MonicaRichards

We were just in Paris last year and it's not wired at all really. We had Wifi in our hotel and that was it. There were even buildings that advertised "Free Wifi" and when you tried to log on there was a charge! I think they're unclear on the concept of free! So if having wifi when you're not at your hotel is important, get a cellular plan. It's not like the US and Canada where many restaurants, etc. have wifi.

MarySteveChicago

Love my mini! And it fits perfectly in my crossover purse. I keep all my lists on it and carry it everywhere. It's wifi only but it will be useful for various apps like the Metro app and maps, museum info.

Fuller423

MonicaRichards I am not sure where you tried Wifi in Paris but we found it all over town. All of the Starbucks and McDonalds have free wifi.

MonicaRichards

Hmmm, I never went to either McDonalds or Starbucks, probably that's why. Other than that, no luck. Oh, except for the road stop things, they had Wifi (that was driving around France, not in Paris specifically).

cybertraveler

We have brought the iPad and our iPhones on our trips to France. When I bought my first iPad, I got the WiFi/3g option, but never used the 3g because as one of the other posters said, if you are already paying for 3g on your phone, why pay twice?

WiFi usually worked, but it was sketchy and depended where we were. However since we had the iPhones and 3g (now 4g), we were still able to access the web. We always sign up for the International plan when we go out of the country, but use it for emergencies only (which luckily has so far been never); it's mostly for insurance on our part.

For the most part, we found that we didn't need or even want to use the web much when we traveled. Other than sharing photos and making bank transfers we really didn't use it.

sassy27

I have a regular iPad with AT&T that I bought for when I travel both domestic and International. I can tell you it does get awful heavy when carrying it around. I am looking at the mini to try and lessen the load. I do have the minimum plan a month and will sign up for the international plan for the month the day before I leave. You must have the domestic plan in order to get the international. I have taken it so far to Austria, Germany and the Carnary Islands and had no problems with connecting to the Internet when there was no free wifi.

Luv2travel15

sassy27, I am glad now that I bought the mini as we are going to be traveling on a cruise in Dec. so want to be able to fit in my purse. I like the size and weight of the mini, works for me.

You said you would sign up for international plan b4 u leave, what plan do you mean? AT&T is my cell phone carrier so I do add the international text messaging feature when we travel and like that feature. I send texts to our grandsons when we arrive in a port and on land as the ship is so expensive. So for my wifi mini, what options can I choose? I am not familiar w/ how everything works as I've only had it a month.

Thanks so much. Every little bit of info helps!

Katie7

Hi:

We bought an adaptor for our I-pad so we could transfer photos from the SD card . Much easier than bringing a laptop along, if you can't to see your photos. It was about $29 at the Apple store. Think they also have it at Target.

Katie

sassy27

Yes, all you have to do is sign up for the domestic monthly plan. Once you do, you can go into your settings and also purchase the monthly International plan. The cheapest and it goes by how much mb you want. They ask you when you want the International plan to start, day and time. A good thing to remember is to watch the time zone. I once had it start after I arrived at my destination by accident. I go with the cheapest plan $30, this is on top of the $15 domestic monthly plan, if I know I will be around free wifi so only use it for hotels that charge for wifi. You do not have to cancel the International plan. It will just end at the end of the month or if you run out of mb's you get an email telling you how to order more. I haven't had an issue with billing errors. On the cruise I went on in the Canary Islands, I could only get a signal in port which makes sense so I used it in the mornings and right after we got back to the ship until I lost the signal.

Luv2travel15

Thanks so much, sassy! Very helpful. Next time I am near AT&T store I'll stop in and check it out.

I remember they asked me dates we would be traveling for my smart phone service and they had to pro-rate it according to our billing cycle. I think it was $30.

So can you send texts on ipad too w/ this international service or is that an additional charge? Guess I'll check it all out w/ my AT&T store.

We are going to Canary Islands (Tenerife, docking Santa Cruz) in Dec. We were there this year in Dec. also. We loved that island, so beautiful! Can't wait to see it again. We went up Mt. Teide and OMG the views were stunning!

yestravel

We were in Paris this past February for a month. I did not find wifi in public places all that available. Some restaurants would give u a password and you could use it while dining, I wasn't in Starbucks or McDonald's so cant address availability there.
I have an iPad with cellular data. I don't buy the data plan very often, but have been glad to have it.