Guest Lindsay Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 We are embarking on a trip of a lifetime, taking 6 to 9 months to tour around Europe in our Adria Twin with our two dogs. I have bought a new laptop with wifi facility and want to keep in touch with our family at home via regular emails. Can people tell me the best/cheapest way to do this? We shall be on a limited budget but expect to be mainly on campsites but probably not in the cities much. Want to see the countryside - mainly aiming for France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany - any advice would be gratefully received as there seems to be an assumption that 'its obvious'. Please note, I'm NOT a techie so please can you answer in 'normal speak'! Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks Lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dave Newell Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi Lindsay, First of all I'd like to wish you both (and the dogs of course) a fantastic trip, I truly hope it goes well for you. As for keeping in touch with home, I've not toured in Europe but I'm told the simplest and cheapest is to get yourself an unlocked mobile phone and buy a pay as you go sim card in each country then use text messages to keep in touch with those less fortunate beings back home. I'm sure other more widely experienced travellers will throw a few other ideas into the pot. Have fun, Dave. dave@davenewell.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Norma Bone Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 We've tried the 'own computer' using the mobile as the modem. Given up. Too slow and too expensive, even with French (in France!) sim card. Unless the situation has changed drastically we will continue to use Internet Cafes. Often we've managed on a Euro for an hour, sometimes more but alot easier. We weren't even charged in the Tourism office in Brantome. We did meet someone who had gone to the expense of a broadband satellite on board. He knew what he was doing but had an awful time trying to set it up. I gather the French sift through e-mails for spam much more carefully than we do. Otherwise the local sim card is definately the better way to go. We often had a lot of business calls to put up with too - we got fed up paying with the British card just to say - "sorry we are on holiday, can't do next week" We leave a message on the British sim card giving the new temporary number and let the incoming caller carry the cost! And the kids come round to our house to phone us! Have a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malc Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I have an ancient, pay as you go, mobile phone ( T-Mobile) and have sent texts home from as far as Croatia in the south to the North Cape of Norway in the north with no problems. I seem to remember I had to make some minor change before I first used it ( about 4 or 5 years ago ( as per my phone instruction book ) but I 've not done anything since. I certainly haven't bought any sim cards in other countries. It's quite cheap too. I got one (or more) of my family to send me a text when I went and then just texted 'replies'so I didn't have to worry about get the country codes right. But if you have pay-as-you go you must top up with plenty of funds before you go - as far as I know you can't do it abroad. If you want to e-mail there are quite a few internet cafes about now who usually charge a pound or two for about 40 minutes on net. Have a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi Malc. Yes you can top up whilst abroad by using your credit card. we always use text. Used it in Sth Africa brilliant just like holding a conversation it was so fast, also the phone acted like a GPS as it showed us where we were, a quick look on the map confirmed position. Maps in SA are not brilliant possibly due to the vast amount of open space. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 But be aware that whereas calls to top up from your credit card are free in UK, they aren't from abroad. Good starting credit best idea. We gave up with the laptop idea for the same reasons as above. Hope you didn't buy it just for the wonderfol mobile internet and e-mail, that simply stops at Dover. Annoying, isn't it? There are internationally roamable accounts but most seem to be aimed at businesses and would be wildly uneconomical for accasional use. What is really needed is a phone with a half decent key pad so that texting is easier. Teenagers now come with specially developed fingers and thumbs, but I was made too early for them! Text is King! Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mel B Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Brian You can actually buy folding/portable keyboards that you can connect to your mobile phone, assuming of course you phone has an input for it, either hard wire or Bluetooth. Have a browse on eBay to see the choice, go to the main search, click on 'Advance Search', select the category 'Mobile & Home Phones' and put 'keyboard' in the left side search field. You'll find loads of keyboards for mobile phones come up, some complete with phones. Alternatively you can put in your mobile's name and also 'keyboard' in the left hand field to see if there's one specifically for your phone. Happy hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Brian, We have never been charged extra for topping up mobile, only the amount specified by us. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Kirby Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Thank you Mel. I must look. David, you're lucky. Ours charges for the top up call if that call is made from outside UK. Not the end of the world, though. You don't have to do it very often. Thanks Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lindsay Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Really appreciate your replies and ideas - please keep them coming! Thanks again Lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Brian Ramsden Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 I have a Vodafone PAYGo mobile and the top up is free abroad. Maybe the confusion is that you use a different number abroad to the UK one, or maybe different providers have different policies. The following website - www.0044.co.uk/ enables you to buy a foreign SIM card for the coutries you are visiting. If you are going to spend a long time in one country this will definately save you money. These can be topped up by buying top-up cards when you are there, and they can be re-used provided you observe the "no use" time limits. Texting is definately the cheapest way to keep in touch. I have been thinking of going the laptop route but have been put off by the cost so far. Interesting to here other peoples experinece of this. I have never picked up the courage to try an internet café. I once tried to use such a facility at a campsite reception and got lost on the french keyboard. Enjoy your trip. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bb Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 We set up a separate hotmail account for travelling, which we access through internet cafes, libraries and tourist offices are good sources too for internet access. Only close friends and family have been given the address and put in our address book, so we don't get spam or business messages, and don't spend ages waiting for jokes etc to download. We also use text for contacting family, turning on the phone once a day, and working on the principle that " no news is good news" so if no one has texted we don't need to phone home. Hope you all enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pat p Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Whilst browsing in Tescos one day (sad) we noticed a mobile phone with a larger keypad. If I remember correctly it was aimed at technophobes as it was a basic phone with a larger keypad. Sorry can't remember any more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeteC Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 We carry both our normal WiFi (PCM1A ) adaptor and a Vodafone G3 card On some sites you can pay for a WiFI connection and sometimes it works out cheaper to use the G3 card You could go down town to a Internet Cafe or one of those Hot Spots But BEWARE none of the options are cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Colin Hamilton Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 I use a Blackberry with a Tmobile account and get all my Emails. Cheap and easy, the only draw back is you can't print them or download them to your laptop (not that I know of anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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