[Closed] Cheapest way to 'skype' - luddite alert

Use your smartphone (if you have one) on wifi

If your phone has a forward facing camera you can use the skype app.

Failing that then Yes and Yes to your questions

You might find your phone can run Skype, easiest way is through the app, although you might be able to do it with just a basic phone and wifi connection- not sure.

A tablet is quite an expense for a one week trip so a short term SIM for calling from abroad will be cheaper. When changing money in Thomson they gave me one with £5 credit for free. This is the cheapest option with the most basic of phones but you lose the video call- is it really important to have video for a short one week trip?

Wifi is a mixed bag in hotels. If it is an expensive hotel then I'd be disappointed to not have complementary wifi but even 5 star hotels can charge up to £20 a day whereas the cheapest hotels can offer free wifi! Best ask the hotel in advance to know your best options.

Basically, depending on your phone and hotel wifi it could cost nothing or could cost a fair bit (paying for calls or paying for a new tablet or paying for wifi and depends on the importance you place on video during the calls for example)!

I used viber to viber quality was better than skype

Skype good if you have a tablet or smartphone and reliable internet, yes you need a device and it should be ok on hotel wifi but I find it's not great, laggy calls and video normally. I thought I'd use mine more abroad but I fall back on a local phone still. I don't need to 'see' anyone though, which you may do.

If you have a spare unlocked phone bear in mind it may well be cheaper and easier to get a local SIM card for it with an international calling card. Depends where you are obviously but about £20-£25 should see you for a good few hours calling home, which is likely less than the hotel wifi for a week!

a laptop will also skype just fine

FaceTime on the IPad / IPhone seems to work ok

This plan also highly depends on the speed of the wifi, which my experience of hotels is varied at best- lots of people trying to share a connection, only available in reception, can be VERY expensive (foreign hotels in particular seem to try to get away with crazy pricing).

As someone else mentioned, you might be better off with an international sim card and calling card. Where are you going?

Unless this is just a glorified way to justify a tablet, in which case the hudl is good, but there's places doing the 2012 nexus 7 for the same money or less... I'd go for that one.

Novatech's tablet for £79.99 seems like a pretty good bet.

Also, I think you'll find that it's mostly UK hotels that charge crazy prices for wifi and that it's mostly free and fast on the continent. Can't speak for the rest of the world...

Had a decent Skype video connection with someone in Seoul - perfectly usable.

foreign hotels in particular seem to try to get away with crazy pricing

Always been free at the Spanish hotels I've visited... csb: where are you going? Perhaps someone here can offer more localised advice?

Internet cafe's would be the cheapest way surely, all have webcams, microphones, etc etc.

Thanks all.

Going to Briancon. I have a Blackberry that roams with Vodafone for 3 quid a day, but want to talk to my little girl at bedtime. Tablet it is I think, then I get video for the plane too.

Don't bother with the video bit of Skype (you do know what they look like, yes?) and it works just like a normal phone even on really crappy connections. I did this last year across the US and it was very fine.

She won't use a phone, just stares bemused at it. The hope is she'll engage better with a face!

I used Skype with my little boy from about 8 months old when I was away with work. He stared bemused at it but his face was hilarious and he knew it was me. Priceless!

Theres definitely free wifi in sprit bar in briancon. Just ask the nice barman for the password.

Merci beaucoup!