Internet Access while touring

[JacquieO]

I am planning to bring my laptop with my while travelling through France and Spain. I have WiFi set up at hope and can go about the house accessing the internet. My Niece has brought her laptop to my house and can access the internet as I have a password which I have given her to do this. My question is: How can get the internet while touring? Will I have to wait until I get to a site and then ask them for a password, or can I access it while driving along the road (not literally driving at the time, you understand!)
Some advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[HerinDoors]

Hi, We use a dongle, that plugs into your USB port, and as long as there is good reception, no problems. I dont know if this works abroard though. If you go to a McDonalds, I think that they provide free internett access, they do in this country, and I know they do in Australia, so Europe should have the same service4. Good luck.
Ta Julia

 

[Lutz]

An increasing number of campsites, also on the Continent, offer WiFi although usually at a price. Basically they will give you the password in return for cash. The alternative of using a UK dongle abroad can be even more expensive due to roaming charges. If you are in a foreign country for any length of time it may be worthwhile purchasing a local pre-paid dongle.
The only cheaper solutions are to either search around locally for free WiFi access, such as McDonalds mentioned above (there are others, too), or take the laptop to an internet cafe and plug in there.

 

[JTQ]

WiFi offers only very local cover, so you will not generally get a usable signal as you drive about, only near habitation if at all.
Forget any suggestions of using a UK supplied mobile phone network USB Dongle as whilst some can work the cost is not just expensive but horrendously expensive.
In France unsecured open access, therefore illicit free WiFi is less available than in the UK, and like here can be considered illegal to use.
Most campsites in France now offer free or chargeable WiFi, they usually give you a password and the name of the signal. My experience is that the free ones usually only have a viable signal around the reception and bar area.
If you are a BT Broadband a/c holder investigate the coverage of the FON WiFi network abroad. It is free for these a/c holders to sign up to BT FON membership giving you access to the wider FON network. Then particularly in Spain you ought to find many FON hotspots around domestic properties. I say, "ought" as I have not used it in Spain but that is the birthplace of the free hotspot sharing network Fonica. You can if not a BT member subscribe to FON, but you need first to go onto their site and see the coverage in the areas you will be in.
I have used FON extensively in the UK but found it is poorly supported within France. Hopefully Spain is much better.

 

[Philspadders]

"Forget any suggestions of using a UK supplied mobile phone network USB Dongle as whilst some can work the cost is not just expensive but horrendously expensive."
what rubbish.
no its not, do your homework . I use vodafone and its very cheap to use a dongle. Good 3g coverage can be limited to more built up areas but otherwise i never have a problem.

There are also free share ware software packages available that will alert you to free wifi hotspots around the country, and there are lots. Many towns and cities now have wifi networks that cost very little to log onto , usually £5.0 per week.

 

[Reg]

I used to use my Orange mobile connected to a laptop and over a month it would cost about £20.00 sending and receiving emails. Unfortunately the phone broke down so I "invested" in a contract with Orange and was given a free dongle.
I was told that I could pay £6.57 for a europe roaming bundle for a month.
Great I thought until I was billed £50.00 after I used it in france.
I wouldn't use it again as I found the software supplied automatically connects you to the internet and their web site even if you only want to check for or send an email every time you use it. This cost money and you are paying for it. It seems that the bundle I had signed up to gave me very little data down load..
Needless to say I no longer use it abroad and would not advise it to anyone.
I have now bought a new phone which allows me just to download email headers and delete the ones I don't want. Then I can down load the ones I want to read. On our last trip it cost about £20.00 again.
I have no interest in serfing the web whilst away.
I have never found a free wifi hotspot as yet but can uses wifi with the new phone so it's easier to search.

 

[JTQ]

"Forget any suggestions of using a UK supplied mobile phone network USB Dongle as whilst some can work the cost is not just expensive but horrendously expensive."
what rubbish.
no its not, do your homework . I use vodafone and its very cheap to use a dongle.

Okay Phil I have re-done my homework again, just incase things had changed;
Vodafone's Mobile Broadband European cost is £1 per 1MB.
Just to help people get their minds around it,that is £1000 per GB.
Whereas in the UK it cost is £2 per 500 MB, or £4 for a GB.
That makes it 250 times more expensive to use it abroad within Europe, that it is in the UK.

I might have the wrong idea of what is expensive but surely most would feel that is expensive?

 

[DianneT]

Well we go to Europe for 2 to 3 months with the caravan every year. We have been to 12 different countries over the last 7 years I always take my laptop and have had the internet at all sites. Mostly the cost has been quite good at a 1 euro per hour, we have had free wifi at some sites in Germany and one in Switzerland this past year. You can send and recieve many emails in an hour. If there is no wifi I use my o2 phone connected to my laptop with usb on Tiscali dial up connection and webmail when I can write emails "off line" and just go "on line" to send them. That does not cost me much at all as I hardly use the phone to ring the UK or in the country I am in. I do text sometimes as well.

 

[JacquieO]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Wow! I didn't realise there were so many techno-professors touring in their caravans!!

I've got the general idea now about my laptop and wifi connections so hopefully, I can start a blog during my tour!

 

[colinw1]

Just remember that this summer ALL mobile companies capped the amount of internet usage while overseas, and you had to tell them if you wanted more. So you may find that one day you might get a notice telling you that your limit has been reached - just when you need it most. While it generally is to stop people getting high bills. It could prove to annoy those who just cant live with out the (half)hourly dose of facebook....

However one thing a lady at work has done is to buy a 3g dongle just for france - as she has a static there and obviously visits often.

One thing I noticed was that while we are all on orange - mine and the other-half's phone worked in France - but the eldests phone didnt (even though roaming is set on it).. which was great as it meant that I couldnt hear the constant "tap" of keys where ever we went.

 

[hymerman1]

Look at this sites blog for "solwise rocket" this is a device that boosts the reception of on site WIFI, I will be investing in one for use on my next trip to the continent.

 

[DavidKlyne]

"Forget any suggestions of using a UK supplied mobile phone network USB Dongle as whilst some can work the cost is not just expensive but horrendously expensive."
what rubbish.
no its not, do your homework . I use vodafone and its very cheap to use a dongle. Good 3g coverage can be limited to more built up areas but otherwise i never have a problem.

What do you call cheap? I use a Vodafone contract dongle as a last resort in Europe and it costs £10 a day with a 50MB download limit, Not cheapin my book!
David