Finding Your Way in a Rental Car
Navigation is one of those rental car add-ons that generates disproportionate profit for the rental company. At €8–15 per day for a basic GPS unit, a two-week rental adds €112–210 for a device that does the same thing as the smartphone already in your pocket. Here's how to navigate smartly and save money.
Option 1: Your Smartphone (Best for Most Travelers)
Google Maps and Waze are free, frequently updated, and include real-time traffic, speed camera warnings, and fuel station locations. For most travelers, a smartphone is the best navigation tool for a rental car.
Key preparation: Download offline maps for your destination before you travel. Google Maps allows you to download entire regions for offline use — essential for areas with poor mobile coverage (rural Iceland, Scottish Highlands, Australian outback). Waze works only online but provides the best real-time traffic and police alerts.
What you need: A phone mount (€5–15 — buy before your trip or at the airport), a car charger or USB cable (GPS drains battery quickly), and a local SIM card or eSIM for data. SimTravelGuide.com has comprehensive eSIM comparisons for travelers.
Pros: Free, always up-to-date, works everywhere you have data, familiar interface, integrates with your existing trip planning.
Cons: Drains battery fast, requires data or offline maps, screen size is smaller than dedicated units, can overheat in hot climates on the dashboard.
Download offline maps from Google Maps offline mode before your trip for navigation without data.
Option 2: Rental Company GPS Unit
GPS units from the rental desk are convenient — they're pre-loaded with local maps and ready to go. But at €8–15/day, they're one of the rental industry's biggest markups. A basic Garmin or TomTom unit costs €100–150 to buy, and the rental company recovers that cost after just 10–15 rental days.
When it makes sense: Very short rentals (1–2 days) where the daily cost is tolerable, destinations where your phone won't work (no signal, no eSIM available), or if your phone is old/unreliable and you don't want to risk navigation failure.
When it doesn't: Any rental longer than 3 days — at that point, the cost of buying a cheap phone mount and downloading offline maps is less than the GPS rental fee.
Option 3: The Car's Built-In Navigation
Some rental cars (typically mid-range and above) come with factory-installed navigation systems. These are usually included in the rental at no extra cost, and offer the advantage of a large, integrated screen. However, built-in systems often have outdated maps, clunky interfaces compared to smartphone apps, limited or no real-time traffic data, and language options that may not include yours.
Use the built-in system as a backup, but don't rely on it as your primary navigation tool unless it's a recent model with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto — which lets you run your phone's navigation on the car's screen (best of both worlds).
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Compare eSIMs on SimTravelGuide →Navigation Tips for Unfamiliar Roads
Study your route briefly before starting the car — having a general sense of direction prevents panic when the GPS signal drops or the route recalculates unexpectedly. Set your navigation to avoid toll roads if you want to save money (or include them if you want to save time). Use the "via" function to add waypoints for planned stops rather than entering each destination separately. And most importantly, if you're lost or confused, pull over safely and reorient — trying to read a map while driving on unfamiliar roads is dangerous.