Everyone is different on this sort of thing. Yes, it does work over there, and works well. But "getting lost" is part of the fun if you are not in a hurry. Some of the best days I ever had -- and the best experiences I ever enjoyed in Ireland -- were those moments where I ended up talking to locals for help with directions. Usually that conversation led me to staying in the small village I had stumbled into for a few hours instead of a few minutes. And my "plans" for the the day became altered in a wonderful fashion.

I would not consider having a GPS on a trip in Ireland, but that's just my opinion. If it makes you feel more secure, then do it.

I'll take a good map and great people helping whenever it is needed instead.  As the old quote goes about Ireland, there are no strangers there, just friends you have yet to meet. 




-- Edited by Sidz at 11:30, 2008-04-22

Some of my wife's cousins have GPS units -- they even offered us the use of one, last year.  According to them, they are great, for finding your way in and around the CITIES , like Cork, Dublin Limmerick and Belfast.  They also say that the units do a FAIR job on the MAIN roads, but that they're not so useful, anywhere near the 'off the beaten path'. 

So, I guess it all depends upon YOUR plans and comfort level ( and, your budget).

Bob

When me and my brother went to ireland he brought his gps. What he would do is mark the location of where we were staying and then we take off. We drive around the whole day getting lost and finding great things to do. At the end of the day we pull out the gps and the gps would show us how to get back to where we were staying. It was very cool cause we could do what we want, go where ever we wanted, see what ever we wanted, but always knew where home was. The gps is great for that.

We just got back and I must say, purchasing a GPS and Ireland maps was the best investment we have ever made! We did a lot like Matt and his brother, and used the GPS to help us get back to our B&B's each day. It also came in quite handy when we were out in the middle of no where in a torential rain storm. Getting directions from the locals is great, and usually my preference, but when we were far from people, it was a real lifesaver. It worked great in the large cities, such as Belfast, Derry and Donegal, but it also worked well out and about. We only a "blip" and the map didn't recognize them.

We purchased the Ireland/Great Brittan map card from the satnavstore.com. The total price to purchase everything came out to about $50 more than renting one for the 2+ weeks we were there, and we still have it to use back here in the states, as well as our next trip to Ireland!