Mobile Internet in Mainland Europe

[ronsrecord]

Just preparing for our big trip to France and was thinking it'd be handy to have internet access on the computer for finding campsites/ info/ my 80-90 fix.

What do people use for mobile telecoms when abroad? Specifically for using a laptop???

[oorwullie]

you really need a computer to find campsites in france do you?

maybe you should get some glasses.

[thechubbsdub]

I took a mobile with internet access to France last year as I needed to receive emails. Generally the coverage was good (on 3). I would unsubscribe to any regular marketing emails that you receive , such as Groupon etc, as most service providers will charge for receiving emails while overseas.

If you only need it to find campsites, I would invest in a book. We used the Michalin guide and also printed a list of all the municipal sites from a website before we left home.

[bikermike87]

If you really want to use mobile internet, buy a local sim once you are there and make sure your device is unlocked so it can be used.

If you were to use your UK sim for roaming data (email, internet, some apps) it costs around 40p to 80p per MB. Your spend should now be capped at £45 whilst abroad and you can remove this cap prior to leaving or whilst you are out there. But that is an expensive way if you plan to use it alot!

If it was me, I would download POI's on sat nav and have a couple of books or buy a local sim. Most places have wifi, so maybe just use them from time to time.

I like maps, you get to see what's around your destination and take detors at short notice, nothing worse than a sat nav saying turn around!

[ronsrecord]

Thanks for the replies.



Yes - I guess you're all right, the good old fashioned method of books and maps will be cheaper. What had me thinking about it was the ease with which Google Maps identifies campsites, places of interest, routes that you could plug into when on the move, and gives you the freedom to stop when you like with the knowledge that there's something round the corner.

But I guess if you find a campsite with wifi, you could easily log into that?!

[Ian Hulley]

it'd be handy to have internet access

That's what McDonalds is for isn't it ?

Ian

[ronsrecord]

it'd be handy to have internet access

That's what McDonalds is for isn't it ?

Ian

Aaah!

I'd always wondered what was the point of Macdonalds!

[Ian Hulley]

I know, I know ... best food in the world etc etc BUT even in France the girls like a 'treat' plus the toilets are usually pleasant and free wifi

Some of them you can log in from outside

[Titus A Duxass]

I know, I know ... best food in the world etc etc BUT even in France the girls like a 'treat' plus the toilets are usually pleasant and free wifi

Some of them you can log in from outside

That'll be a McPee followed by McNet.

[ronsrecord]

Wifi in the toilets!

[AdrianC]

Most French campsites have WiFi available - might be free, might be a few euro, but it's there. We did buy a PAYG SIM, but didn't really need to use it - and French PAYG SIMs are _ludicrously_ expensive - the SFR ones we bought worked out more expensive than using my UK Voda PAYG SIM on roaming!

Spain, we were told the best way was to buy a rolling-month contract, rather than PAYG (cost, again). We didn't bother - again, most sites had WiFi.
Italy, many did, but we ended up buying a TIM SIM - 40hrs for €9, plus €10 for the SIM.

Make sure your 3G key isn't network locked before you buy the SIM. You might also need to fanny about with the settings - you'll need to change the APN etc. Some networks are easy to get all the details, some a faff. If you can get blokey in the shop to do it for you, great.

[ronsrecord]

Cheers!