Hi, we are thinking of buying a GPS, instead of renting from the car company, while travelling down to Perth this September.

The idea is that the GPS will should come with the map of Australia, which we intend to explore in the coming years. Please correct me if I am wrong on the above point.

Please recommend any electronic store or chains which I should go and get the GPS while I am in Perth city. Thank you.

If you already have a GPS unit you may be able to buy a map for it. I traveled around several cities in Australia last month with a map purchased from Garmin for my Nuvi 360. The map came on an SD Memory card and it had maps for New Zealand and a few of the surrounding islands.

I agree with Row2.

We spent a few months in New Zealand and I just installed the Aus/NZ maps to my Garmin GPS.

Worked like a charm.

Thanks for sharing your experience. May I know how much does the map cost? Do you know about map rental for short period? Thank you.

US$119.20 from Amazon

Did not check into it as I go often enough to Australia and New Zealand that I wanted my own. I've also purchased Garmin maps for Western Europe and India albeit the one for India was from a Garmin partner MapMyIndia whose maps were more detailed than Garmins own for India. I make four trips to India a year and a similar number of trips to Western Europe and hence the reason to have my own.

You can buy GPSs in Australia for around A$100 (US$106). Comes with the latest maps, Australian charger, plug in and go.

Here you go:

http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail...Units/WEOGP430

When you leave, you might even be able to get some $$$, or pay it forward with no hassles.

Thank you row2aisle and paul79uf for sharing your experience. I do not have a gps now and will check with my country's garmin distributor on the cost of purchase of Australia map then compare with the price in amazon. So if I order from amazon, I'll receive a sd card with the map? What about future updates, does it mean I'll have to buy again? Once again, I appreciate your sharing of experience, it's of great help. Thank you.

Hi willyroo, thank you for the Australia web link provided. Do you know if they allow reservation to be made without advance payment? I'm thinking of reserve to collect in Perth city then pick up when I arrive? Thank you.

You'll receive a micro SD card already inserted into an sd card adapter.

You don't get future updates with the sd card version; if you want updates then you'll have to get the CD version which provides you the capability to update online. I'm not sure if you get free future updates beyond the first update.

You may be able to get the CD version in downloadable format (please check Garmin web site for that option)

No reservation, Officeworks is a large office supply retailer similar to Staples or Office Depot in the states.

But if you already have a gps try googling "free gps maps australia" -- there are at least 2 freebies that seem to have pretty good reviews.

Hi zarf4, I do not have a gps yet. Thinking of getting locally or in Australia. I googled and is track4australia one of the good reviews you mentioned? Thank you.

I have all three of the following offline maps for my iPhone & iPad and they are adequate in many respects but I went ahead and purchased the Garmin map anyway as I wanted detailed voice turn by turn instructions, driving stats, ETA, etc., plus the POIs which turned out to be very useful when looking for gas stations, restaurants and other points of interest (POI):

Australia - Offline map with directU
CityMaps2Go
MapsWithMe

If you don't already have a GPS I'd just pick one up in Perth. I've used a few free maps in several countries and they're quite helpful for presenting a moving map, but are limited in other functions. Just suggested it as a budget friendly option especially if you're not going to be there long.

I'm in Oz a lot & picked up a cheapie Garmin at Officeworks a few years back. In addition to the turn-by-turn voice navigation the database knows the speed limits on most used streets and highways and will chime when you go over. This can be a lifesaver as many speed limits in Oz seem quite slow compared to the US and they're much more stringent in enforcement (/me looks YOUR way Victoria.) Many times I'll see a 45 kph limit on a road that feels like it should be 50 mph. The database also knows about speed/red light cameras and like ROW2Aisle points out the POIs are much better.

On a side note - in the States I have my Garmin set to use the Aussie voice 'Karen' for navigation (um, shouldn't it be 'Kazza'?) and it's a hoot driving around Southern California with all the spanish street names.

Hi zarf4 and row2aisle, thank you so much for your insightful advices. For a first time gps user and traveler to Perth, the pois will definitely be very useful, thanks for highlighting this point!

Row2aisle, may I know why you purchase the garmin maps from amazon and not the local garmin distributor? Is it cheaper?

Zarf4, thanks for Recommending officeworks. In the event I do not get a good deal locally, I'll definitely be going there to get my gps. Thanks again.

If you already have a device, it makes sense to add the maps before you get to your destination. That way you turn on the device, select your map, and away you go.

Also - to buy Garmin maps via a retail store will cost you around A$190...

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/Garmin/city...-2010-microsd/

Finally - if you're going to come to Australia, and don't have a GPS, how about:

1) Buy a TomTom Go730 for $100 from Amazon
2) Buy the Australia map for $80

TomTom and Garmin are both good - the TT maps are cheaper. They are the same ones as Garmin, coming from Sensis Australia (not Navteq).

My original recommendation stands - go to Officeworks and buy the cheapie.