Travelling with only wifi: what works, and where it breaks

What works perfectly on wifi

Anything that only needs internet works the same on a good wifi network as on mobile data: WhatsApp messages and calls, email, video, banking apps and booking changes. At the hotel in the evening, you will not notice the difference.

Your own number can also stay useful. Many operators let you make and receive calls over wifi abroad with wifi calling, as if you were at home; whether yours does, and what it costs, depends on the operator, as we explain in wifi calling abroad explained. The question is not whether wifi works, but how much of your day you spend near a network you trust.

What keeps working with no connection at all

A surprising amount of a trip can be prepared to work offline. Google Maps can save an area to your phone and guide you to a destination by car as long as the whole route is inside that area. Boarding passes in the phone's wallet and many transport tickets are stored on the device, and translation apps can download languages in advance.

Each of these needs a few minutes at home: offline Google Maps, boarding passes offline, transport tickets offline, offline translations and travel documents offline. Done properly, they cover the moments when you are standing in the street with no signal.

Where the plan breaks

The first gap is arrival. You come out of the terminal and need a taxi, a ride app or the right bus, and the airport wifi may ask you to register or may simply be slow. Ride apps need a live connection to book and to follow the driver, as we cover in ride-hailing apps when you land.

The second is getting around a city. Google Maps states that transit, bicycling and walking directions are unavailable offline, and live traffic and alternative routes disappear too. You can still see the saved map, but working out which metro line to take becomes your job again. The third is everything that changes during the day: a gate change, a restaurant that closed, a friend who moved the meeting point. Without data you only find out at the next wifi.

Public wifi has its own costs

Relying on wifi means relying on networks other people run. Cafés and stations often put a login page in front of the internet, and some ask for an email or a phone number before letting you connect. Hotel networks can be fast at noon and crawl in the evening when everyone is back in their room.

There is also the question of who runs the network. For banking and logins, mobile data is the safer default; on shared networks, check that you are on the real network before typing anything sensitive. We cover this in is public wifi safe when travelling and in hotel wifi vs mobile data.

If you go wifi-only, prepare this

• Download the map of every area you will visit, and test it in airplane mode.
• Take screenshots of bookings, addresses and confirmation codes.
• Write down how to get from the airport to your first night, including the transport option.
• Agree fixed meeting times and places with the people you travel with.
• Download the languages you need in your translation app.
• Check how bank codes will reach you, in how to get bank SMS codes abroad.

With that list done, a few days in one city on wifi alone is entirely manageable.

The middle ground

Many travellers end up with a mix: wifi for the heavy things, a small amount of mobile data for the gaps. A modest data plan is enough for arrival, transit directions and messages on the move, while videos and backups wait for the hotel.

With a data eSIM such as Snoozim's, that small plan sits next to your usual SIM, installs before the trip with a QR code and starts counting only when it first connects at your destination. If you see that you are using more than expected, it can be topped up without reinstalling. Check how much you would need with our data calculator.