how to access internet when away somewhere with no router

[overthemill]

going away next week in UK which is kind of holiday (to do with dps hobby) and staying in apartment which doesn't appear to have any internet/wired/wifi. So, how do access the internet on my laptop? I will have my smartphone but have weedy data plan. I vaquely think i can get something called a dongle but just for a week? How much would it be and is it worth it?

Will want to use internet for finding things to do with dd and for her to use facebook/do homework/ and other stuff she likes. Probably can cope with no online TV...

You can get a pay as you go dongle from any of the major service providers. The issue is which will have the best signal in your place.

Three have a coverage checker so you can see if your location is served by 3G signal. Be warned though the checker can be quite optimistic.

Your dongle will likely cost around £30 for 1GB which should be more than enough for a week of surfing but not music/video streaming. Web surfing should be fine though.

If your broadband is with BT then you may be able to access BT-FON/BT-Openzone hotspots in the vicinity.

If your phone is sim free or on o2,order a data only sim from giffgaff 1GB will only cost you £7.50 and because its PAYG,you dont need to top up again till you need it.

Great ideas, thank you! Not on BT nor sim free but shall do a service check and buy dongle. Thank you! Lovely mumsnet people

An alternative to a dongle is a Mifi. Its the size of a small phone and generates a wifi that up to 6 devices can operate off. The advatage over a dongle is you arent locked into any particular network provider. I have just got a new sim from 3 which for £10 gives me a months wifi access and about a GB of data, enough when we are away for a couple of weeks. I can top it up if we need more but I'm not locked into a monthly contract.

i could have done with something like that in the USA. where we stayed some of the time had no wifi and i had my tablet. would it work over there and on that. i said to my dh i would have gladly paid to have a gadget which would give me some wifi like you do with payg on a mobile.

had to sit outside sears and i got really fed up.

The Mifi will work anywhere as long as you have a country appropriate sim card. I love the flexibility mine gives and it charges with the same charger as my mobile.

This is the one I have although mine is a couple of years old now so I think there are later models. The one improvement I would make is the Mifi doesn't have a battery indicator which is a bit annoying!
www.amazon.co.uk/Novatel-Wireless-MiFi-2352-Intelligent/dp/B002OE5N02