We are looking to travel to Italy in 2016 for a month, but not all in one hit. We are looking to travel stopping for a few days at a time and visiting various places on the way and we're hoping for some advice and recommend of maps to use in planning our trip and to use in conjunction with our satnav. We have 2001 Triton 420 GT which we have owned now for a year and sill a bit wet behind the ears to this caravaning lark and we are throughly enjoying it. Have got some great tips form the members here and will greatly appreciate any advice.

Sleeping dog(Mick & Shirley)

We use the folding maps - here you can get good ones that don't tear! With an atlas, I always seem to have my route on a fold. Frustrating.

To be honest when we were abroad we used a BFG (BRITISH FORCES GERMANY) map which was fine for Germany and a few miles over the borders (then). When moving over the borders (unless returning to the UK) We used either the E (E = European) route number, however when deviating from the autobahns / strada etc we tended to use Michelin fold out maps and a large atlas type map.

For us it was a case of getting to wherever we were going and not sightseeing (as we were on holiday and time was limited) we did Etna in Sicily and Lido de Jesolo in Italy from Hamelm (Germany), quite a few miles involved in each trip, on these maps.

For larger cities they are sometimes shown miles! away on the road signs, ie we came back through Mittenwald (Germany) from Innsbruck (Austria) and joined he Autobahn and were surprised to see Hamburg and Hannover on the road signs which are pretty much the other end of the country.

I know lots of you like to deviate and take in the surrounding areas, and I would opt for Sat Nav where you can plot your route via locations, and back this up by a good set of larger scale "area" maps (charity shops often have these, although they may be out of date!) and a good spiral bound atlas.

The important thing imho is to update where you are on Sat Nav to your map!! I used to drive from various military bases near Hamburg and Hannover back to the UK and then you could come through the Ruhr area on about 8 different routes, not much diffrence in mileage but some were way quicker! It came down to local knowledge for me in the end as we lived in Germany for a total of 17 years, hth

One thing NOT to do is trust the sat nav, ours has often tried to take down some very strange roads, and in Morocco as we drove along a coast road it insisted that we were 300 metres out to sea
Dave

For journey planning, you don't need to look much further than Google maps. When we're off to somewhere new, we plan a route on Google and check that the satnav is taking us the same way. We also check the last few miles to the campsite using Streetview, which we've found to be marvellous. We also do a lot of homework on the area we are visiting before we leave home to start plotting walks and rides.

On site, we tend to use the cycles for local travel and have a hand-held GPS with Open Street map and Open Cycle map for the whole of Europe.

And........ we do have a paper atlas of France on the parcel shelf of the car. In practice, if we go wrong we rely on the satnav to correct itself.

Keith

M&S

Garmin's coverage of Italy is pretty good, can't speak for Tom Tom.

If you want a general map, the Michelin Italy Tourist and Motoring Atlas 1:200,000 is as good as any. If you want a flat map, try the Touring Club Italy set, 15 maps cover Italy. For walking Kompass are a good bet and if you can find them the IGM military series are excellent. Smaller scale maps are available from Stanford's in Long Acre or the Map Shop in Upton-upon-Severn.

Italian campsites in season, are expensive, crowded and tend not to have the best facilities. As already said ACSI is a must out of season. On the bright side, most small villages and towns have a Sosta for Campervans and do not object to a caravan staying overnight.

Italy has more World Heritage sites than any other country so you will find plenty to see, but do not miss Ravenna, which has 8. The mosaics of Ravenna are quite simply stunning.

Finally, given your moniker, you should be aware of Canine Leishmaniasis and the dangers associated with ticks if you are planning on taking your dog.

Buon Viaggio.

C

We use the Michelin book of France (which I renew every 2 years, I love maps) along with our Garmin...Sat Nav is not to be entirely trusted so we usually check our route........ unless we're using the motorways. We also use Google to plan and check the access route to campsites if we are concerned. I've got the ACSI App maps of France, Spain and Portugal, on my tablet, which are brilliant and can be used offline...you do have to pay annually for each country but only a couple of pounds...which is not expensive, in my view, they are well worth the money...they are automatically updated.

Yep! Agree about the ACSI app and we also like the Michelin Route Planning map (Grands Itineraires 726 National) for a general major overview.

Next year's plan is underway.
TonyP

For many years I used the Michelin maps as a backup to my Navi but have always found them somewhat overly detailed so that often you can't find the wood for the trees if you get my drift.

More recently I now use the Marco Polo large format map (39cm x 29cm) which provide all the detail that one could possibly want whilst at the same time remaining clear to follow. As a bonus, it is also one of the cheapest at approx €10.

Marco Polo.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Marco Polo_2.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

If you are using a satnav remember to disable the speed camera alarm. Have a good trip.
Which war are you crossing the channel?