# Best GPS for Travel



## MacDaddy (Jul 16, 2001)

As I will be all over the place, I want to get a GPS unit for my travels. Now, I have never used GPS before, so I am not sure if the features I want are available.

I will be taking lots of photos, and I would like to be able to mark the location in my GPS if I want to come back for more pics (Or if I find a great place but dont have my camera, then I can go back to the exact location). I don't know what this would be called in the GPS world though.

I would like to be able to grab maps of the locations I will be going so it is easier to get around, and so I can also look up coordinated online of good places to go while I am in the area (I have seen sites with GPS codes for cool places).

Of course, the ability to zoom in/out on an area ala Google Maps is something I would like to do as well. I am thinking of spending between $500-$800 on a unit. Anybody have any recommendations?


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## RunTheWorldOnMac (Apr 23, 2006)

A friend tried Tom Tom and ended up 25km from where he was supposed to end up...


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Are you sure your friend didn't input an address 25km away from the actual address?  I mean seriously it should occur to people that the actual roads and the roads on the map don't quite jive...

MyPio or Mio or whatever it was has a little pocket sized GPS for urban walkers...


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

I use Garmin in my RV which has proven accurate and reliable but I suspect you are seeking a hand held unit are you?


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## MacDaddy (Jul 16, 2001)

Sorry, yes, I am looking for Handheld  Thanks SINC haha.


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

i'd strongly recommend Garmin Their 60CX line is a good starting unit that would do what you want as it'll take external cards that can hold mapping information. 

A couple of general tips..


Get one that has a removalbe memory card
I'd spring for color if budget allows
Garmin has decent OSX support
Taking a point of your current location is called a Waypoint. All basic GPS's will do this
You should make sure that what ever you buy has WAAS. Any modern GPS should support WAAS these days but it'll greatly enhance the accuracy of the GPS (from 10+ meters down to 2-3 most of the time)
There's several shareware apps that can help sync photo's to GPS points based on the time date stamp.
On the high end there's the Caplio 500SE that integrates the GPS into the camera body. I bought last years model for field use and its a slick system...though likely over kill for your needs.
 there's also Sony's GPS device for tagging photo's. I've never used one but it looks like it has possibilities.


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## RunTheWorldOnMac (Apr 23, 2006)

They were in Montreal so that explains most of the problem; he probably had to avoid the insanity, weaving in an out and Tom Tom got confused...he checked it over and over and his way point was right...


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

I bought a Mio DigiWalker C220s 1 month ago. 
We used it for our driving trip from St. John's to Ottawa to see our daughters. I am originally from Montreal so I know how to get to Ottawa. TCH all the way!

I decided to get one because the street maps are invaluable. It saved a lot of time to try to find points of interest and desired destinations rather than making wrong turns down unfamiliar streets in a growing city. I must comment that Ottawa has grown since my last trip there in the early 90's and is a very busy place. 
The Mio C220 is a newer model with the SiRFStarIII chip. About $250 from Staples.
Mio Technology Announces C220 Car Navigation System - Mio Press Release - Mio Technology
This model was the cheapest and easiest to use available unit in our area. I would recommend it if you want a basic GPS to get from point A to point B.
The North American maps are 2 years old and need updating but are very accurate. 
This unit can be hacked into becoming a basic Windows CE PDA.
I can use this unit for North American cities and can set multiple waypoints as Points of interest (POI) for future reference if I want. It can be set for vehicle use, for bicycle or motorcycle or for walking. If I wanted to find a certain address in any NA city I would enter it and it's voice or map will direct me. I think a GPS is the greatest thing for travelers since luggage. 
My advice is to check out the websites like GPS Passion Forums: GpsPasSion Forums
and get the NEWEST and best you can afford. There are a lot of older handhelds on sale right now. Some Magellans and Garmins are on clearance at Canadian Tire and Costco but the newer models seem to have better features.

_Added commen_t:Just wanted to add that a lot of the newer GPS units have bluetooth, MP3 players and video player capability which adds to their cost or increases their functionality if you desire those features.


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## kps (May 4, 2003)

A Lowrance is one of the better ones out there. The portable units are extremely accurate and reliable with expandability built in. The expantion cards are not cheap, but very good and up to date. I'll be getting one myself, shortly.

http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Outdoors/default.asp

BTW, the GPS for location tracking of pictures is a great idea.


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

Just for clarification there's really only two things that determine the accuracy of a GPS...1. the availability of GPS satellites available to you at your present location. (tree's and buildings block line of sight which degrades the accuracy) and 2. WAAS. Now that WAAS pretty much covers North America and all modern GPS's use it your accuracy should be sub 5 meters all the time...and often down to 2-3 meters providing you can get a decent number of satellites and a good WAAS signal. So really there shouldn't be any different between a Garmin, Lowrance or Magellan unit as far as accuracy goes its pretty much just features, cost and software which is where Garmin shines as most of the 3rd party app's are written for Garmin. 

There's ways to get well below 1 meter accuracy using control stations but those are typically survey grade and not suitable for what we're talking about here.


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## keebler27 (Jan 5, 2007)

i highly recommend the garmin series as in another post.
quality service, quality product and one of the biggest GPS makers out there.
using it (i have a 76C) is amazingly easy and accurate too. i strolled up to within 10 ft of my buddies during deer hunting in thick spruce forest. it was awesome.

BUT, i will say this...if you can get something with googlemaps for city maps, that would help. the garmins are great, but i sometimes find that google is just that much more updated with new streets etc...


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