Visiting San Diego, do I need a car (Corona, Coronado: hotel, bus)

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by mayhem_223

ok, My concern is with navigation. I added their gps for $14 a day, but is it worth it?

No
It's a rip off!
You can buy a used Garmin off of Craigslist for $50 bucks

Originally Posted by mayhem_223

Im thinking about just getting mount holder for my smartphone and use att navigator.

Yes
Att Navigator works great and best of all it's free

[mayhem_223]

Originally Posted by hitman619

No
It's a rip off!
You can buy a used Garmin off of Craigslist for $50 bucks
Yes
Att Navigator works great and best of all it's free

not quite, its $10 per month or $70 a year. But it has updated maps and you can download maps in case you loose reliable data signal.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by echo42

The wife and I went to San Fran this past weekend and did the whole thing on the bus, except for a cab ride back and forth to the airport. There were just as many tourist than locals on the bus. We just don't have that kind of infrastructure here or dense population center to support real public transportation. I couldn't imagine using the bus in San Diego.

SF is much more compact than SD. They also have a very good transit system with the BART and those old time electrical cars that run up and down the touristy parts of town at all times.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by mayhem_223

ok, I rented car through avis with corporate discount, I think I got it for like $80 for 3 days which I dont think is a bad price. with all taxes it added up to 105. My concern is with navigation. I added their gps for $14 a day, but is it worth it? Last time I used Budget that shares fleet with Avis in San Francisco, had crappy slow GPS. Im thinking about just getting mount holder for my smartphone and use att navigator. There is also motionx but only works in awkward vertical mode. it uses downloadble map as well in case I loose traffic. It downloads maps from TeleNav. I think Avis uses Garmin. Which one do you think is better?

The price for the car is good. Personally, I don't think the GPS is worth $45 especially as a good paper map costs about $5 and there are road signs all over the city since it is a major tourist town. Your mileage may vary though so it depends on what makes you feel most comfortable. On a different note you can buy your own GPS for ~$50 or if you have a cellphone just download the phone company's GPS for $3.

That's my take.

[mayhem_223]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

The price for the car is good. Personally, I don't think the GPS is worth $45 especially as a good paper map costs about $5 and there are road signs all over the city since it is a major tourist town. Your mileage may vary though so it depends on what makes you feel most comfortable. On a different note you can buy your own GPS for ~$50 or if you have a cellphone just download the phone company's GDP for $3.

That's my take.

Im driving there myself so old fashion paper map is out of window. I can preload map on my phone to be prepared for lost signal. GPS signal is practically available everywhere except tunnels or underground. I downloaded att nav map and seems ok. now I just gotta get stand for it. Usually I never needed it because I know roads around my hometown well enough that I am just comfortable planning unknown routes with pre-printed google maps directions.

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by mayhem_223

Im driving there myself so old fashion paper map is out of window. I can preload map on my phone to be prepared for lost signal. GPS signal is practically available everywhere except tunnels or underground. I downloaded att nav map and seems ok. now I just gotta get stand for it. Usually I never needed it because I know roads around my hometown well enough that I am just comfortable planning unknown routes with pre-printed google maps directions.

With an old fashioned paper map, you write down your turns on a piece of paper after consulting the map, you don't look at it while you drive. Doesn't anyone remember the old days?

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

With an old fashioned paper map, you write down your turns on a piece of paper after consulting the map, you don't look at it while you drive. Doesn't anyone remember the old days?

Yeah but who is going to tell you when to make a turn after you pass the exit?

[lostfan13]

Smartphones usually have gps/realtime map which replace the need for GPS.

I do remember the old days. They were awful.. looking for the street names off tiny sized fonts, tracking down the grid number, planning a route, then finding out that the map was inaccurate or outdated.

[sdurbanite]

Glad to see that you decided to rent a car during visit. I'd drop the GPS option, as others have said. Just pick up a city map (AAA office or visitor's center) and map out your routes. I love maps because they give the big picture of a city. Have fun.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by lostfan13

Smartphones usually have gps/realtime map which replace the need for GPS.

I do remember the old days. They were awful.. looking for the street names off tiny sized fonts, tracking down the grid number, planning a route, then finding out that the map was inaccurate or outdated.

Tiny sized fonts, inaccurate or outdated maps ... that sounds like my GPS.