julies

I'm finalizing plans today on a Paris apartment rental and I'm down to 2 places. One has free ASDL access and the other has no internet. There are also other factors to weigh in deciding between the two, but this is what i'm pondering right now.

In many ways it sounds nice to have if I'd want to get on-line and check something out. On the other hand, this is a vacation, and the only use it would get would be for pleasure. On our vacations we typically make an occasional stop in an internet cafe to check e-mail and have never really regretted lack of access. But somehow the idea of bringing my laptop and having this available is calling to me even though I really don't know if I'd actually use it. I'm wondering if the issue is that right now I'm so wrapped up in trip planning via the internet that I have a skewed perspective on the actual need for this.

MacPrague

If you are only bringing the laptop for this surfing option, my opinion is to leave it at home and go with the internet cafe option.

That said, let me tell you where I am coming from--I'm an avid web surfer and email-aholic. If I took my laptop, it would be a huge distraction to me and a liability to boot.

If you are comfortable with the internet cafe route, that seems more feasible.

IMHO

almesq

I agree with Mac.
I do my planning and research ahead of time, and when I get there, I want it to be all about the vacation. You might find that you would go on line to check something out, then before you know it you've wasted an hour or more of time away from doing things that you went there to do.
I usually gather the information I like about restaurants, sites, etc. during my research, and put them into a word document as I go along. Then, before I leave, I print that out and take it with me so I have the info when I need it.
I think the internet cafe is sufficient and will allow you to spend more time doing what you went there to do.

RufusTFirefly

No internet, no cell phones, no PDAs, no Raspberries or Boysenberries. No phone cards, no calls home.

I'm very task-oriented: when on vacation away from work and home, I focus on the task of being on vacation away from work and home.

But I don't knock those who need or want to stay connected to whatever extent they need or want to be.

Intrepid1

You are, IMO, at a real crossroads; are you able to be non-connected for a period of time and still enjoy yourself and your surroundings or has the desire/need to be connected pervaded deeply enough that you feel somehow less than complete/happy/whatever without it?

It is a conscious decision to not be as connected as you may be now. The question is, does non-connection automatically mean less satisfaction?

GreenDragon

I'm also a webaholic... and enjoy not being connected on vacation. That being said, I sometimes do bring electronic devices, as I am also a photo-bug, and take over 300 pics a day sometimes (I sell my photos, and they are starting to pay for the next trip!)

valtor

I use internet all the day when I am home, and wwhen I have time at work. This includes the time when I am far from home, at different hotels in the world, but for work.
Never wwhen I am in vacation.
I do not take a laptop with me and I have no time for internet in my holiday.

I prepare my vacation at least one year ago and I have all info I need in the moment when the vacation starts.

AnselmAdorne

Hi julies, as I posted responses to one of your threads from an apartment in Paris a couple of days ago, I think you know where I am on this.

I like being able to keep my travel notes up to date and I also back up digital images to my notebook. Above all, I like to be able to get on the Internet to keep in touch with family and friends while I am away.

Besides, you never know when you might be able to help a fellow Fodorite and go check out an apartment for them, wink, wink.

Anselm

Intrepid1

I suspect there are some who would say that if you are on vacation, especially in a new place, and have the time to do that much surfing then something meaningful may be being neglected.

Andalusia

I do think this depends on circumstances. When we go to Italy, I will take a laptop to stay connected to the Internet, although surfing will not be the point, nor will it happen. I have young adult kids at home, plus a father with whom I want to keep in touch, and we won't have a phone. I'm a writer with constant deadlines (none during the trip, but some soon after), so I need to be able to check email once a day and keep up. It's not a burden to me - I love my work, and this trip will make its way into that work eventually.

wvmom

When I went to Paris in December I took my laptop with me. It was a hassle carrying it with me when I was traveling and having to take it out going through airport security, but I really liked having it with me once I was there. I was able to send emails to my parents and chat with my kids on instant messenger. I also used it for looking up information on restaurants, museum hours, and directions. Yeah, I could have done that in advance, but sometimes plans change or you discover you don't have the information you need.

Tries2PakLite

We stayed in a hotel that had internet access in all of the rooms and we did take advantage of the computer. It was great to let the family at home know that we were safe and having fun, we checked for restaurant recommendations on Fodors, and followed up with a rave after we ate at one of the highly recommended restaurants in Florence.

We didn't surf the day away, we simply used it quickly when we did. It was great to have.

wco81

I took the PowerBook with me to NY in Sept., Rome in Nov., HK in January.

Will use it in BCN in March, FLR in May, London in July, Berlin in Sept.

Besides indexing my photos for iPhoto, looking up travel sites constantly, downloading stuff to listen to, I also ask questions on Flyertalk (and now will use Fodors as well). Lot of practical info.

I don't regularly keep a travelogue but I guess my posts sometimes do veer into that territory.

If you can make use of computers and online access on a daily basis, you'll be able to find a use and time on vacation. After a long day of walking all day, you need to sit for awhile anyways.

But what I really want to know is about the guy who's selling vacation photos to finance trips. I want to get in on that! What kind of pics and where do you sell them? Most people I know just post their pics for others to see but this guy has found a way to make money!

AnthonyGA

"An ADSL connection" is rather vague. Exactly how do you connect your laptop to the Internet with it?

Robespierre

I've stayed in hotels having an Ethernet jack in the room that was connected to the WAN through their ADSL modem and multiport hub or switch.

The modem is a DHCP server on the LAN side, so you get an IP address when you jack in.

Web surfing is so "bursty" that I've never encountered significant bandwidth limitations even when the hotel was on a 640kb line.

julies

Thanks for your responses; I am still contemplating this. We will be staying in just one place for our entire week and a half trip, and that is why I amn contemplating this. Otherwise if we were moving around a lot, I wouldn't even contemplate it.

This is not a trip with extensive planning but rather a last minute trip with about 3 weeks total planning time. As far as the broadband hook-up nitty gritty, I hadn't even thought about that. Here's what the owner says, "You have only to log in my "identifiants de connexion." Whatever that means.

cocofromdijon

<identifiants de connexion> is password to be connected.
It is a pity the owner doesn't provide the computer that goes with it.

AnthonyGA

Aye, there's the rub.

For it seems that some places let you plug into their LAN and issue an IP address and presumably a gateway and DNS server via DHCP; but others expect you to configure a PPPoE tunnel in order to connect to an external provider instead. It's kind of hard to have it both ways, and as far as I know, most systems do not magically reconfigure themselves on the fly—you have to tell them how to connect.

The ideal method is to just plug into a LAN that runs DHCP; but while hotels are likely to be that way (if they have competent IT staff), private apartments are not.