 Poster: A snowHead
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I read on a site somewhere that it was not safe to use a G.P.S. to drive from the UK to Tignes because it apparently wouldn't show when high mountain roads were closed due to snow and wintery conditions. - Seemed sound advice.
But how about in the summer?
Anyone driven from Calais to Tignes by Sat Nav all the way in the summer (which I'm contemplating doing to try Glacier skiing). - Or is this still not a good idea?
If anyone's done it, are there any pitfalls? Or is it just as easy and convenient as using a G.P.S. to get around in the U.K. is?
Obviously I realise it'd be advisable to have backup maps and some idea of directions just in case. But a G.P.S. would certainly make life a lot easier, - so any advice on the reliability/feasibility of this would be much appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nick May, I've not been to Tignes but used a TomTom to travel to Meribel with no problems. I did drive to Zermatt once and the satnav wanted to take me over a high mountain pass, so it's always worth checking the route it's giving you and reroute as necessary. Because of this I did check beforehand that the Meribel route only involved major roads until the final climb to the resort.
Welcome to Snowheads Nick May. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nick May, welcome to SH's
I have driven numerous times to Les Arc, and St Foy, some sat navs take you via different routes or so I have been told  Never used a sat nav yet. The route from Calais to Tignes is really easy, mappy.com have a great planner which I found easy to follow the first couple of times.
The only section to look out for is at Lyon, but again mappy takes you the best way via the airport.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Nick May, Welcome to snowheads. As above I can't see the point in using sat nav to the alps either winter or summer. Not only can they send you to closed mountain passes, but also up 'old' roads when new, wider, better ones are available. As livetoski, says, Tignes is very easy to find.  If I don't know the road I look at the map and jot down the major towns to head for. signs do the rest!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Nick May wrote: |
I read on a site somewhere that it was not safe to use a G.P.S. to drive from the UK to Tignes because it apparently wouldn't show when high mountain roads were closed due to snow and wintery conditions. - Seemed sound advice.
But how about in the summer?
Anyone driven from Calais to Tignes by Sat Nav all the way in the summer (which I'm contemplating doing to try Glacier skiing). - Or is this still not a good idea?
If anyone's done it, are there any pitfalls? Or is it just as easy and convenient as using a G.P.S. to get around in the U.K. is?
Obviously I realise it'd be advisable to have backup maps and some idea of directions just in case. But a G.P.S. would certainly make life a lot easier, - so any advice on the reliability/feasibility of this would be much appreciated. |
I've used a TomTom 900 to go to Tignes. I planned the route and used the TomTom as a moving map. It is essential that you know your route and don't just blindly follow satnav instructions.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I always use mine traveling abroad, both summer and winter. I regularly ignore it though knowing pretty well which way I am going.
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Nick May, welcome to snowheads. if you want to keep off the toll roads then I'd think a satnav could be pretty useful, as otherwise you'd spend a lot of time looking at the map. However, if you just want to blast down the péage, the only point in a satnav is that it gives you an idea of how your time is going. There are so few "waypoints" on that route that if you couldn't remember them in your head you'd only need the back of a very small envelope to jot them down. You need to stop every couple of hours anyway, and can just refresh your memory of the next section.
What IS worth doing is checking that the route you're using is not taking you via Paris and the A6. Although some routes (especially French-influenced ones) do that it's a crazy way to go. Straight down through Reims (signposted the minute you get off the ferry/tunnel) is the way to go. Avoid Lyons.
If programming a tomtom make sure you answer the question about toll roads correctly. And don't let it take you by the shortest route, whatever you do. 
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and don't forget that, obviously, your satnav will be giving you the directions in French "prenez l'autoroute".
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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holidayloverxx, it was a joke. At least I think so. But, having said that, I programme mine to speak to me in French when I'm in France - makes me feel cosier. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My German satnav rather enjoys rolling down through France
Nick May The route to Tigne is very straight forward if following the French toll motorways.
I have driven over to the Alps for the last 25+ years, The route I use is here
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1090704
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Sun 18-07-10 18:05; edited 3 times in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The route isn't hard, get a map and have a look then I'm sure the tom tom will help you stay on track whilst your actually driving!!!
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
it was a joke. At least I think so.
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Yes, it was, sorry. I programme ours to speak in French quite a lot of the time, it's good listening practice and it's not hard to understand "take the third exit at the roundabout" or whatever.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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pam w, Doh 
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Poster: A snowHead
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If you drive from GB there aren't any mountain passes to cross en route to Tignes so, even if you follow the Satnav, you shouldn't be sent up any blind alleys.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I used to travel all over Europe using something called a "map" and rarely went wrong. Just a thought.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Bode Swiller, and a very good thought it is too. I wouldn't have a satnav at all if I didn't do quite a lot of solo driving - it is a pain to keep stopping to read the map.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Bergmeister wrote: |
| If you drive from GB there aren't any mountain passes to cross en route to Tignes so, even if you follow the Satnav, you shouldn't be sent up any blind alleys. |
Oh , that's interesting. This site here http://www.chaletchardons.com/hotel-location.html gave me reason to think that there were, which is what led to this whole thread in the first place.
But from what you - and others here say (and due to the fact it'd be summertime weather anyway) overall I have to conclude that I don't think there's any reason to be wary of or worry about with using a G.P.S. as ones main guidance system.
Nothing anybody else has said has put me off really. So I guess I'll just have to try it and see what happens.
Thank you all for your input and comments, it's much appreciated.
Thanks for that, I'll copy that list out as a backup. But why is the next guy laughing....??
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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After you gave the link to that list I mean.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Nick May, After the comment about my German sat nav enjoying driving into France
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| Quote: |
German sat nav enjoying driving into France
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Indeed, that's what I was laughing at, non-PC as it was.
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| Nick May wrote: |
| Bergmeister wrote: |
| If you drive from GB there aren't any mountain passes to cross en route to Tignes so, even if you follow the Satnav, you shouldn't be sent up any blind alleys. |
Oh , that's interesting. This site here http://www.chaletchardons.com/hotel-location.html gave me reason to think that there were, which is what led to this whole thread in the first place.
But from what you - and others here say (and due to the fact it'd be summertime weather anyway) overall I have to conclude that I don't think there's any reason to be wary of or worry about with using a G.P.S. as ones main guidance system.
Nothing anybody else has said has put me off really. So I guess I'll just have to try it and see what happens.
Thank you all for your input and comments, it's much appreciated.
Thanks for that, I'll copy that list out as a backup. But why is the next guy laughing....?? |
Don't forget to take snow chains.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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SatNavs are only really useful to put another step in the - I think I know where we are - Lets try this road - No I don't want to stop and ask that peasant over there even if it will make the whole thing easier - OK I give in - thing that we bloke do. They are otherwise useless and quite expensive bits of kit.
Paper maps are the way to go, as long it was printed this century.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Mountain Haddock, using, in advance of your journey, the one to programme the other, is not a bad way forward, particularly if you're driving on your own. However, even though I've got a satnav, I wouldn't dream of driving anywhere without a relevant map of some sort in the car. And I rarely bother taking the satnav at all if I've got someone else in the car who can read a map.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Mountain Haddock, don't talk tosh. I can get from any European address to any other European address using one piece of kit that's small enough to fit in my pocket. I can also change the route, in real-time, and stop off at any other European address using the same device. I can do the same in North America, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Morocco, Mexico and New Zealand. Try that with maps - you'd need loads of them, and I can update my entire map collection within minutes. GPS navigation devices are neither useless nor expensive.
That said, I now use Google Maps with Android, so I can travel pretty much anywhere in the world with GPS.
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Those clever continentals have also installed something called "road signs" on all their big roads. These tell you which direction to drive in. Absolutely brilliant system.
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You know it makes sense.
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hyweljenkins, you won't get to my address using a SatNav that any-one has yet found. Visitors complain of damaged paintwork and worse as they bounce along a very deeply rutted farm track coming the "wrong way".
I will grant you that they are very useful for navigating city one way systems.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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hyweljenkins, Within two mile of here in Hampshire sat navs will send you through a river Ford that is clearly marked not suitable for motor vehicles and also up a steep track that is used by the Army Tanks and is clearly marked as suitable for tracked vehicles only!
Buyer beware I guess
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Poster: A snowHead
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Boredsurfing, yep, they sure do make mistakes. As it's Farnborough Airshow time, I'm reminded of the time the Stealth Bomber did its fly past at the wrong airport (went to Blackbushe while all the world's press were waiting at Farnborough  ) and no doubt that was a GPS-related cock up.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Boredsurfing, people who come unstuck when using satnav are idiots, though.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Bode Swiller, thats what makes it so stealthy, it doesn't even know where it is.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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We used a Tomtom to get to Morzine, and it was flawless. It found the apartment even though we didn't realise it. It also made driving a lot less stressful, every time the maps came out we ended up taking a silly route all over the place and wasted time, it wasn't clear which roads would be fast roads vs the autoroute, and it was a great help in finding supermarket petrol just off the autoroute, saving us a good chunk of money from the travel cost.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
it is a pain to keep stopping to read the map.
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absolutely - which is why I think it would be really useful for an "off autoroute" drive, though it would require a fair bit of route preparation. We once came back doing as much as possible of the more southerly half of the drive on roads identied as "picturesque" by Michelin. It did involve a lot of map reading, but there were two of us in the car. It took ages, obviously, but was a delightful saunter, with picnics next to peaceful rivers etc.
But the autoroute route requires practically no map reading - just four or five place names. The signposting on the autoroute is exemplary, though off the autoroute people used to map reading in the UK ("follow the B4384 through the next five villages") are foiled by the French reluctance to put road numbers, as opposed to place names, on the signposts. It's not always easy, off the main routes, to guess from the map which name will be honoured by the sign-post designers. Keeps you on your toes.
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Blimey, stone the crows etc. Not that long ago there was no Autoroute via Reims and it meant circumnavigating Paris (we all made huuuge mistakes then). Then, when you reached the mountains, the fast roads stopped and you had to fiddle your way on single lane, badly sign-posted, accident black-spot roads that could be blocked for hours if you timed it badly. Albertville Olympics changed all that, autoroutes are 1000% better and there's even a handy little tunnel under the sea to speed things up. We used maps, sat nav hadn't been invented yet I don't remember the journey being THAT much more painful than it is today.
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I don't remember the journey being THAT much more painful than it is today
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we're older, more impatient, and have higher expectations of being able to get there in 8 - 9 hours, that's what different. And map reading is becoming a lost art. Like writing a letter, or working out a Plan B in advance, in case a planned rendezvous falls through.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
