❌ Motorhome Internet: What NOT to Do When Touring Europe

I have now lived full-time or long-term in a motorhome for 8 years. Before that, I lived on boats for 15 years. That is 23 years of really rubbish internet. That is actually quite terrifying now that I think about it. What is also really quite terrifying is how much technology has changed during that time. To be fair, I don't think the internet as such was a thing. It was always trying to find decent phone signals, But the amount of different options that we now have that weren't available that many years ago is quite intimidating, and I completely get why figuring out the internet in your motorhome or your campervan, especially when you're going to go into Europe, can be quite overwhelming. Completely understand that. So one thing that I've noticed from doing the group trips that I run are there are a couple of really common mistakes that people make before they take their vans into Europe, and so we're going to go through those today and tell you what to do instead. So the first mistake that a lot of people make is assuming that the campsite Wi-Fi is going to be good enough, and that is a problem. A lot of campsites offer Wi-Fi, but when you think how many people are connected to the one Wi-Fi source, it's going to be really slow. So whilst you might be able to send your text message, trying to upload a YouTube video or watch Netflix or whatever is often almost impossible. That's even if they have a decent Wi-Fi signal to start off with. So what you need to do if you want to ensure that you have got reliable internet is you have to have some sort of device that has its own SIM card in there. So that could be a phone, that could be a router, or that could be something like a Starlink, and we'll talk all about all of those options Very shortly. But that's the first thing to remember, that if you want decent, reliable internet whilst you are traveling, whether that's in the UK or in Europe, you have to be able to provide your own internet. The next mistake a lot of people make is assuming that the same package that they have in the UK is gonna be the same as when they are touring in Europe. So, for example, if you have unlimited calls, texts, and data in the UK, you might assume that that's exactly what you're gonna get when you are roaming abroad, and that is not the case. So the majority of networks, they have either a fair usage policy or a cap on the amount of data that you can use. Now, for a lot of people, that can be something like 20 or 25 gig, which sounds like a lot, but when you consider how many gigs a YouTube video is or a Netflix video, then you'll find that you will go through your data allowance really, really quickly. And if you are then using or relying on that to do things like finding the route, checking the traffic, finding where you're going to stop for the next night. It can leave you stuck without then either having to take off your spend cap, which can lead to very high charges, or it can mean that you've just got no internet at all when you're over there because you've, you've run through your allowance so quickly. So that's not a brilliant solution either. Now, there are some networks which will give you unlimited data. So I'm with EE. I pay monthly for my phone in the UK, And I've also got a boost or bonus or whatever they called it, that I've got unlimited data whilst I am touring. So there are networks out there that can do that. That's the first thing to do is check that you know what your allowance is whilst you are in the EU. If you're not sure, contact your phone provider and get them to tell you about what you can have whilst you are roaming. You might even find you don't have any sort of allowance, in which case you have to either pay for that as you go, pay as you go, which can be really expensive, or you want to sign up so that you've got some sort of roaming policy. Now, there are a couple of ways that you can increase your data allowance without having to pay more for the one that you have got, which obviously is an option, but it can get quite expensive. The first and most common thing that people do is get a secondary device, and we're gonna talk about those more in a little bit, but you can pay for another device that's got another SIM card in it, and between the two of them, that will give you double the data if you have two of them. The other thing that you can do is change out your SIM card in your phone for a local SIM when you're in Europe, and that will then give you much, much cheaper access to data and the internet. However, the big problem with changing out your actual SIM card is that if you are in France, for example, and you've put a French SIM card into your UK phone, so your UK SIM card is not in any device at all, and you go and spend some money in a shop or supermarket or whatever, and your UK bank is like, oh, I think that might be fraudulent, they will most likely try to phone you or send you a text message that you have to respond to, and they will send that to your UK SIM number, which isn't in a phone, so you won't get it, so your bank will think it's a fraudulent transaction. So I never recommend swapping out your SIM cards. By all means, get a secondary cheap phone and put a local SIM card in that and use that when you're going on the internet, but I would always recommend keeping your main number active. Just in case you get fraud alerts or something like that, and otherwise you won't know about it. So if you have got your main phone that has got your main UK SIM card in it, you can either turn off data access completely so you don't pay for the roaming, or if you've got some sort of package where you can use it for an amount, then just keep that going and make sure you've got a spend cap on, and then it doesn't go anymore. Now, what you can also do on a lot of modern phones, they can accept something called an eSIM, or an electronic SIM, Which is another number that is still on the same device, but it isn't actually a physical SIM card. So, if you've gone on any of my group trips, we always set up WhatsApp groups and things for the trip so that we can all chat and stuff. But the number that goes into that is a work number, a business number, and that is on an electronic SIM. So, it's not a physical SIM that I've got in my phone. It is an extra SIM that I've paid for. I pay for it monthly, but it's not a physical device. Now, you can get those whilst you are touring. There is one called Holafly. I think there's one called Nomad eSIM. I think Lebara do an electronic version. And so basically, you go onto any of these websites and you look for the electronic version. You will sign up to an account, and then you will be able to get whatever amount of data you pay for onto your phone, and you just have to activate that when you are touring. I know that sounds a little bit complicated, but if you go into a phone shop or anything like that, they will be able to talk you through it. However, Just be careful which ones you go into because they might only be able to talk about their specific products, and there are some really good ones that give you some great deals when you are touring overseas. The 3rd mistake that is really common I see people making is not having a backup option, and so relying too heavily on your phone. If there are 2 of you touring, that's not so bad. Perhaps you and your partner have both got access to a phone that is roaming, but for me, I've actually got 3 options because I use the internet so much for work and for myself, especially when I'm touring. It's really important to me to stay connected so people know where I am. I've got my Polarsteps running and people can actually just make sure that I'm safe, which is quite nice. So I actually have 3 different things on the motorhome that are my internet backup. So obviously I've got my phone, I've then also got a proper permanently fitted router, which is my Pathway 4G, which I love and adore, and that is properly fitted, mounted into the van. You don't have to, it's the easiest thing in the world to install, but Because you can literally just plug it into a power source and it's freestanding, so you can then put it out of a hatch, you can attach it to a window, you can just leave it on the table in the middle of your van and it will still get decent internet access. Oh, a bit of dust went down the wrong way. So the Pathway is a brilliant bit of kit. So that's my second thing. So I've got my phone, I've then got my router. Now you don't have to have a proper big router like that one, you can have a tiny little dongle. If you like one of these MiFis or these Huaweis, which is spelled H-U-A-W-E-I. How that pronounces Huawei, I don't know, but never mind. So you can have a smaller one. You will still be putting in a SIM card, so it probably still cost you the exact same thing. So a bigger router like the Pathway doesn't necessarily cost more. Might cost more to purchase, but to run, it's generally about the same thing. And then the third thing that I have got, which is a fairly recent addition. But, uh, honestly, I don't know how I ever did without it, is the Starlink Mini. And that is just genius. So when I'm in the middle of nowhere, I can still get online, which for me, again, is really important. It's not for everybody. It's not an essential. If you are not using the internet like I am all the time, then it's definitely probably not something you want to pay for. And the monthly costs are insane. Having said that, they have now done a refer-a-friend thing. So I'm going to leave the link below, and if you click the link and sign up for your Starlink through that, you get a free month, which I think is worth about £95, and I get a free month as well. So hopefully that will help us all out if we are going to go down the Starlink Mini route. But a really, really good bit of kit. So those are the 3 things that I carry and have with me when I am touring. I love the whistling kettle, I really do. Now I hope that has helped you figure out what kind of internet options And devices you might want to have for your motorhome. Don't forget, at the very, very worst case scenario, if you get stuck and you need to get online and you haven't got access at a campsite or your phone's blocked or whatever, you can always go to a public place where— I tend to find McDonald's are really good, um, the world over. They tend to have decent Wi-Fi, so they're always a really good option if you can find one near you, if you do need to get online in a bit of an emergency. Obviously, that's not a bad option, but anywhere that sells food generally has a good chance of having decent Wi-Fi. If you do want to know more about some of the devices and things that I've used, I will drop all of the links and things in the show notes for you. I hope you found that useful. If you did, don't forget to like this video and subscribe so that you get more motorhoming and van life tips. I hope you are having a wonderful and happy day wherever you are, and I'll see you on the next video. Take care. Bye. Bye.