go, but you won't really know where you are when you arrive. Take away the GPS and you can't get home.


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## Detailman (Aug 27, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> I've tried GPS but still prefer a good paper map, which allows me to familiarize myself with the surrounding areas and alternate routes. I need to know more than just where to turn next. A GPS can take you to where you want to go, but you won't really know where you are when you arrive. Take away the GPS and you can't get home.


GPS conks out and I don't have my wife with me. REALLY up the creek!


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## Ken Wood (Oct 22, 2011)

With all due respect (I'm an old sailor myself) to each his own...I'm sure there are mariners somewhere who still say bad things about electronic navigation at sea. The power goes out, and you don't have a good sextant, SOL. I traveled all my life with paper maps, but consider this the next generation. It can help me find a gas station in a pinch, a restaurant, the traffic congestion on a particular route, and can suggest an alternate route if the need arises. I keep my old maps and guidebooks at hand, but I'm all over the technology of GPS. I used the same system, a slightly different application, while hunting in the boonies of Alaska. How convenient to drop a caribou, field dress it, punch one button on my Garmin, walk back to camp, gather up my partners, and hike back to within a few feet of the caribou. Paper maps carried us for all my father's life and most of mine, but they are now folded up and put away, to be pulled out for occasional use only.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> I've tried GPS but still prefer a good paper map, which allows me to familiarize myself with the surrounding areas and alternate routes. I need to know more than just where to turn next. A GPS can take you to where you want to go, but you won't really know where you are when you arrive. Take away the GPS and you can't get home.


Ha ha the GPS is for him, the maps are for me. I have a Mexico atlas, and google maps printed out for each 8-10 hour leg of our journey thru Mexico. I do like like GPS, but I trust maps, and like you RVRINGO I like to see what's there, what's where and more than one way to get to/around it!


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

terrybahena said:


> Ha ha the GPS is for him, the maps are for me. I have a Mexico atlas, and google maps printed out for each 8-10 hour leg of our journey thru Mexico. I do like like GPS, but I trust maps, and like you RVRINGO I like to see what's there, what's where and more than one way to get to/around it!


Two summers ago, our youngest was with us, driving to South Padre Island the day after his brother's wedding.

We wanted to stop at a gas station to get a map, and he was nearly sputtering at the foolishness of the old fogies.

"I've got GPS in my phone!"

'Yes, but we like to see the whole route."

"You can see it on the phone!"

"Yes, but we like to see it bigger than 2" X 3."

"What difference does it make? You can still see it! This is stupid!!"


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

Maps and GPS are not mutually exclusive. I have and use both. My Guia Roji will be just as important as my Garmin. 

You know, to us old farts, it is like the Rolodex vs. contact program on your computer, iPhone etc. I loved my Rolodex and my address book because it was analog and it was more "general" - I didn't need t key word or something to find what I wanted, I could turn back and forth, compare in seconds. It was like my old pocket appointment calendar book, I could see it all and not just what I was looking for, and relate visually one thing with another.

It is like that with maps, I love my GPS when I am driving, when I know where I want to go and only have the goal of getting there. But I love my maps that show me what is on the way to "there". GPS is more up-to-date, but the info you get is just that much more selective, which mean you need to select what you want. A map is a puzzle, you may not know what you want, but it is all in front of you.

So, find it on the map, set your GPS and go - they don't care, they both love you.


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