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Find a High Speed Broadband Internet Connection While Travelling

Though some of us still like to send actual postcards back home when we’re traveling, it’s just as easy and sometime more fun to send a virtual one over the Internet! Connecting to a high-speed Internet connection while traveling allows you to send notes to multiple people at the same time, and you can even attach pictures and videos of your trip to share with friends and family back home. Check out some of the many ways you can hop on the World Wide Web while you’re off exploring a new place.

DSL and Travel – Hotels and Hostels

Perhaps the easiest way to check e-mail and surf the Web while traveling is through the hotel or hostel you’re staying at. Most of the larger hotel chains now offer Wi-Fi Internet access in their lobbies, sometimes for free and sometimes for a fee. Some hotels also have Internet hook-ups in the actual hotel room where you can plug your laptop in and access the Internet in the privacy of your own room. Hostels oftentimes have a large number of computers connected to the Internet near the lobby, so check there first if your hotel’s computers are busy.

DSL and Travel - Internet Cafés

Internet cafés, also known as cyber cafés and online cafés, are sprouting up everywhere. They provide quick and convenient access to the Internet, sometimes while you munch on a muffin of sip on coffee. On the positive side, connections at Internet cafes tend to be rather fast. However, you will have to pay for the convenience, with some cafes charging as much as $.25 per minute or more. If you’re going to be sticking around in one place for a few days or more, it’s a good idea to check and see if the café offers a bulk minute card that can help you save money. Basically, you purchase a certain amount of Internet time, say two hours, and you’re charged a flat rate instead of being charged by the minute. Depending on where you are, some cafes will only allow you to access e-mail programs, while other ones will give you full Internet Access.

Your best bet when choosing an Internet café is to try and find a fairly large one, especially one that is part of a chain. These cafes usually have much cheaper prices than the smaller “mom and pop” Internet cafés. These larger cafes are also more likely to provide stations where you can hook up your own laptop and work from your own computer.

DSL and Travel - Other “Hotspots”

If you’re bringing your own laptop with you, and you have a wireless card, then it’s likely you’ll be able to use “hotspots” and get onto the Internet that way. Hotspots are areas within close proximity to wireless routers where you can hop onto Internet connections. Many coffee shops, restaurants and stores have bought wireless routers and made themselves hotspots, and if you go into one of these locations, you’re able to access the Internet, either for free or a small charge.