ameliapond

Used to live in Spain now going there for a short holiday, just wondered what's the cheapest way to get online while there, I've had a look on the net and there seem to be different services available for holidaymakers but always afraid to get ripped off so if anyone has first hand experience or reliable info about this give us a shout.

Cats-R-Us

Don't know where you are holidaying but where we live high in the mountains of Granada Province a lot of the bars/hotels have free wi-fi service available. All you need to do is buy a coffee or similar and ask for their access code to use the wi-fi. I'm sure this must be the same on most of the costas too. When with a friend in Denia (costa blanca) we went into an hotel bar and she was able to use their wi-fi. Bars usually have a sign up saying "free wi-fi" if they have it available. Hope this helps.

Domino

if anyone is interested, in Granada you will find large kiosks selling newspapers, magazines etc. These are generally funded by Ideal (someone correct me on this) but more importantly - they display a "Free WIFI" sign.
So you can log on whilst buying your newspaper or waiting for a bus as most of them appear to be adjacent to major bus stops in the city..

Also Alsa the local coach company offer free wifi on their coaches along with the local hospitals and El Cortes Ingles for shoppers.

there is lots of it about and a search with a smart mobile will show many wifi's around, although most are locked you should find enough to get by on without having to pay silly money for a short term contract.

hth

bobd22

Something like this may suit your needs? I believe there are other providers with similar.
Pocket Wifi - Másmóvil

bobd22

If you do an internet search on "pocket WiFi Spain" there are quite a few on offer cheapest seems to be 4.95 euro per day.

jimenato

Yes - various people do it - Orange do and we have used it. It is fine as long as the 3G signal is OK which is very location dependant. It is also very expensive (4.95 Euro/day = 150 per month) but that's not a factor if you are only around for a few weeks.

The main drawback is usage limits. Carrefour prepagado is quite cheap - around 1.50 Euro per day but only allows you a measly 100 Meg per day - Orange is better at around 3.50 Euro and 350 Meg per day. That's OK if you want to check your emails but watching telly or videos is right out.

I'm looking to spend time in the UK and Spain on a random sort of basis. The UK is no problem - 8 pounds a month for 12 Mbps speed and unlimited download volume so you can just contract for the year and it won't cost you much.

Spain is the problem and I haven't worked out what to do about it yet.

bobd22

Yes I mentioned the price as for 3g signal again I agree you need to ensure you get a system that works in the area you are staying. I am non resident and use a 3g Dongle from masmovil which I connect to a WiFi router so giving me WiFi around the house. For e mails and a bit of surfing and Skype non video calls etc it costs me around 20 Euros a month that is payg so not paying when not in Spain. That suits my needs.

By the way as for watching TV I did try it via my dongle yes it worked fine but would cost a fortune to actually watch programs on. Masmovil do a monthly 10GB package for 39 Euros but that is on contract so no use if coming and going. I believe possibly by next year the EU is proposing to do away with all roaming charges including internet, if so it may be that UK packages will be able to be used but somehow I doubt it will be that simple?

jimenato

I think that is a dead cert.

Kenwoodlad

There is a new free service for tourists called FreeClick. If you google that, you'll get all the info. We have signed up to try it next week, I'll report back on how good or bad it turns out to be.

ameliapond

How do you get these? Is it doable online before departure or it needs to be done once there? I'm heading to Costa del Sol BTW

So far, from 1st July this year, EU has introduced caps Mobile roaming charges halved as EU introduces new caps | Money | theguardian.com but to be honest I don't trust these rulings at the end of the day once the money is gone it's pretty difficult to get it back from these companies so I think I'll avoid roaming whenever possible.

Fredbargate

Walk into a Carrefour store and buy. You get a sim card

Bono 3 Gb - Internet Móvil Prepago - Carrefour Móvil - Carrefour España

http://carrefour.es/telecom/internet...ago/bono-1-gb/

guirijohn

I don´t know if it helps but Pepephone offers mobile internet for €20 a month. It is a contract but there is no lock in period. You would have to buy the dongle for €35, but over time it may prove cheaper than paying daily rates.


pepephone.com - Tienda

jimenato

As Fred says - go into a Carrefour store for their deal. You can only get the Orange deal online - their shops don't do it (or they didn't, that may have changed).

Internet Móvil prepago - Internet movil prepago

Although I seem to remember (it was some time ago) we had difficulties with that site so we got it from these people.

http://www.simcardspain.es/en/usb-3g-mobile-broadband-dongle/25-orange-internet-everywhere-prepago-prepaid-payg-spanish-usb-3g-mobile-broadband-dongle-internet-spain.html

Be wary of going for the bulk deal which offer so many gigs per month. If you run out you have to wait a month before you can renew. Safer to do it day by day, at least you only have to wait till tomorrow for your next fix.

jimenato

That could be useful but that 20 Euro only gives you 1.2 Gb in a month, after that it's 3 cents per Mb - I guess that could get expensive?

guirijohn

True. Bear in mind that public libraries also offer free internet access. In Catalonia it is only necessary to present a passport, there is no residence requirement. I do not know about other regions.