Sat Nav ? map book ? or just looking at the signs ? journies

We have MrsTom who is now about 12 years old. Unfortunately she cannot be updated on an iMac! I absolutely love her and she has USA maps too.
I was once travelling with DD who was using Google maps on her phone and she got a phone call - lost all the map info and I had no idea how to reprogramme it.
When we were new to using a satnav we used it on known journeys to get used to the instructions she uses. We have some other cheap job DH got on the Internet and I don’t get on with that at all. Uses quite a different form of instruction.
Mrs Tom is so good in a city finding a street or changing motorways on an unfamiliar journey.

Mawbroon. Thank you.

Twiceasnice not sure what phone you have but how about googling how to get voice over for your model of phone...have you switched it to vehicle once your in the car (other than the walking icon) just a thought.. my dd sorted mine out....trouble is I downloaded a map yesterday and have noticed my data used up but I dont know if it because I have been using multi media messaging so it may be that..I know u can download them off line so will try again soo. I think the phone might be the way to go as it will update the google maps and you wont have to pay extra.

My sat nav packed in recently and thought I'd try google maps on my iPhone at daughters suggestion. However I can't seem to get the voice on it when it's on the cradle in the car although it talks if you use it when walking. Can anybody advise me on how to get the voice to work whist the phone is in the cradle

We do have a sat nav but have been sent all round the mulberry bush on occasion.

If we're going on a previously unknown journey I usually print off a route map first as well - AA or Google, and use that too.

I'm still a fan of Tom Tom.

I used to plan routes using AA paper maps and their online routefinder. I'd write journey sections on post it notes stuck to the dashboard. One time, on the way to the west country, the M5 was closed and traffic rerouted through Bristol after dark. I got so terribly lost I thought I would never emerge out the other end! After that I went straight out and bought the SatNav.

I have an old smartphone which suits me with a cheap sim and small data allowance so wondering if the Google Maps option would work for me.

I find TomTom invaluable in towns and cities although there do seem to be blackspots where directions are at best confusing and at times just wrong even though I do update regularly.

The point hildajennij was however that as biker and I have now lost our DHs, we are discussing how best to cope with long or unfamiliar journeys on our own.

So while I am happy for you that your DH navigates/drives etc it doesn’t really help does it?

My DH doesn't trust technology! When we are travelling he insists on using a map. I usually use my phone.

SAT NAV! would not be without it, consider it a necessity now - especially getting the last mile or two.

I've got a built in sat nav so obviously use that. I also check on google in advance so I have a rough idea too. I now have a very good mobile, gift from my youngest son so if I didn't have the built in sat nav I'd use the phone. Picture quality on the phone is outstanding too. I don't use the voice on the sat nav as any sort of reassurance, more a case of not needing to take my eyes off the road, but whenever my Son is in the car he mutes it which is very disconcerting because she may be annoying and frequently wrong so I argue with her but that's preferable to silence.

Had a practice with my phone, only local about 5 miles.
Didnt look at the phone just followed the voice.

Seemed pretty good, plus I presume google maps will update automatically.

as pitcity mentioned apparantly you can download the maps at home that way it doesnt use much data..Ive been searching and googling and if you do it that way it uses roughly about 5MB an hour.

My MBs didn't move or go down but maybe I hadn't used the map long enough .

thanks for all suggestions everyone..maybe I will be messaging from John O Groats lol or Lands End lol next tim.

Love "Satan" lol

Me I'm a sort the route out on the laptop kind of person and have a map book in the car.

But I will use 'Satan" (that's what I'm calling it from now on) in case there are incidents. With voice off unless I need it.

However, just got a new phone deal so now have data for Google maps, both my girls swear by Google maps so I'll try that out.

I don't think I'd use road signs only, I like to be better prepared.

Good Luck and happy travels.

I generally have the Sat Nav on just in case for long journeys. It dings when it senses a speed camera. I’m not a speed queen but you never know.
We’ve had it for years, update it regularly and now I’m used to how she works. I also have a map and have actually stopped to check ‘her’ route! She’s generally correct.
My husband has an inbuilt bit of kit but , as tanith said, the garage want a fortune to update it so sometimes it shows us driving over a field instead of down a new bit of road!
I was with my sister at the weekend and we used her phone. I preferred the tom tom but that could be because it’s familiar.

I think you misunderstood my post (or I worded it badly). I said that after using sat nav (I think I called it a routing app) on my phone I would not be wasting money buying a dedicated sat nav, as the phone provided a perfectly adequate alternative.

M0nica Thu 05-Jul-18 16:20:00
I have never really seen the point of sat nav. I am used to driving long distances alone and I can read and memorise a route etc
Of if only we were all so perfect.
I too have been driving to and from Scotland from London on my own since my early twenties but let’s face it there are other parts of the country one may be driving to for the first time, country lanes, back streets, residential areas, one way systems in cities and pedestrianised areas which may not have been in place the last time you went anywhere. So let’s not diss those who might like to he reassurance of a voice to help find the way.
In the absence of Bikers DH and mine, Satnav or Google maps on the mobile are often welcome.

When I am going somewhere unfamiliar I check it out on AARoutemaster then use aggie in the car. And I always have a local map and a big Road map in the car just in case.

My sense of direction is appalling but DH, both sons and DD2 are brilliant. Other 2 daughters are as bad as me!

I don't drive much now - old age plus living in a busy town with good public transport.
My preferred method was maps, but no doubt they're out of date too. I haven't driven here yet, if I dared to I would go by road signs. I think I can remember the road numbers.

I have never really seen the point of sat nav. I am used to driving long distances alone and I can read and memorise a route from a map and like to know the context of any journey I make. At least 90% of the journeys I make are to known destinations using known routes. If I go wrong on a route I can usually unravel myself without reference even to a map.

However, last week we had to go to Derby and then to York, we knew the route and I had the road atlas, but out of curiosity I also switched the Google Maps navigation system on my phone.

Essentially it followed the route we had plotted, but regularly suggested alternative off motorway routes when there was congestion ahead. We ignored these while in areas we were unfamiliar with, but used a suggested alternative route as we got near York because we had a pretty good idea where it went and it helped us avoid congestion and it worked.

I would certainly use the routing app on the phone again, should I need it, but using it has left me even more convinced that buying a sat nav is a waste of time and money.

I find using a sat nav very useful for long and unfamiliar journeys but I do have a hard copy map in the back of my car too. Sometimes I look at that before I start the journey to give myself some idea in advance.

It isn't so much that I need it for the main roads but, when you get to a town or city, it is very useful for finding residential addresses.

I must admit I was a bit nervous about using one at first but I soon got used to it.

I use 'Tommy" on unfamiliar journeys but I always check the map book before setting off as I like to know a few miles in advance what to expect.
The cost of data on my phone puts me off Google maps whilst driving. Does it work out expensive Maw ?

There are lots of Sat Nav apps for your mobile that don't use data. We use "Here we go" and "Navmi". You download your maps at home when you can use wifi. We have a phone cradle and a car charger.

I used Google maps while visiting London at the beginning of this week. We went to the preview evening of the RHS flower show at Hampton Court, and stayed in Hampton Wick. Granted, I only used the maps while on foot but they were really useful. I've never used them in the car, but my DD and DS do it all the time for long journeys.

I love the SatNav on our family car but I have my own little car for golf, shopping etc. I had a 'fascinating'; trip round the entire Leicestershire countryside last week whilst following my AA route that I had printed out before I started to journey to a golf club about 12 miles away!!! Get a SatNav.

Satan'? I love it!

I have an in-built sat-nav (autocorrect wants to change that to sat-nag, also v appropriate!) in my car but Dh doesn't in his.

We have a Tom-Tom, partly because I only have the smallest iPhone and the screen would be too small to read comfortably. Also, we use the Tom-Tom in America where using a U.K. mobile would be prohibitively expensive.

When it comes to journey planning, I look on an atlas or on Google maps for the major roads and then follow the road signs. I then just use my sat-nav for the last bit near to my destination when I might be negotiating small, obscure roads.

I think Satans is quite a good name for the sort of SatNav that gets pantechnicons stuck in tiny winding village streets!