WiFi

[Wild Bill]

Is there much WiFi service along Camino?

[Covey]

There is very little free-to-access WiFi along the Camino Frances. You may find an access point in the large cities, but you will have to wander around the place to find one and most of us are too knackered to want to walk around town searching for a WiFi slot. Finding a beer is Numero Uno priority!!!

All the albergues have a PC and internet access, but many block access to the USB ports.

[HuskyNerd]

Hi WildBill,
My last Camino Frances is now 2 years ago, but on the Via de la Plata last month I was quite surprised to find that about 20% of bar/cafes had WiFi. This is due to their increasing need to do credit card transactions, which often means a router with WiFi. I brought my iPhone, left the cell phone feature off, and used it solely for WiFi email. I was able to get online almost every day -- a mixed blessing of course. The Spanish pronounce it WeeFee and you need to ask for the password (clave) as they're almost always password protected. There are many bar cafes with WiFi in Santiago proper, so if you have a PDA and need sporadic WiFi access I think it's worth it to bring it along.

[InOrlando]

Ditto everything said by Husky:
My husband brought along his iPhone, and kept it in "Airport" mode when he wasn't trying to check the special email box he created, just for emergencies and family communication. But the iPhone was absolutely great: We have more than 1000 photos, and 100 short film clips of the experience. The iPhone became our photography and digital video camera the entire time. WiFi service along the Camino Frances was just good enough to post 6 photos to our Facebook page as we walked: Whenever we stopped for a coffee or beer, or to check in to our albergue, he took the phone off "Airport," and tested for WiFi. Most of the time, we could connect and let everyone know we were still safe.