Looks like the top two makers are Garmin and TomTom, in your opinion which unit is better, bests maps of Thailand etc. etc. to use

ive used both i had a tom tom go 720 and now i use a garmin nuvi 250 i dont live in thailand full time but do travel a lot ive used the garmin all over asia Australia New zealand and the UK i used the Tom Tom in the UK europe and Usa the mapping on both of them is pretty good not giving me any real problems in the 10,000s of k ive used them there both pretty straight forward to use But i think the biuld quality of garmin untis are better than tom tom they feel a bit more rugged also the nuvi 250 i have is quite compact so easy to travel with and the maps are easier to swap about on the memory cards so overall i would recommend Garmin the new version Garmin Thailand Street Map NT v10.0 EN map is the best for thailand at the moment imho

Edited March 13, 201016 yr by smeeuk

Hi Tom Tom don’t do a map of Thailand so go for Garmin, we have one so does our friend you can buy them here with map installed and then you just download the English version of the map from the CD you get with it works really well. I bought mine in the UK around £100 but got the Thai map from the US via the post. It was half the price of buying it in the UK so shop around on the internet. My friend bought one here top of the range with Thai map included around £350. Hope that helps.

Garmin is the winner

Hi Tom Tom don’t do a map of Thailand so go for Garmin, we have one so does our friend you can buy them here with map installed and then you just download the English version of the map from the CD you get with it works really well. I bought mine in the UK around £100 but got the Thai map from the US via the post. It was half the price of buying it in the UK so shop around on the internet. My friend bought one here top of the range with Thai map included around £350. Hope that helps.

Tom Tom does a map of Thailand.

google is your friend. You can either buy online, or cheaper options are also available.

I have a Garmin, with 2 Thailand maps, and I am happy with that.

Own a Garmin with the new thai map Esri 10, the best.

I call your ESRI TSM v.10 and raise you a Rotweiler All Thailand plus Garmin City Navigator SEA for a total of three Thailand maps on my Garmin Nuvi 205. ESRI is the best.

Does the Garmin with ESRI have lane advisory for Bangkok. And is it any good.

Great Posts and very helpful. My wife drives but I would if I could figure out the signage.

The junction view/lane assist function is not available on all Garmin GPS models. You need to carefully read the GPS specifications or ask a knowledgeable dealer to determine if those feature are available. The ESRI Thailand Street Map, with junction view/lane assist, is intended for use with those compatible Garmin GPS units sold in Thailand with Thai firmware. As for how much good junction view/lane assist does in Bangkok, I couldn't say, not all intersections are covered.

I call your ESRI TSM v.10 and raise you a Rotweiler All Thailand plus Garmin City Navigator SEA for a total of three Thailand maps on my Garmin Nuvi 205. ESRI is the best.

Overall I'd agree that the ESRI is best but I have come across some rural areas where Rotweiler has more detail.

The junction view/lane assist function is not available on all Garmin GPS models. You need to carefully read the GPS specifications or ask a knowledgeable dealer to determine if those feature are available. The ESRI Thailand Street Map, with junction view/lane assist, is intended for use with those compatible Garmin GPS units sold in Thailand with Thai firmware. As for how much good junction view/lane assist does in Bangkok, I couldn't say, not all intersections are covered.

Clarification: Those Garmin GPS units purchased outside Thailand, without the Thai OS, should only use the ESRI English language map.

Hi.

My boyfriend just bought a Garmin Nuvi 205 at the Motor Show and we used it on our trip up north for Songkhran. This is the version with English language OS and also the map is in English.

A few observations:

1) The map is far from complete. For example, the entire village where we stayed is not on that map at all - the road leading towards it is, however, so the navi showed us in the middle of nowhere while driving around in the village. But then - Google Earth also stops a few kilometers short of said village

2) The spoken instructions - horrible! Every few hundred meters "after xxx meters keep right" (if there is a chance to make a left turn and we are supposed to go straight). Why "keep right" instead of "continue straight" or some such? Or, even easier - after the last turn simply "continue straight for xxx meter/kilometers" and save all those "keep right" messages which are very annoying if there are sois every few meters.

3) It often confuses "keep" with "turn" - like at Bor Sang intersection where we have to turn left, it says simply "keep left".

4) At times it seems to deliberately direct us to the longest available way out of several possible.

5) Yesterday evening somewhere around Ramkamhaeng it tried to send me the wrong way down a one-way road! And stubbornly insisted after "recalculating" - "if possible, make a u-turn". Yeah right, u-turn to go the wrong way.

6) Hardware - it came without a home charger however for some reason won't work/charge with any of the three mini-USB wall chargers that i already have from phones. However Nuvi's car charger charges the phones and also my mp3 player so they ARE compatible, just somehow Garmin wants to force me to get one of their crazy expensive original chargers. Nope, i've got me a 150 Baht adaptor to plug the car charger into a wall socket

7) Sales promotion - was supposed to get a free 2 GB micro-SD card along with it. A free 2 GB card i got alright - however a standard-size SD card that can't even be used with that Nuvi model. And not with anything else that i own either. Whatever, those cost peanuts.

Best regards.....

Thanh

Your comments sound about right for a first time user, the Nuvi GPS takes some getting used to. You could:

1. Get another map with better rural road detail, although no map is 100% perfect. The ESRI map primarily shows paved, numbered roads in rural areas. You weren't using a truck or 4WD by any chance?

2. Turn down the voice volume and rely on the arrows/distance to navigate.

3. Yes, the spoken directions take some getting used to. After awhile you will get accustomed to them.

4. Set route preference for shorter distance.

5. Turn off U-turn in avoidances.

6. Garmin has specific charging requirements. You can charge battery from the USB port on your computer, no expensive home charger required.

7. Nuvi 205 uses a microSD card. MicroSD cards usually come with an adopter for standard SD card size.

Edited April 20, 201016 yr by InterestedObserver

A couple of observations Thanh:

1. Did you get the latest ESRI Thailand map (v10.1)?

2. I live in the sticks in Isaan, and find that for many places outside the main cities and large towns, the SE Asia map v4.5 gives far more detailed coverage. google it - the map is readily available.

I call your ESRI TSM v.10 and raise you a Rotweiler All Thailand plus Garmin City Navigator SEA for a total of three Thailand maps on my Garmin Nuvi 205. ESRI is the best.

Which maps have Thai script?

In my experience, when asking for assistance in rural Thailand, the map MUST -pause for emphasis, repeat - MUST - have Thai script.

I call your ESRI TSM v.10 and raise you a Rotweiler All Thailand plus Garmin City Navigator SEA for a total of three Thailand maps on my Garmin Nuvi 205. ESRI is the best.

Which maps have Thai script?

In my experience, when asking for assistance in rural Thailand, the map MUST -pause for emphasis, repeat - MUST - have Thai script.

Then you need ESRI Thailand Street Map (TSM), Thai language version. ESRI also has a dual language version of TSM for use with the newer Garmin GPS moldels sold in Thailand.

Does the Garmin with ESRI have lane advisory for Bangkok. And is it any good.

Great Posts and very helpful. My wife drives but I would if I could figure out the signage.

Lane advisory? In Bangkok???? ROFLMAO.

Does the Garmin with ESRI have lane advisory for Bangkok. And is it any good.

Great Posts and very helpful. My wife drives but I would if I could figure out the signage.

Lane advisory? In Bangkok???? ROFLMAO.

You need a Garmin GPS, purchased in Thailand (thai OS), with junction view and lane assist. The standard Garmin GPS models have some lane arrows.

So.......In short; I need a Thai Garmin Nuvi 205/250 that quietly speaks a little Engrish kitted out with ESRI v10.0, a Rotweiler, city navigator S.E.A. AND SE Asia map v4.5 and dont bother with the junction view/lane assist, just rely on the bull-bars and 4WD to make the turn instead. Thank you everyone for the information....much appreciated....!! :jap:

So.......In short; I need a Thai Garmin Nuvi 205/250 that quietly speaks a little Engrish kitted out with ESRI v10.0, a Rotweiler, city navigator S.E.A. AND SE Asia map v4.5 and dont bother with the junction view/lane assist, just rely on the bull-bars and 4WD to make the turn instead. Thank you everyone for the information....much appreciated....!! :jap:

Cute, I like it! Shows a certain Sancho Panza.

So.......In short; I need a Thai Garmin Nuvi 205/250 that quietly speaks a little Engrish kitted out with ESRI v10.0, a Rotweiler, city navigator S.E.A. AND SE Asia map v4.5 and dont bother with the junction view/lane assist, just rely on the bull-bars and 4WD to make the turn instead. Thank you everyone for the information....much appreciated....!! :jap:

Cute, I like it! Shows a certain Sancho Panza.

hahaha.....so, do you reckon Garmin make a fitting kit to mount it on a donkey...??

So.......In short; I need a Thai Garmin Nuvi 205/250 that quietly speaks a little Engrish kitted out with ESRI v10.0, a Rotweiler, city navigator S.E.A. AND SE Asia map v4.5 and dont bother with the junction view/lane assist, just rely on the bull-bars and 4WD to make the turn instead. Thank you everyone for the information....much appreciated....!! :jap:

Cute, I like it! Shows a certain Sancho Panza.

hahaha.....so, do you reckon Garmin make a fitting kit to mount it on a donkey...??

No, but Ram Mounts probably does.

So.......In short; I need a Thai Garmin Nuvi 205/250 that quietly speaks a little Engrish kitted out with ESRI v10.0, a Rotweiler, city navigator S.E.A. AND SE Asia map v4.5 and dont bother with the junction view/lane assist, just rely on the bull-bars and 4WD to make the turn instead. Thank you everyone for the information....much appreciated....!! :jap:

Cute, I like it! Shows a certain Sancho Panza.

hahaha.....so, do you reckon Garmin make a fitting kit to mount it on a donkey...??

No, but Ram Mounts probably does.

hey....I had a look.....and i think they actually do.....!!! hahahaha