Touring - Looking for GPS(Sat-NAV) for W/E Europe

Does any one have any thoughts on a suitable unit (not neccessary bike specific) that would include most of Western and Eastern europe - including the 1400k of the Danube trail ? The ride will be from Paris to Istanbul, and while supported we will need maps.

I use the the Garmn 76C with Metro Guide. It is great for Western Europe but Eastern Europe will be spotty. I am not sure if City Select or City Navigator would be any better as they are newer products.

Metro Guide is good enough for my purposes and you can find it on eBay very cheap. MetroWiz can be added to give routing capabilities to the GPS.

I've cycled sections of what you're planning to do, and can offer suggestions for maps. In France I used the IGN "Carte de Promenade (http://www.trektools.com/IGN_Carte_de_Promenade_Maps_s/341.htm)" and Michelin road maps. For the Danube I can suggest these books:

http://www.amazon.de/Bikeline-Radtourenbuch-Donau-Radweg/dp/B0018ZFKFQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1233134062&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.de/Bikeline-Radtourenbuch-Donau-Radweg-Teil-Passau/dp/3850000249/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233134062&sr=8-3http://www.amazon.de/Bikeline-Radtourenbuch-Donau-Radweg-Teil-Budapest/dp/3850000788/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233134062&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.de/Bikeline-Radtourenbuch-Donau-Radweg-Teil-Budapest/dp/3850000788/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

and perhaps

http://www.amazon.de/Donauradweg-Donau-Radweg-Rum%C3%A4nien-Schwarzen-Radtourenbuch/dp/3850002004/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233134062&sr=8-2

Have fun!

i know nothing of gps systems, but most people over this side of the pond (ireland) favour garmin 705 they reckon it the best all round unit for touring,

Isn't this more a question of whether maps are available for certain area than specific devices? I don't know if current units ship with a truly comprehensive world map, but 5-6 years ago when I bought mine, I had to buy the maps I needed separately.

I wouldn't rely solely on the GPS either, I'd buy some old fashioned maps. It's easier to get an overview from a paper map, and backups are a good thing to have.

--J

You can find Mapsource for Europe online, download it, and get it installed. It would allow you to see what kind of GPS maps are available. If it's on mapsource you can install it to almost any garmin GPS, including the 705.

no, it's not legal, but if it's got what you want I'd suggest buying it, and supporting Garmin.

Thanks for the info, I have decided to go with a Garmin 605 from PBK with europe pre installed.
I am also getting the paper map series of the Danube trail, If I can work thru the German site.

Does any one have any thoughts on a suitable unit (not neccessary bike specific) that would include most of Western and Eastern europe - including the 1400k of the Danube trail ? The ride will be from Paris to Istanbul, and while supported we will need maps.

You didn't wrote for which GPS zu need the maps:

Here you can download the track: http://radreise-wiki.de/Donau

Open Street Maps could be a free option for Maps.

Thomas