I have recently noted the following comments about the utility of including a GPS unit when renting a car in Ireland. >From Jackie: "I haven't seen any mention of this but the GPS system we rented along with the car rental was a Godsend. I don't know how we would have found our way around without it." >From Catherine: "I agree completely. A GPS system is a Godsend." And Jenny takes a different view: "If you have plenty of time I recommend going without the GPS. This gives you the opportunity to misread the map and get lost." And Joan says: "And not to mention the wonderful experience of asking directions in Ireland!! One meets the most interesting people." So, I guess it's time for me to take my often curmugeonly approach. My experience driving in Ireland started in 1991 and I had been making annual 3 to 4-week long trips until 2007. During that time, I drove about 25,000 miles throughout the Republic with rental cars, and got sort-of lost only twice. I credit this to always having good maps with me. Prior to about 1998, I was forced to use mostly the OS 1/2" maps, as they were the best practical roadmaps readily available. I might have had map problems back then but, basically, I avoided trying to find locations which were not marked on these maps (as originally printed, or from one of my many annotations). After 1996 or 7, the OS started issuing its Discovery maps at an increased rate, and I started using them exclusively.........even to the point of not visiting areas for which the appropriate Disc. map had not yet been published. Eventually, the map would be issued, and I would start going there. In about 1998, I got lost trying to get through Letterkenny. I could tell from the Disc. map just which streets/roads to take to go from west to east. When I entered the town, I was immediately faced with a collection of unanticipated one-way streets. I hate driving in any built-up areas, and so I frantically tried to wend my way through the chaos.....and became lost. The sky was heavily overcast, and there wasn't even the sun to guide me. So I relied on my trusty compass (which I often use when hiking with my camera stuff off-road) and kept trying to go eastward. I eventually broke-out of the traffic and quickly identified where I was on the Discovery map. My only other getting-lost experience was about 5 years ago, somewhere in the Midlands (I can mentally "see" the area, and my driving-around aimlessly - I have an eidetic memory, it seems - but haven't been able to locate it on my maps so far today). I don't know what happened. I am quite rigorous about my use of the maps. I pull to the side of the road every couple of miles (I rarely drive on the main N-roads - they're too busy) to check my position (I probably use the trip-indicator button on the car a hundred times a day). Anyway, I eventually found my way and continued on. I don't really understand Jenny's "misreading a map" problem, but that may be because I have a strong relationship with maps - at home and abroad - and double and triple check everything (retired-engineer talk). That's the extent of my non-GPS problems, so I can't imagine that a GPS unit would be an improvement. I have found that Joan's solution of "asking directions" - while it is an enjoyable experience - has not been particularly fruitful for me. After a few years, I generally stopped asking. But Joan's, and others', interests are surely different from mine. They - and most of you who read this rambling, boring letter - are looking for different things. You are looking for surnames, townlands, fields, derelict houses. I am looking for thousand-year old ecclesiastical sites, and even older Early Christian places in order to photograph and document them as well as I can. And, for such information, it's a rare man-on-the-street or even a B&B owner, who can be of much help to me. But, of the over-a-hundred B&B's I've stayed at in Ireland (I've never stayed in a hotel or guest house there), there are a select few who are knowledgeable about these things, and they are the ones that I revisit time after time (when I'm in that area). I'm sure the same principle applies to those who are travelling in Ireland and looking for B&B's whose owners are familiar with the histories of local families, etc. This is probably enough. If you find you need GPS, then it will probably be of some use (although I wonder what GPS/Google Maps would do about finding Newtown, Co. Wexford..... there are 15 Newtowns, plus another 6 with Big, Little, Upper, Lower extensions, in the county [gr]). But I'll stick with my Discovery maps and the other little "tricks" I have learned over the years of driving in Ireland. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me off-list. Pete - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts