As a travel blogger, online nerd, and parent, I often need to access the internet. It might be to write a post for our travelblog, check SoMe, or because our son needs to watch some danish TV or something on YouTube.
Here are my best tips on how to get free WiFi on your vacation.
The hotel
Many hotels, hostels, and other types of accommodations offer free WiFi. Interestingly, budget hotels and Airbnb stays often include free WiFi, while some of the more expensive hotels still charge for it. If there’s no WiFi in your hotel room, it’s often possible to get WiFi in the lobby.
Cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, and stores
You can find plenty of cafes, coffee shops, and restaurants that offer free WiFi. In fact, in many places, free WiFi is more the norm than the exception. At some locations, you may need to ask if they have free WiFi and what the password is, while other places have a sign displaying the network name and password.
You can also find several stores that offer free WiFi—especially larger chain stores in big cities.
Airports & transit areas
Many airports offer free WiFi to passengers in the terminals. Conference rooms in airports almost always provide free WiFi, so if you have a meeting at the airport or access to the conference areas for other reasons, there’s a good chance you’ll find free WiFi.
Several transit locations, such as train stations, subways, and bus stations, also offer free WiFi. Availability varies widely from country to country and city to city, but it never hurts to check if free WiFi is available.
More and more trains and buses have also started to offer free WiFi during the journey. This can be useful if you need to check hotel options, send a message to family on SoMe, or if your child is bored and needs to watch some YouTube.
The local library
In many cities, the local public library offers free WiFi to both residents and visitors. However, in some cities, you may need a local library card, but in many places, you can get temporary access as a guest.
Apps that help you
If you’re having trouble finding free WiFi, you can install apps that help you locate it. There are good apps available for both iOS (iPhone) and Android phones.
Some useful apps you can try include:
- ‘WiFi Map’
- ‘Wi-Fi Spot’
- ‘Opened and Protected’
- ‘Free Wi-Fi Finder – free internet’.
There are many apps available, and it can be a bit of a jungle to find the right one for you. A good approach is to check their ratings, reviews, and when they were last updated (frequent updates often indicate that the app is continuously improving).
