Paphos Life

I posted on Facebook yesterday that it looks as though our local Dealer in Northumberland has found a car for us for when we return and that it has Sat Nav
Now sad maybe but I have never used Sat Nav and I said it may stop some arguments when we get lost!
Well some of my friends have warned me that it does not stop arguments and also that it can be difficult to get used to
Anyone got any opinions either way?

I love Sat Nag.... I have a system in the car and while you rarely need to use it here in Cyprus I still think it is worth the investment...

I used to have a Garmin system with a Cyprus map but have recently upgraded the car stereo to a Android based unit and use iGO which has a much better map than the Garmin...

I have a handheld GPS unit which I use for geocaching. It also doubles as a Satnav when we are out exploring. We only ever use it as a map though, rather than as a route planner (turn left in 250 metres etc).

Make sure the map is up to date though, if you like going off the beaten track. Tracks get closed and moved fairly frequently in Cyprus, in our experience.

cyprusgrump wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:05 pm I love Sat Nag.... I have a system in the car and while you rarely need to use it here in Cyprus I still think it is worth the investment...

I used to have a Garmin system with a Cyprus map but have recently upgraded the car stereo to a Android based unit and use iGO which has a much better map than the Garmin...

'Sat Nag'? I think you've just unwittingly invented a name for my OH! He ALWAYS knows the best route.

OH doesn't need a sat nav because he says:

I have a little Satnav, it sits there in my car
A Satnav is a driver's friend, it tells you where you are.

I have a little Satnav, I've had it most of my life
It does more than the normal one, my Satnav is my wife.

It gives me full instructions on exactly how to drive
"It's thirty miles an hour" it says "and you're doing thirty five".

It tells me when to stop and start and when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever safe to overtake.

It tells me when a light is red and when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively just when to intervene.

It lists the vehicles just in front, it lists those to the rear
And taking this into account it specifies my gear.

I'm sure no other driver has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car it still gives its advice.

It fills me up with counselling -each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it and get a quieter sort?

Ah well, you see, it cleans the house, makes sure I'm properly fed
It washes all my shirts and things and - keeps me warm in bed!

Kia Picanto wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:18 pm

cyprusgrump wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2017 2:05 pm I love Sat Nag.... I have a system in the car and while you rarely need to use it here in Cyprus I still think it is worth the investment...

I used to have a Garmin system with a Cyprus map but have recently upgraded the car stereo to a Android based unit and use iGO which has a much better map than the Garmin...

'Sat Nag'? I think you've just unwittingly invented a name for my OH! He ALWAYS knows the best route.

Since we returned to UK and are living in a place that is unfamiliar to us as we only ever visited my parents here on days out from our home town some 50 odd miles away, we rely on a "little extra help" when it comes to getting from A to B

I have a Nokia Lumia (windows operated) mobile phone and use the Here Drive application.... it works perfectly well and costs nothing. Just put the location in where you want to go, click on Start and off you go - with a lady telling us which exit to take at roundabouts and where to turn. She always gets us there and if we miss a turning, she finds the next one to bring us back on track. No WiFi needed to run it in the car either and uses very little battery power.

And, it beeps if you're going faster than the speed limit for the road. Something we've noticed since we returned, is that speed signs are not clearly displayed and often appear after you have passed the traffic camera!

In fact, Sat Nav prices are coming down in UK because most people are using phone apps instead of buying the in-car gizmos

I have a Garmin car SatNav which served us well in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Lithuania and the UK. I've never used it over here for the simple reason that I can't ask it to take me to Shop X which is next to Kiosk Y and opposite Furniture Shop Z. Postcodes only take you to villages or areas in towns and most adverts for places in papers give a description rather than a an address.

I only keep the free Cyprus map on it up to date because I download it anyway for our geocaching handheld GPS !!!

Pete

Sat navs!!!!!!'

Yukkk, used them several times in UK, but equally got lost several times in U.K.!! Having said that, Ipswich is a notoriously difficult town to navigate without knowing the city centre road and ring road so was happy to leave it to the sat nav.
,

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:52 pm In contrast Pete, I use my Garmin satnav all the time in Cyprus. Trouble is, Cypriots (bless their little cotton socks) prefer to say "Do you know where this is...turn left there...go straight...turn right there". Sometimes it's a real job to get the message across that all I need is their street, house number and postcode...and I'll be there on the dot.

But you have to be intuitive and get to know how your GPS works. Because there are so many variations on spellings it's best just to enter the first one or two letters of the street address, then scroll though the options to find the actual street you want. Other little foibles too, like the Engomi district in Nicosia is listed as Ekgomi. And the very large village/town of Agia Thekla is not listed at all. But it works fine 19 times out of 20. Be lost without it

Very good advice Lloyd.

Happy in Cyprus wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2017 10:52 pm In contrast Pete, I use my Garmin satnav all the time in Cyprus. Trouble is, Cypriots (bless their little cotton socks) prefer to say "Do you know where this is...turn left there...go straight...turn right there". Sometimes it's a real job to get the message across that all I need is their street, house number and postcode...and I'll be there on the dot.

But you have to be intuitive and get to know how your GPS works. Because there are so many variations on spellings it's best just to enter the first one or two letters of the street address, then scroll though the options to find the actual street you want. Other little foibles too, like the Engomi district in Nicosia is listed as Ekgomi. And the very large village/town of Agia Thekla is not listed at all. But it works fine 19 times out of 20. Be lost without it

The only contrast Lloyd, is that you choose to use your satnav possibly because you are running a business. Most of the other points you made are in agreement with what I said. Getting some addresses is beyond a nightmare and is impossible. For example my own home has no official address, no allocated house number and the road has no name like many in our village.

Definitely not lost without it!!

Pete

Its just a case of finding the property/location on Google maps - right click. A drop down box appears, select 'What's here' this gives the GPS co-ordinates. Enter the co-ordinates into the sat nav. Simple - problem solved.

So there you have it, Poppy....

Sat Navs can cause arguments even when you're not using one

The bonus is, in UK we have postcodes, house numbers and also street names.... They work perfectly well here and all the parcel delivery drivers use them. I can confirm this because none of ours had heard of Knott End before they were given the package to bring to us

If you have a smart phone you can get a free sat nav app and have a play before you go back to the UK .

I use an app called "Be On Road " and it works well for me here in Cyprus .

My job means I have to travel all over Scotland and couldn't live without my satnav, once we move out to Cyprus will probably use a phone app.

Allan.

You just need to get to know where certain streets are.

Mr Chicken road.
Gasoline Alley
Polis road.
Butcher Boy road
The Hospital road
etc etc

Trev..

Ha ha, gasoline alley was new to me Trev, but eventually worked it out

I've found "The Basket Roundabout" will get a response too.

My Garmin never really worked here but it is quite an old version so I started using the Google Maps app but that has real problems unless you put in the actual Greek letters which I couldn't do.
Anyway back in the Uk on a visit I asked several Uber taxi drivers what they used as they seemed to zip me around London with the ease of a black cab or better. All the ones I asked used Waze on an app so I downloaded it for free . So far it works an absolute treat down here but then I use it mainly for finding places in Pafos and Limassol where I used to spend most of my time getting completely lost. For village stuff I find it just as easy to ask in the local Taverna and get directions. Anyway that's my two penny worth.
Cheers Mike

Used Google Maps to take us straight to an hotel in Nicosia recently and it was hilarious. Every road name was spelt out using the Greek Alphabet so you can imagine what it was like when driving along Archbishop Makarios III road.