using internet abroad
 

I go away to the canary islands a few times a year and my daughter needs to be able to keep intouch with her friends, and us with the family. We were thinking about buying an ipad or tablet here in the uk and then buying a pay as you go package with vodafone in spain is this the cheapest option or does anyone know of the best way to do this. My daughter would use skype and facebook, and msn messenger , especially down at the beach or on our travels. I would really appreciate some advice on this, even if the cheapest option would be to get a contract with vodafone as it has to be cheaper than paying to use our mobile phones from england while we are away. The last time we were in the canary islands for 5 days it cost us with t mobile another £ 19.00 ontop of our normal bill, we are away for 3 weeks sometimes and end up with a large bill which Iam not happy about paying.

Julie Ellis

On mainland Spain there are what are called locatorios. These are stores that offer Internet services at ridiculously low prices.

I do not know if they are on the Canaries. I would imagine yes because they are used by kids, foreign workers, and tourists.

The iPad works great on any open wireless network, and should work fine with Vodafone's sim chip.

Vodafone also offers a pre-paid modem that gives you access to their service anywhere there is a cell phone signal, which is just about everywhere. It works well on the MacBook, but you will need an adapter for it to work on the iPad, if there is one available.

Julie, Vodafone and Movistar are a bit expensive. Check the Carrefour offer, you can get the USB Modem + SIM or only the SIM.
http://www.carrefour.es/telecom/inte...vil/index.html
It´s 1 euro each day you use it, with 3 euros minimum per month.
Bye, Cova

Is there an equivalent plan for France?

Carrefour's option is interesting, but limited. We had three months of internet access (250 MB) when we purchased the Vodafone modem. Recharging costs varies with which plan you want or need, but he coverage is great.

http://www.vodafone.es/particulares/..._pack_prepago/

If you have internet access (wi fi or whatever) then why not just use gmail? We were in France last September ('10) and used gmail to talk to our daughter in California. There was some problem with our skype camera connection (we could see her but not the other way around) - but not so with the gmail one. Free, easy, but we had a notebook with a camera built in. So if you have that much, figure out the gmail option.
I am not PC clever, but it was easy to use and no problem for someone with an ounce more of smarts than I to simply set it up.

If you have a gmail account (and a camera) you can use videochat. (My wife told me the name). Its all free - just set up gmail accounts and if everyone has a camera or optics, you're there!.
(I bought a notebook for less than $300 - just to surf the web while I was abroad. It was great - and as I said, I called home for free). I think Skype is free too - but for some reason we could not send our picture out. (Operator error)

Be careful - internet lets witches in your house.

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...-201010213182/

Joe, what Julie is looking for is an affordable plan to get Internet access ... Gmail and Skype go afterwards and I´m pretty sure she knows about it.

Robert, I thought of Carrefour as an alternative for a very light internet use. If Julie is going to use it more, she will probably be best off with Movistar or Vodafone. I have friends who have been using Orange and they are not so happy about it.

Underhill, check the Carrefour, SFR (Vodafone France) or Orange french sites for offers. Orange has better offers there than abroad.

Rgds, Cova

"my daughter needs to be able to keep in touch with her friends"

Cova, If her daughter is anything like those profiled in the New York Times the other day, sending 27,000 text messages in one month (2/minute), she'll need a good internet plan.

Cova -I admit to being fairly dense on PC issues, so forgive me if i am missing the boat here. However, I meant that we used the internet access provided by the hotel (usually free) or on the free Wi fi connections in a gite (rented villa) or a cyber cafe (well, almost free - 1 or 2 euro for the code) or whatever. We did not buy any internet service.

I will ask the boss (my wife) becasue I am confused now, but I am sure that we did not have any special account with any provider - just used the hotels or other access code.

If the OP is staying in a rented apartement or house, they often come with internet access. We rented 3 gites, and all 3 had internet. I guess I'm spoiled.

Regardless, have a great trip OP - and I am sure you'll work it all out. (By the way, I could not figure out the camera setting for our end of the Skype - but the voice part worked fine). The miracles of modern science....

Er ... I wouldn´t say usually free at the hotel, Joe. You might have been lucky with it, but many times here in Spain you get charged around 15 euros per day. Also, it is easier to find free WiFi at private owned apartments than in bigger places.

The OP seems to have been a few times to the Canary Islands, so she must be asking for a provider for some reason, probably because it wasn´t easy to find free spots.

And I have just read twice the OP message, and she mentions her daughter contacting friends while at the beach ... and yes, Robert ... that Facebook and Messenger mention ... you are completely right, they are going to need a good plan ...