Can I rely on the Windows Maps in Lumia 950 XL to tour Italian roads?

[mohmia]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a trip to Italy next week. I'll be doing a bit of driving around the country (mainly from Milan to Rome and bit around Tuscany). How reliable are the Windows maps in Italy? Can I trust it or should I consider getting a dedicated GPS device? If there are any Italian locals or experts here, please share your thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[Axeelant]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a trip to Italy next week. I'll be doing a bit of driving around the country (mainly from Milan to Rome and bit around Tuscany). How reliable are the Windows maps in Italy? Can I trust it or should I consider getting a dedicated GPS device? If there are any Italian locals or experts here, please share your thoughts.

Thanks!

Hi. Neighbour here Slovenia, just next door. Maps never let me down, but recently they have gotten worse. The thing bothering me the most is even if you install offline maps, searching for house number address will find nothing. Cities still work, and the navigating is very accurate. I think you'll be fine with just your phone

 

[mohmia]

Thank you so much for the reply. That's helpful. It's not super reliable in USA either. I learned to live with its quirks. Sometimes I use Google maps on my wife's iPhone and it seems to be more accurate when searching for a fairly new door numbers. But, route planning is more of the same except that Windows maps real time traffic is disabled by default, which is a bummer. HERE maps was a lot better. Anyway, Windows Mobile is on a clear trajectory to a certain death. No point living in the past..

 

[tgp]

Next month my wife and I are going to southern Europe on vacation. We're renting a car in Barcelona, and plan to drive up to Andorra and southern France. Since I'll be using Project Fi, my primary devices will be Android so I will have Google Maps. I will also have an iPad Mini 4 LTE along. However, I still plan to take a dedicated GPS.

The main reason I'm taking a GPS is not because I don't trust Google Maps accuracy, but because I don't want to rely on being online. Google Map's offline feature is very weak, so I won't be able to download everywhere I plan to drive. However, as long as I have a connection I will probably use Google Maps, or maybe both.

Another reason I plan to take a GPS will relate more to your situation. Dedicated GPS units are fail safe. Have you ever asked on a forum whether or not you can rely on your GPS to do its job? If you can trust it? Neither have I. :smile: If I'm driving somewhere I've never been before, and don't speak the language(s), my GPS working is not optional.

While I can't rely on Google Maps for a different reason than why you don't trust Microsoft Maps, the end result is the same; our devices' native maps may not work for us.

 

[RumoredNow]

October 2014, my wife and I traveled in Italy for 35 days. I used HERE maps extensively and was never let down.

Microsoft Maps uses the same database as HERE. I say go for it.

Run a a sanity check by getting on your PC or Tablet and looking up places to bookmark. Make sure they appear on your phone automagically. Then direct the phone to navigate between some different pairs of those points. Look at the resulting directions to see if they seem logical.

Before we left, we watched travel DVDs and I input a whole bunch of waypoints on my laptop. Then when we were in Italy all I needed to do was open mapping on my phone and go. My saved places in Italy are still all there when I open Maps on my phone.

 

[Axeelant]

Run a a sanity check by getting on your PC or Tablet and looking up places to bookmark. Make sure they appear on your phone automagically. Then direct the phone to navigate between some different pairs of those points. Look at the resulting directions to see if they seem logical.

This is actually a great idea, I do this also sometimes. This way you can be sure phone maps will find it. I sometimes even add favorites for the same reason

 

[Ryujingt3]

I would say go for it. I hardly ever use the Maps app, but, when I tried, it was fine for travelling in both the UK and here in Thailand.

 

[mohmia]

October 2014, my wife and I traveled in Italy for 35 days. I used HERE maps extensively and was never let down.

Microsoft Maps uses the same database as HERE. I say go for it.

Run a a sanity check by getting on your PC or Tablet and looking up places to bookmark. Make sure they appear on your phone automagically. Then direct the phone to navigate between some different pairs of those points. Look at the resulting directions to see if they seem logical.

Before we left, we watched travel DVDs and I input a whole bunch of waypoints on my laptop. Then when we were in Italy all I needed to do was open mapping on my phone and go. My saved places in Italy are still all there when I open Maps on my phone.

Thank you for all the tips. I already planned out some of the spots I want to visit n compared the route plans between MS Maps and Google maps, they are pretty much similar except inside small towns G maps seem to take shorter routes with lots of turns and MS map seem to take straight line routes. I don't know which one is easier or efficient. I'll try it share my experience back here.... provided I LIVE to tell that story :grin:.

 

[RumoredNow]

Have a great trip...

What cities are you visiting?

 

[Player Piano]

Just install Here for Android and then you will also have offline maps. I spend 6 weeks each summer in Europe and have had very good luck for both driving and transit using Windows maps.

 

[anon(50597)]

Just install Here for Android and then you will also have offline maps. I spend 6 weeks each summer in Europe and have had very good luck for both driving and transit using Windows maps.

Good to now. Where do you go each summer?

I've been to Germany twice. First time I had a BlackBerry, second time Android. Next time it will be Windows phone so good to know the maps work good over there.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[Player Piano]

Good to now. Where do you go each summer?

I've been to Germany twice. First time I had a BlackBerry, second time Android. Next time it will be Windows phone so good to know the maps work good over there.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

I teach in a study abroad program. We go to Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. I spent 2 summers studying abroad myself as a grad student in Germany. I go back every so often to visit friends. Where in Germany did you go?

 

[anon(50597)]

I teach in a study abroad program. We go to Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy and Greece. I spent 2 summers studying abroad myself as a grad student in Germany. I go back every so often to visit friends. Where in Germany did you go?

That's really nice!
I've been to Munich a couple times, Berlin, Bonn, and a little town called Oberammergau in the Alps. Going to try to go back every couple of years.

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[Ryujingt3]

If we are talking about places in the world we have been, if you do not count airports, it is just the UK and Thailand for me.

 

[mohmia]

Have a great trip...

What cities are you visiting?

Flying into Milan. first stop @ Vinci (of Leonardo da Vinci), then Pisa(Galileo's birthplace) - the two great Italians I admire. then Florence, Rome, Bologna, Maranello/Modena (for Ferrari museum) and back to Milan n head back to NYC :angel:.

 

[RumoredNow]

Flying into Milan. first stop @ Vinci (of Leonardo da Vinci), then Pisa(Galileo's birthplace) - the two great Italians I admire. then Florence, Rome, Bologna, Maranello/Modena (for Ferrari museum) and back to Milan n head back to NYC :angel:.

Wow... That's a full itinerary.

We did 4 cities for about one week each. Venice, Florence, Rome and Sorrento. Also tucked a day trip in there for Verona when traveling between Venice and Florence by train. We barely scratched the surface on the 4 cities we stayed in.

Definitely load up the Maps with Favorites before hand to maximize your efficiency.

 

[tgp]

Wow... That's a full itinerary.

We did 4 cities for about one week each. Venice, Florence, Rome and Sorrento. Also tucked a day trip in there for Verona when traveling between Venice and Florence by train. We barely scratched the surface on the 4 cities we stayed in.

Definitely load up the Maps with Favorites before hand to maximize your efficiency.

I have come to realize that most people travel differently than I do. :wink: My wife and I are going to be gone from home a week total. Part of that time includes renting a car in Barcelona for 3 days. We're driving from Barcelona to Andorra on a Thursday afternoon, and staying in Andorra that night. Friday we plan to drive as far north as the Millau Viaduct in France, and then spend the night in nearby Beziers. Saturday we'll head back to Barcelona. When we return to Barcelona, we'll return the rental car and spend whatever is left of the day and the night in Barcelona. Sunday morning we take the train to Madrid.

 

[anon(50597)]

I have come to realize that most people travel differently than I do. :wink: My wife and I are going to be gone from home a week total. Part of that time includes renting a car in Barcelona for 3 days. We're driving from Barcelona to Andorra on a Thursday afternoon, and staying in Andorra that night. Friday we plan to drive as far north as the Millau Viaduct in France, and then spend the night in nearby Beziers. Saturday we'll head back to Barcelona. When we return to Barcelona, we'll return the rental car and spend whatever is left of the day and the night in Barcelona. Sunday morning we take the train to Madrid.

Sounds great. Enjoy!

Sent from mTalk on my SP4

 

[Captain_Eric]

I have trip envy! Enjoy. Let's see a photo of you holding up the Tower in Pisa!