France Holiday - Internet Access - Help please!!

cheneslieges132

Please can anyone advise me re Internet Access whilst on holiday in France? I need to have internet access, and I only have a small "Netbook" Laptop-type of computer. Should I invest in a "Smartphone" instead? (I have no idea how they work, being an old "wrinkly") - will a Smartphone give me reasonable access to Emails, Facebook etc? How does one go about this please? (In simple language please - I can only just about understand Windows XP - frightened of anything new!!)

I do not want to go and look for a McDonalds - I have never ever been in one, and the thought horrifies me! What other suggestions are there please.

buglawton

Are you hiring a car there? A couple of the big car hire chains will rent you a 'MiFi' portable WiFi hotspot for around £40 per week.

macman

Use alternative free wi-fi hotspots?

cookie365

If you really are that terrified of everything, then the least scary but by no means cheapest option would be to head to the first mobile phone shop you see in France and ask to buy a '3G dongle' with a sim and data allowance for however you'll be there.

I expect the French for '3G dongle' is '3G dongle'

pdoherty76

Yea, my suggestion would have been to get hold of a 3G dongle, perhaps buy an unlocked one on ebay before you go. And then just go in a french phone shop and buy a 30 day rolling sim.

Don't know what the dongles sell for in france.

buglawton

http://www.tepwireless.com/ will rent you a 3G wifi dongle £45 for 10 days including data. Collect & drop off at airport. Or they can send it you your selected address. There's a 10% discount voucher.

In France data SIMs can be difficult to sign up for as you have to prove your address.

Gloomendoom

In my experience, cheap mobile internet and France don't go together. If you are watching the pennies and don't have free access to Fon spots, MacDonalds is probably the easiest answer. They are usually full of tourists catching up with their emails. It is usually possible to pick up the signal without going inside although you will need to go in at least once to get the wifi key.