Preparing for the road during holidays: Map, GPS, or App?

Does a road map still make sense in 2025, especially in the car? On the road, can we trust the car's built-in GPS or rely on navigation apps? We take a look at the pros and cons.

The Road Map

In paper form, sometimes half-torn, the road map often languishes at the bottom of a cupboard or in the glove box. Assuming you still have one or more at home or on board. And yet, it's not entirely useless. It can help in preparing a trip or road trip thanks to the overview it provides. Road maps are designed to provide driving-specific information: types of roads, distances, rest areas, and cities according to their importance. Plus, it never breaks down… Even on the road, it can help to find an alternative route to escape the traffic jam nightmare. Provided you've chosen the right scale (a 1-meter by 1-meter map of Europe is completely useless). Additionally, it ages quickly. Hence, you need to think about buying a map older than 10 years or accept that some roads have been added, or even removed! The same goes for a road atlas of a country or all of Europe.

Pros:

• An overview with the right scale
• The invitation to dream
• Convenient to take anywhere

Cons:

• Expiry of information and routes
• Folding and the occasional need for several
• A poor co-pilot who’s rubbish at geography

Mapping Website

Like the map, a mapping site (or its app) can be used before departure. And that's its only real function. However, it's less ergonomic than the paper map or atlas because the overview will depend on the screen size and visual acuity. On the other hand, you can search for place names without being a geography expert and zoom in on the destination. It can also offer you routes and even plunge you on the spot with a virtual tour (Street View). However, a mapping site is a good complementary tool to the map before departing.

Pros:

• The search tool
• Projecting with 3D vision
• Visualising routes

Cons:

• The need to zoom out for an overview
• Not easy on a smartphone
• The adverts

Integrated Navigation

Your car might have a navigation system integrated into the infotainment system. The advantage is that the system usually doesn't just rely on the GPS signal. It can extrapolate speed and direction via the vehicle's onboard electronics in tunnels or satellite shadow areas (dense forests, mountains, alley of tall buildings). Moreover, for electric cars, it knows that the next stage is a charging station and preconditions the battery to speed up recharging. For traffic information, there's RDS-TMC (which doesn't work very well in all countries) or even online services. These latter are often chargeable after a few months or years. On the other hand, you avoid possible 4/5G connection surcharges and roaming during trips abroad (for example in Switzerland and Andorra for EU residents).

We like:

• The accuracy of navigation
• Automatic route adaptation with RDS radio traffic information
• No roaming charges for the smartphone

We don't like:

• The payable update (connected services or downloadable files)
• The design of some manufacturers' maps
• The erratic RDS-TMC depending on the countries travelled through

Navigation apps

Whether on the phone's screen or on the car's screen via Android Auto or Apple Car Play pairing (among others), it is possible to use a navigation app installed on the smartphone. From then on, it is easier to navigate to the addresses of your contacts or those saved in the calendar. It is also possible to transfer a route from a mapping site directly to the phone to launch it easily from the car. Or prepare it leisurely at home, at the hotel or at the office before taking the wheel. Moreover, the app can still guide you once out of the car. By being connected via 4G or 5G, the route is permanently adjusted based on road information and alerts from other users. Sometimes even, there are warnings in case of speed checks... But the app must always be connected to the Internet. Therefore, remember to download the maps before departure and disconnect in countries not covered by the subscription to avoid connection and roaming fees. As a result, no more real-time navigation, since the app is not compatible with the radio's RDS-TMC.

We like:

• Real-time navigation
• Permanent update
• Access to the calendar and addresses or routes of the phone

We don't like:

• The danger if the phone is not fixed and the size of its screen
• 4/5G connection fees and (sometimes) roaming abroad
• Lack of compatibility in certain cars

Moral

For your safety and peace of mind, the best for being on the road during holiday season is to combine several of these tools. In any case, prepare the journey with a map or mapping site then choose and trust the manufacturer's navigation or that of your smartphone, based on your own experience, or even on the destination.

(Olivier Duquesne – Pictures: © Unsplash)