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GPS or not? GPS or not?
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 25 Mar 2005
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GPS or not?

I'm just getting off on a Mexico-Argentina trip, trying to travel as lightly (and cheaply!) as possible, and am debating the merits of investing in GPS unit for this trip. Any insight from people who how been there/done that?

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  #2  
Old 25 Mar 2005
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GPS isn`t absolutely neccessary, but its nice to have! Since you will need to by good paper maps anyway, you can travel without the GPS. If travelling cheap is one of your criteria, I would say don`t worry about it. Your profile indicates you are from Mexico? If so, your communication skills with the locals may provide as much directional info as the GPS can provide (where is this road going? etc..)
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  #3  
Old 26 Mar 2005
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On our own trip through South America all we used was a map of South America, not even one for the individual countries. Lots of times we were on roads that weren't on the map, but it really didn't matter, there was lots of peope to ask, and signposts were common. And if you're not on the right road, does it really matter? Sooner or later you'll get somewhere!

KISS principle - keep it super simple - and cheap! The cost of a gps is a couple of weeks travel. 'nough said. Definitely not necessary.



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  #4  
Old 26 Mar 2005
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two camps on gps

1. everyone i know that brought one down here loves it. i´ve seen them. they are cool. if you´re into gadgets you´ll probably have a great time with it. the only complaint i heard was that one of the guys i knew didnt purchase more detailed maps for his which he felt would´ve provided more information.

and camp two...

2. most people (including us) come down here with paper maps. we actually came with very few maps. i´ve always got my maps for free at the border or found the tourism office sooner or later (also gratis). we never had a problem finding our way anywhere and people are so happy to help you. often times we found ourselves on un-mapped roads but that just added to the fun!

if i had to do this trip again i would save my money (which runs out quite fast) and spend it on the trip....not on a gps.

ride safe!
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  #5  
Old 7 Apr 2005
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A GPS isn't much use without a map anyway. No good knowing your exact Lat/Long if you don't know where that is relative to important things like towns and roads.

Reasons I bought a GPS for my South America tour (start 2006 hopefully):

1. I like to have something to do while I'm riding. GPS will tell you lots of cool stuff like how far it is to the next city (in a straight line, which isn't always that useful), when the sun sets, what way north is (I tried a compass, it doesn't work very well mounted to the handle bars) speed and distance in kms (useful because I don't like converting my mph odo to km all the time) and what the time is. All of this is interesting to know while riding, not essential, but interesting.

2. The track back feature is handy around towns. You can start from somewhere, drive until you're lost and then follow your track back to where you started.

3. I like gadgets

I wouldn't bother with a flash GPS with moving maps and that sort of thing. That takes all the fun out of it. Most of the really useful stuff is available on a small, low price machine, <$200 US. I recommend the Garmin Geko 201.
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  #6  
Old 7 Apr 2005
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hello out there,

as a desert lover i've been riding through vast unmapped, uninhabited countryside in several areas. if you got something like that in mind, i strongly recommend to carry a gps. not too expensive: my "geko 101" costs about 120 bucks and is as small as a cell phone.
especially the puna/atacama area provides little orientation in some places. the same problem appears in areas of the coastal deserts in peru.
nevertheless - most other areas are easily covered without satellites! there are maps and people, food and water. so what can happen except of an unplanned detour? to me, things like that only add to the fun of such a journey...

good luck to everyone
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  #7  
Old 7 Apr 2005
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I agree that a GPS is of little use witout a map. Those simple monochrome GPS's with only Long/Lat displays are pretty useless anyway IMHO
However, I have a Garmin GPSmap 60CS which has a colour screen and map display. It's Great! (But expensive )

The GPS maps of Africa are excellent but I'm not so sure about the same maps for South America
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