Alright my helpful travel experts,

Leaving CA to go to Europe for a while (Barcelona, Rome, London) and need a way to communicate with the kids back home. I'm super technology challenged so don't laugh!

If I bring a netbook or a laptop, can I communicate with them (talking not emailing) via Skype from my netbook or laptop at a Europeon hotel or Starbucks with wifi, to a home desktop? I'd like them to hear my voice and vice versa. Is it a clear connection, or static-y and delayed?

If so, what version of skype do I get (for both computers), will there be a fee or is it free since both devices will have skype?

Or is there a better alternative to 'call' home?

Thanks for not laughing (out loud) at me!

As Obama always said: Yes, you can!

Just install Skype on your laptop and of course on your home PC. The setup is plain and easy and even for technical challenged people an easy task. In order to use Skye you have to set up an user account (you will be asked for that during the setup). You will need two accounts in order to communicate with you kids. One account for yourself and one for your kids. After that you are all set and you only need an internet connection wherever you go. The quality of Skype is as good as the internet connection you use but a standard WLAN or broadband connection will do fine for Skype.

In addition if you have a webcam in your laptop and home PC you can also use the video chat function of Skype. So you will hear and see your kids.

Skype is for free as long you call another Skype user. If you want to use Skype to call a regular phone number you have to buy a credits. The rates are pretty low I think a few US cents per minute. This function is called Skype-Out.

Hope this helps.

PS: I suggest that the moderators will move the thread into the Travel Technology Section.

I use skype all the time to speak to the family at home when I am travelling. The free way of doing this is to load skype onto your laptop and do the same with a home PC. It doesn't matter if you and your home PC have different versions of the software, they still "talk" to each other. Follow all the directions on installation and you're good to go. This also gives you the facility to open up a video call with them providing you have a webcam. These are a bit jumpy and grainy but, as they are free, quite nice to use. You can see them, they can see you

If you don't have a home PC (or want to speak to family when they are not at home) you can charge up your skype account via a credit card and then make normal calls from your skype software on your laptop to a landline or mobile number. I don't know the cost in UK (for example) to US but I can call a UK mobile from China for about $0.02/minute

Call quality is gererally fine with no appreciable delay. I only have problems in some really crazy places, you should be fine in European cities. If there seems to be a problem then usually I disconnect and redail, this often solves the problem.

nickyboy

Please continue to follow this thread in the Travel Technology Forum.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

thank you! I was getting confused thinking there was some international type charge if I was using a wifi point abroad, calling back to the US. But you guys are saying if I have a US account, am using it in Europe but calling home to the US, there is no charge, right?


Brilliant technology!

Skype doesn't care where you set up your account. Talking via Skype to another Skype user is always free of charge. Only if you want to use Skype to call a regular land line phone number you will be charged. This feature is called Skype-Out and is an additional feature of Skype.

Of course there can be charges for using the internet of WiFi at a hotel or cafe but this has nothing to do with Skype.

caspritz78 answered this already:

BTW, I have used Skype with an O2 USB stick in Germany. They say it would NOT work for VOIP, but it did. I believe Skype doesn't use standard VOIP features ... that's why it worked. In the German Forum is a post of such a stick sold by ALDI. I purchased my stick from TCHIBO. In the UK, O2 is also selling such a stick.

I too was a Skype dummy until I used it on two trips to Australia this year.

cotomom, one thing which wasn't mentioned is that you both have to be on the computer at the same time when you use the free wifi version. It's not like a phone where you can call someone and the phone will ring. So you should set up in advance what time you will be Skypeing them. If their computer isn't on with Skype running in the background you won't be able to reach them using the free service. Although if they are children of a certain age they will always be on line so that's not an issue.

Also, make sure both of you have microphones for your computers. Most laptops have them built in, but you may prefer to get an inexpensive headset. Many desktops do not come with a microphone, so they will need one also.

I found the Skype out service quite inexpensive and nice when calling Mom89339 who doesn't have a computer. All I had to do was put $10 on account and it deducts it as I use it. I still have over $7 left in the account and I checked in on her every day while I was out of the country.

you can set up the skype options to show when you are online and when others come online. my family and friends are over a few countries and continents. we use skype all the time and all have each other linked as contacts, when one of us comes online we can see because their status is shown in skype, and a little window appears to show when they come online.

as has been said, you need to have it on each computer before you leave, and you need to send a contact request from one to the other to establish the link. you can do this in the same room before you leave, so that you can see what will happen if a call is made/received at each end.

always useful to have a practice - pictures paint a thousand words!!
also you can use skype to pass documents and files. in the box where you type comments, you can drag and drop a file and it will be passed between the contacts. i find this useful for documents that are above email limits for file size. you can drag and drop big photos etc!!

Very accurate advice throughout. I use Skype a lot, I have almost daily (most days more than once a day) calls with a remote employee. I have a USB speakerphone plugged into my desktop and just call them on their phone. I also have it on all of my Mac notebooks, my netbook and my iPhone. I like and use it a lot. Occasionally I get a bad connection and as mentioned disconnect and recall usually fix it.

To emphasize a couple points from above

- the quality of the internet connection matters hugely. That said, I found using Skype on my iPhone from various places or my PC from various hotels has virtually always worked fine.

- be careful what they charge for internet in the hotels. Sometimes it comes out to be more expensive than calling on an unlocked cell phone with a local SIM card from the country in Europe

- depending on the PCs a cheap USB headset with microphones is a great idea. A poor mic in the computer will mess everything up

- practicing before you leave is a great suggestion

I wonder if there's a distinction you're missing. Skype can work over WiFi, but they're different things. Skype doesn't charge more to call internationally. Getting WiFi is something else though. The hotel may charge for it. Your WiFi plan in the states might not work in Europe. It's possible that your hotel might charge you $15 (or whatever) to use their WiFi, so a two minute Skype call might not be such a great value.

Not sure if this was mentioned, but another great thing about Skype is the ability to purchase "credit" and call any phone anywhere. I usually purchase $10 and that lasts a long time. Calling to the US is 2 cents a minute...that usually is way more than needed! The quality is almost always very good as well. I highly recommend it. Just make sure you don't let them auto-deduct a payment from your card once your credit runs low

Pre-paid phone/calling cards will be the least tech-challenged alternative. You only have to shop for good rates. Not sure if it's the better alternative since you'll be in 3 countries (unless you can find one that works in those 3 cities).

Skype is free for making PC to PC calls. You just have to sync your schedule with your kids because all of you have to be by/on the computers. May not be as convenient as you calling landlines though.

Skype-out had been mentioned in earlier posts. That might work to your advantage since internet access won't be an issue for you while in Europe. It sounds you only need it to keep in touch with kids at home. There's an existing thread about SkypeOut. You can learn how folks use Skype in different ways and just skip posts that seem too technical for you :

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-skypeout.html

Don't know how long is your trip and how often you need to call them. If you decide to buy credits, be aware credits expire in 180 days from the last usage & it's $10 minimal per purchase/recharge. Or you can try the unlimited monthly subscriptions (link here).

Not sure about the ages of your kids. Do they need to call you sometimes (or often), just in case? Factor in if they need a number to reach you, if you don't plan to use your cell phone overseas.

one more tip: Skype always works best when you are connected on a wire cable to the internet. If you have a weak wifi signal, you may experience broke up conversations. But either way is great.

I also have a US skypein number where people can call me in the US and rings at my skype account anywhere in the world where I am. Of course you'll need to be online at the time to answer the incoming calls. You will then be available to people via a regular US telephone number and they don't have to have a Skype account to reach you.

Skype came bundled with my son's PSP and I've used it as a an oversized mobile phone, great for airports with free wi-fi. I also use it on my computers and I can't speak highly enough of this company. Customer support is top notch. I live overseas and pretty much all the ex-pats I know use Skype to keep in touch with people back home. An all-round win.