|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 20, 2017 11:34:42 GMT
Hi everyone. There's lots of fantastic, and useful information here, so I'd like to add something back to the knowledge pool.
I'm opening this thread for discussion on using the internet on Skiathos for UK holiday makers. Please feel free to chip in if you have any other useful news/ideas/information.
I appreciate not everyone wants to spend much (or any) time on the internet whilst on holiday, but there'll be some who do, so this is for you. For me, I love to keep connected to the news and sport, and there are two test matches on whilst we're out there this year.
Last time on Skiathos (2 years ago) I found the Wi-Fi everywhere to be extremely flakey. Slow, constantly disconnecting, not to mention the harsh glare from SWMBO when I asked for the Wi-Fi password at every bar/tavern we went into. There's also the worry about taking pictures and videos and wanting to post them for friends/family back home to see, as well as Facetime, etc. Most people phone home while abroad, but Facetime counts as data.
So the alternative is 3G/4G on your phone.
Now this year we've been led to believe that data roaming charges across the EU are going...only when I've looked into it, it's not quite that simple. They're going to start reducing costs, but it's rolling out over quite a few years, and will still be pretty expensive for the next few years.
So first bit of information, if you were expecting to use your phone for the internet for free from June this year, you need to check with your provider, it's not that simple, and you could end up being stung with a large bill if you don't sort it out in advance.
I phoned up my mobile phone provider (EE) and looked into what the score was. My phone is paid for, so if you're still in contract this will not apply. Ring your provider for help and advice.
I currently pay £24.99 a month and get 16GB. One option was to buy a 'Travel Data Pass'. It would cost £3 a day for 500 megs (about half a GB), which sounded reasonable until I started to add it up - it equates to £42 for the fortnight for 7GB, which would have to be evenly spread out. Now I can't see myself using all of that, but £42 is crazy.
A second option was to change my plan (which apparently I can do on a monthly basis). I can change before I go to something currently called Sim Only Max Plan. It's £39.99 a month, but I'm due a discount so I can get it for £29.99. I get a UK data allowance of 30gb, half of which (15gb) I can use anywhere in the EU, obviously including Greece. I can swap back the following month after coming home.
So that's £5 for the holiday, with data to burn. Even without my discount I think £15 would be a small rice to pay for the peace of mind of not having to turn data roaming off and being able to use my data allowance at will without having to worry about it. I'd be hard-pushed to use 15GB, so I should be able to just set and forget.
SWMBO has just upgraded her phone and is on a contract with EE. I'll check to see what her position is, and I might even be upgrading myself before we go.
While in Greece I'll try to take speed checks, as well as checking to see if I'm getting 3G or 4G, whenever I remember, and at various different places on the island. I'll post results here.
Please feel free to chip in.
Different provider to EE? On a contract? Staying elsewhere on the island (I'll be Koukounaries & town). Let us know how it is where you are.
Also, what's the best Wi-Fi in town? What's the Wi-Fi in your hotel like?
Best way to measure internet speeds is to download an app - the easiest appears to be 'Speedtest by Ookla' (just put that in your search at your app store and it'll come up pretty quickly). It's free and a piece of cake to use. Just open and click 'Begin Test'. A minute later you have ping time, as well as both upload and download speeds.
Best wishes, and I hope the information I've offered here, and any subsequent messages/discussion in the thread, prove useful.
Cheers.
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on May 20, 2017 16:01:11 GMT
Welcome, lad (but only if tha's from't rhubarb triangle). My findings of wi-fi speeds last year were that generally if you achieved 4GB download and a year upload (well half a GB) you were on the average. Maybe you'll be better off in Skiathos Palace - we're not posh enough to stay in that sort of place and they probably do a better service for your money. I have been told that our accommodation's speed is increased this year and I'll find out when we get there 30th June. I have no idea how good 3G/4G is on the island, but I shall be finding out this year. I have discovered that having a SIM only contract is noticeably cheaper than having a contract with a "free" phone included. So I changed to sim only contract. The calculation was a two year contract including phone compared to price of a phone plus two years sim only contract and it was very much cheaper to go sim only. I've only become VERY interested since I upgraded to iPhone 7 Plus, with its larger screen being incentive to more internet usage. My plan is 5GB UK data, Unlimited UK calls, unlimited UK texts, 2GB Roaming data, unlimited roaming calls and unlimited roaming texts. Vodafone. The price has just gone up from £15.30 to £15.70 a month. This month's bill has just arrived today and totals £16.95, which includes £1.25 out of bundle charges - I think that's two or three SMS picture messages. I am not a huge internet user and I have never got anywhere near my UK data limit - I regularly check emails and websites on 4G and I run an app in background most of the time which downloads map data from time to time. In UK I have found that 4G is so much faster than the free wi-fi in motorway service areas that I've stopped using their connection and stick with my own 4G (normally 20GB both down and up). I have yet to see how my roaming goes, but with some free wi-fi availability, I expect to be perfectly safe in Skiathos over two weeks. In any event, I have the Vodafone app to access my account any time so that I can see how the data usage is going. The best wi-fi speed I found last year was in Jasteri Taverna on the main road in Troulos (opposite Salt and Pepper), a stone's throw from bus stop 18. I agree with your speed test thingy - I typed speedtest.net into my browser's address line for it to come up without bothering searching and I have bookmarked the website instead of downloading an app. Have a look at my video of the FAST boat from Koukounaries to Skiathos town - skiathosboomerang.freeforums.net/thread/665/koukounaries-skiathos-town-21st-september15 minutes of loud bounce (although I had sound turned off in the video) top value for money in our opinion. I didn't regard it as a taxi, more like a theme park ride! Run it in full screen mode and in the first 5 seconds you can pause it to read the timetable (for last year, surely very similar this year). The captain advised turning up early to get a place and I don't know how many queueing Brits do it, so stand in everybody's way at the front of the dock!
|
|
|
Post by Tre on May 20, 2017 22:36:26 GMT
Had no problem last week using free wifi all over. Never attempted to stream films or whatever though! Why would you? OH kept data roaming on (O2 contract) to retrieve emails etc. Week's cost; £2.05 so ok with that. I'm contract with EE & been advised that from mid June roaming is free. We'll see!
|
|
|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 21, 2017 10:00:14 GMT
Have a look at my video of the FAST boat from Koukounaries to Skiathos town - skiathosboomerang.freeforums.net/thread/665/koukounaries-skiathos-town-21st-september15 minutes of loud bounce (although I had sound turned off in the video) top value for money in our opinion. I didn't regard it as a taxi, more like a theme park ride! Run it in full screen mode and in the first 5 seconds you can pause it to read the timetable (for last year, surely very similar this year). The captain advised turning up early to get a place and I don't know how many queueing Brits do it, so stand in everybody's way at the front of the dock! Nah then.
I live in Huddy but work in Wakey.
Amazingly, I was looking at that very video just the other day.
Wanting to know what time the last water taxi is from Koukounaries to town. It seems to be around 5:20, but sometimes 6:20 peak season.
Thanks for all the info.
|
|
|
Post by *Di* on May 21, 2017 10:06:14 GMT
Tre Ive received text saying my EE allowances I use here at home will be available to use from mid June in Europe too which is great news for me as I/we like to phone places to book tables and last year we used hubbys PAYG phone to save me racking a phone bill up. Im especially glad in that out of wifi areas where I might want to post a nice photo I can now. Up to last Dec I had been with vodafone for years and within my £40 a month contract I was only given 500mb of mobile data which I just managed with. Went to EE (all new iphones included) and the best I could get for £41 a month was 1gb mobile data (better than before obv, doubled) so Im hoping Im going to be able to use it quite a bit if/when away from free wifi...
|
|
|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 21, 2017 10:08:07 GMT
By the way, I agree Tre. I can't imagine wanting to stream a film.
However, there's something we did for the kids last year. We used to get back from the beach, kids get a shower and ready for the evening, then SWMBO and I the same. While we're getting ready we'd put a film on for them.
How? We just took a small media player and a portable hard drive full of kids films. Pretty cheap, dead easy to carry, very light.
Most accommodation these days has a TV with a spare HDMI in.
As I say, keeps the kids busy and from under your feet.
|
|
|
Post by *Di* on May 21, 2017 10:08:39 GMT
Have a look at my video of the FAST boat from Koukounaries to Skiathos town - skiathosboomerang.freeforums.net/thread/665/koukounaries-skiathos-town-21st-september15 minutes of loud bounce (although I had sound turned off in the video) top value for money in our opinion. I didn't regard it as a taxi, more like a theme park ride! Run it in full screen mode and in the first 5 seconds you can pause it to read the timetable (for last year, surely very similar this year). The captain advised turning up early to get a place and I don't know how many queueing Brits do it, so stand in everybody's way at the front of the dock! Nah then.
I live in Huddy but work in Wakey.
Amazingly, I was looking at that very video just the other day.
Wanting to know what time the last water taxi is from Koukounaries to town. It seems to be around 5:20, but sometimes 6:20 peak season.
Thanks for all the info.
Hi Yorkshire... going over Huddy way later to help do cricket teas for my SIL team at Clayton West... 👍🏼
|
|
|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 21, 2017 10:25:50 GMT
Are we all from God's County?
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on May 21, 2017 10:49:25 GMT
Are we all from God's County? It is rather stretching the rules, but I suppose travelling THROUGH 't rhubarb triangle regularly just about counts. Not 100%, but fairly decent.
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on May 23, 2017 9:41:35 GMT
Most accommodation these days has a TV with a spare HDMI in. Are you kidding? I don't even know if our TV works! Or HOW it works. It sits on a very dodgy looking wall mount thing at just the right height to brain me if I'm not careful walking past, but I daren't touch it in case something catastophic happens.
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on May 23, 2017 9:43:26 GMT
Anybody other than Di knows what's a SIL team?
|
|
|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 23, 2017 10:06:23 GMT
Anybody other than Di knows what's a SIL team? Sunday Indoor League cricket at a guess.
|
|
|
Post by yorkshiremouth on May 23, 2017 10:08:16 GMT
Most accommodation these days has a TV with a spare HDMI in. Are you kidding? I don't even know if our TV works! Or HOW it works. It sits on a very dodgy looking wall mount thing at just the right height to brain me if I'm not careful walking past, but I daren't touch it in case something catastophic happens. I've been fortunate enough to only stay in accomodation with a decent flatscreen.
To be honest, with a media player I've had more use out of the TV (babysitting the kids) than the TV has been without it.
|
|
|
Post by Tre on May 23, 2017 10:16:45 GMT
yorkshiremouth, we used to take a portable DVD player, probably going back 17 years or so!! I can also remember one year, the lad found away to play it through the TV. No need these days........ he's 27 & married. However, I see your point once they get round to giving us grandchildren
|
|
|
Post by dennisn on May 23, 2017 11:34:03 GMT
Anybody other than Di knows what's a SIL team? Sunday Indoor League cricket at a guess. Well, I thought it meant Son-In-Law. Can you play cricket indoors? I thought you needed a field or something (you are dealing with a native of God's Own County who doesn't like cricket). I mean, how can you play cricket indoors? It would never rain!!!
|
|