Yeah, I guess it really comes down to:

You want a really large map BUT at what scale do you want the symbols? For instance, my old campaign world: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...World-of-Auren has an east east scale of 6400 miles. As a result, I tend to use 'larger' symbols. To have zoomed in areas, I then redraw the maps for just that region, and am able to achieve more details, like the following:

http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...dom-of-Shimark

So, for answer 1. Make your Large map, but best to only have the most major of features represented. Large Mountain ranges, large woods/forests, major rivers, Capitals and Major cities.

Then make new maps for those regions you want really detailed, showing more rivers, lakes, small forests, towns villages, forts, etc. Think: ATLAS