What is the most cost effective way to get turn-by-turn navigation in the UK?
Extracting from the comments a question on buying a GPS in the UK, what is the most cost effective way to get turn-by-turn navigation in the UK?
Comparison of costs:
- Buying a GPS in the UK, less than GBP40/AUD$75.
- Buying UK maps and taking our own GPS, AUD$75.
- Renting a GPS from a car rental agency, GBP168/AUD$300 (12 days @ GBP14/day).
- Using either of our phones with maps, AUD$30.46 per MB (HAHAHA!).
Best Answer
Along with this question, you can get a Data Sim from O2 for GBP10 that offers 1GB of data. That should be enough for quite some time of navigation I would think, and it's cheaper than any of your listed alternatives.
The additional advantage is that you will not have to pay for internet in the hotel or elsewhere to do your email or send some photos home. If you put those costs into your budget, this method might pay for itself, depending on how much the hotel charges you for internet or if you are willing to always scout for free access internet.
On top of that, you can use the cellphone to navigate you while you are walking through the city more comfortably than carrying a GPS around with you.
Along with EdmondYeung99's suggestion, it's of course highly recommended t equip yourself with a car usb charger!
Pictures about "What is the most cost effective way to get turn-by-turn navigation in the UK?"
What is the best app for turn by turn navigation?
Best for Android Users: Google Maps Street-level view provides photographic view of destinations. Provides real-time traffic alerts.What is the best navigation app in UK?
The best satnav apps- Google Maps - Apple and Android Devices.
- Apple Maps - Apple Devices.
- CoPilot Premium HD Europe - Apple and Android Devices.
- TomTom GO Mobile App - Apple and Android Devices.
- Waze - Apple and Android Devices.
What is the best free navigation app?
20 Best Free GPS Navigation Apps & Traffic Apps for 2022 | Android & iOS- Google Maps.
- Waze.
- MapQuest.
- Maps.Me.
- Scout GPS.
- InRoute Route Planner.
- Apple Maps.
- MapFactor Navigator.
What is the best paid navigation app?
The best GPS apps and navigation apps for Android- BackCountry Navigator.
- HERE WeGo.
- MapFactor.
- MapQuest.
- Google Maps and Waze.
New generation, low-cost, lane-level, precise turn-by-turn navigation application
More answers regarding what is the most cost effective way to get turn-by-turn navigation in the UK?
Answer 2
If you currently have a GPS device, you may be able to load OpenStreetMap based maps on it for free. eg this is possible for most models of Garmins.
For getting OSM maps on a Garmin, easiest to use this website: Garmin.OpenStreetMap.nl. You can pick which country you want, and it will give you a file to download. Depends on your device and how much memory it has, you may be able to load maps for a number of countries at once. Or you could put maps on separate SD cards, and swap them around as required.
OpenStreetMap generally has good coverage for roads in most of the UK. Plus it has a lot of off-road details, eg footpaths, and lots of points of interest, eg shops, pubs, hotels. OSM can be regularly updated, so often has newly built roads not yet shown on any other maps.
Answer 3
I would highly recommend getting a GPS over using mobile with data. From my experience, mobile signal is sketchy outside of the city. Also you don't have to worry about your phone battery etc.
Try some companies that just rent GPS devices (on the cheap):
Regarding GPS from the car rental company:
The cheapest car options from most car rental companies in the UK, are still new models and often come with GPS albeit disabled. Call them up to see if they incl GPS for free or if its an extra. I've experienced both cases where we skipped on the GPS only to find the car came with the GPS for free. The other time it was disabled.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Tim Samuel, Dids, Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio