Does Turn by Turn GPS Work in Puerto Rico?

[solo118]

Hi All,

I will be traveling to Puerto Rico in a couple of weeks for vacation. Luckily at&t does not charge for roaming down there!

I will be renting a car to get around, and would like to avoid paying the $10 per day fee for a navigation system and use my phone as my GPS device.

A friend of mine was on a business trip and he was telling me that you just get a map with directions but turn to turn did not work (he did not say which app he was using)

Can anyone confirm that turn by turn GPS works in Puerto Rico? Is it app specific? I already purchased MotionX GPS Drive, but if it is app specific I would be OK with purchasing another app as they are mostly inexpensive.

Many thanks for your help, and Happy Holidays!

 

[M Quick]

EVERYTHING depends on what GPS app you are using.

So to get a correct answer you should add what GPS app you're using so people who use it come and visit in here


All the "big ones" should work anywhere in the world aslong as you got the appropriate maps, like Navigon and TomTom.


I think Waze should work too, it's free too, works great in Sweden with turn by turn even though it's said to be for north america the map gets downloaded as you go.

 

[solo118]

EVERYTHING depends on what GPS app you are using.

So to get a correct answer you should add what GPS app you're using so people who use it come and visit in here


All the "big ones" should work anywhere in the world aslong as you got the appropriate maps, like Navigon and TomTom.


I think Waze should work too, it's free too, works great in Sweden with turn by turn even though it's said to be for north america the map gets downloaded as you go.

As mentioned previously, I purchased MotionX GPS Drive, which was the #1 purchased Navigation app when I bought it.

I just want to confirm which GPS app works, so I can purchase it and not have any problems

If Waze is confirmed to work, I have no problem downloading it and since it is free that is a huge bonus!

 

[GraphicsGeek]

I have first hand knowledge on this since I got married down there a couple years go. When I was down there, the Maps app didn't work too well. There's something about the gps system used down there that isn't right (don't know the techy term to use there). I dont think Google had updated maps at the time. Read the fine print of the gps systems and some of them say not compatible in Puerto Rico.

WITH THAT SAID, today may be a different story. My experience was 2.5 years ago and I'm sure things have gotten better with gps down there. There were a lot of street signs missing and made it even harder to get around in San Juan. Just read the fine print of the gps app or system you're using. Best bet would to just get a gps from the rental car place for an extra couple bucks.

 

[Nand]

As mentioned previously, I purchased MotionX GPS Drive, which was the #1 purchased Navigation app when I bought it.

I just want to confirm which GPS app works, so I can purchase it and not have any problems

If Waze is confirmed to work, I have no problem downloading it and since it is free that is a huge bonus!

I don't use gps here,PR it's 100x35...but if you get lost PM me and I can help you. The Maps in the iPhone work fine for me.

 

[solo118]

I don't use gps here,PR it's 100x35...but if you get lost PM me and I can help you. The Maps in the iPhone work fine for me.

Thanks for the offer Nand!

Is there any chance you can try out Waze to see if turn by turn works? Its a free app so if you would be kind enough to try it would help me out greatly!!

My worst case scanerio is using maps, but turn by turn would be icing on the cake!

Thanks!!

 

[Nand]

Thanks for the offer Nand!

Is there any chance you can try out Waze to see if turn by turn works? Its a free app so if you would be kind enough to try it would help me out greatly!!

My worst case scanerio is using maps, but turn by turn would be icing on the cake!

Thanks!!

I install Waze and later in the night I'm goin to test how it's work, its traffic hour right now. I dont have too much experience with turn by turn gps,in my case I dont needed here.Heres a photos how it look from where I live.

 

[solo118]

Much appreciated! You the man Nand!!!

 

[Alisstar]

I'm from PR but hadn't visited the island in many years. I knew some of the places I was going to already, but for the places I didn't know how to get to I wanted to use a GPS app. I used TomTom and for the most part it worked great for me. I don't know how Motion GPS X works, but the issue I had with TomTom is not recognizing some of the places' addresses since they're formatted differently in some cases than they are in the States. As a workaround I tried to find the GPS coordinates and used that instead of the physical street address. Also, for places I frequented more often, what I did was take a picture at the location and used TomTom's feature that allows it to take you to a place where a picture was taken. I never thought I'd use that feature, but I did while I was there.

I hope you enjoy the time in PR, as I did!

 

[Hoya94]

I've used Telenav in Puerto Rico and it works fine.

You may have some signal issues if you're traveling in more rural areas, but very accurate in San Juan. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Nand]

Well I tested and found 3 of 5 routes. Like Alisstar said is the form the address are formatted, you need to know the address or alternatives form to put the information for the gps give you the right route. Also its sound funny the female voice trying to say the Spanish names of the streets, but it’s accurate and it’s free and I liked. Comparing to Maps in the iphone... maps give me my street name and Waze can’t but give me the right route to the places. Also Hoya94 is right about the rural areas.
All depend where you want to go... some people stay in Isla Verde a tourist area, where most of the hotels are; you have the beach, casinos, restaurants, night life...in car it’s about 3 minutes from the airport and 5 minutes from old San Juan.
I hope that help you and enjoy your stay in the Island

 

[solo118]

Great Nand thank you!! I will be at the Rio Mar Wyndham, and hopefully traveling to the casinos and whatnot at night.

 

[takeshi74]

All the "big ones" should work anywhere in the world aslong as you got the appropriate maps, like Navigon and TomTom.

"Big" and "small" don't mean anything. The GPS receiver will work worldwide.

The GPS app needs to have map data for the region you're in, regardless of how big or small or brand.

There's something about the gps system used down there that isn't right (don't know the techy term to use there). I dont think Google had updated maps at the time. Read the fine print of the gps systems and some of them say not compatible in Puerto Rico.

Again, the GPS app/map data and the GPS system are 2 distinct and separate things. The GPS receiver only needs signal from the GPS satellites. However, all it does is determine latitude, longitude, altitude and time.

Tying your location to a position on a map is the responsibility of the GPS app you're using.

You may have some signal issues if you're traveling in more rural areas, but very accurate in San Juan. Enjoy your trip!

"Signal issues in rural areas" affects data, not positioning which relies on signal from the GPS satellites. Rural versus urban is irrelevant for GPS positioning itself except in cases where tall buildings obscur signal from the GPS satellites to a significant degree.

Data issues will only affect apps that rely on data for maps, routing, etc. You can avoid such issues if your GPS app uses map data stored on your device.

 

[solo118]

"Big" and "small" don't mean anything. The GS receiver will work worldwide.

The GPS app needs to have map data for the region you're in, regardless of how big or small or brand.

Right, so I need to ensure my app has PR map data... which I have no idea how to check!

 

[M Quick]

"Big" and "small" don't mean anything. The GPS receiver will work worldwide.

No, you're missunderstanding me. He's asking for turn-by-turn gps apps. Keyword being turn-by-turn.
With big or small i simply mean the most known gps applications, like navigon and tomtom (they are big) vs those free gps apps like waze etc that aren't as big out there compared to them. That's all i'm saying. And navigon/tomtom etc all have turn-by-turn.

Which has nothing about not getting a reception, because that you should get world wide.

 

[Nand]

Great Nand thank you!! I will be at the Rio Mar Wyndham, and hopefully traveling to the casinos and whatnot at night.

Ok beautiful hotel, you have the beach, casino and a great golf course. it's not near San Juan,If you want to go to SJ you'll need to rent a car or check with the hotel, I think they have some excursions. In that area you are near to the El Yunke " rainforest" it's a beautiful place.

Enjoy your vacations!!

 

[zephxiii]

Puerto Rico is a fantastic island geographically. There are lots of stuff to do an see there and if ya get to travel around through and around the mainland or visit Vieques then that's awesome!

Hope ya have Sprint or AT&T though....last time i was there with someone on VZW they couldn't even send MMS, let alone get 3G (years ago though). AT&T rocks there at least.

HAVE FUN!!!!