Wifi internet service/strength in the Cyclades

It won't be a problem. Internet services are stable and strong.

I appreciate your getting back to us, Lee. We're thinking that for extra measure, she can take the exam in the lobby area adjacent to the office where there is sure to be a reliable wifi connection. In Santorini we are staying in one of the cave houses at Scirocco Apartments and we're concerned that being underground might affect our internet connection. Thanks again.

I bring a tablet along with me to stay connected back home to let everyone know I'm OK or to check on any messages from airlines or accommodations I have booked.

For the most part wi-fi was good but not always depending on island or location on mainland. It could be very strong or weak or lost at any moment..

Here's a couple of articles you may want to check out:

https://greeklandscapes.com/connect-to-the-internet-in-greece/

This one will help you find "hot spots" on the mainland or island. In the box "Find Public Hot Spots in the cities of Greece" click on the South Aegean link and then zoom in on an island for info:

https://wifispc.com/greece

Yes, your difficulty wouldn't be with the island in general - but with the hotel's specific connection. I'd suggest contacting them and asking about their connection speeds. Also, she might want to have a back-up plan, like the hotel lobby, if your room is just in a weak spot, or a public space with strong wifi. The hotel might know of something like that if their wifi is troublesome.

Also, if she needs video streaming or skype you should be a little more concerned. Text/loading of normal web pages would be much easier than video if the connection happens to be slower than ideal.

Your best option may be an Internet Cafe where they usually have reliable & good signal strength.

Since I don't spend a whole lot of time on the internet I can't really say how good or bad a particular location may be. But if you need to be connected for 1 or 2 hours then it may be best to go to an Internet Cafe where they charge by the hour which is usually very low.

If you go to hotel reviews on Tripadvisor it is a constant topic in reviews, usually complaints if it is weak.

My trips to Greece were all pre-internet, but my recent practice elsewhere in Europe is to ask each lodging for a room with a "good Wi-Fi signal" at the time I make the reservation. Check-in conversations have indicated that at least some hotels do pay attention to those requests. Obviously, if you're renting an apartment, there may only be one option, but the room position in a hotel can matter. In older buildings (especially if the hotel has skimped on its electronic gear) there can be entire floors with iffy Wi-Fi. Thicker walls can be an issue.

Newish hotels may not yet have learned (from dissatisfied clients) that some of their rooms are dead spots. I ran into that in an Ibis (I think); they didn't believe me when I complained, but eventually a staffer came up to my room to test the Wi-Fi. They then relocated me.

I'd also look at the reviews on booking.com.

Thank you everyone for the articles, websites and suggestions. I checked the Scirocco on tripadvisor and found one comment from 2017 about not being able to watch movies on the internet after a long day of sightseeing which indicates a weak wifi connection. I will email the management to ask about the possibility of staying in the lobby/office area to take the online exam. I didn't think to consider internet cafes but it makes a lot of sense so we will look into that as well. Thanks for all the help.

As a college professor who teaches some online courses, I will say that going on vacation during the academic semester would not be seen as a valid excuse for missing assignments or especially final exams.

If her excuse for being unable to complete the exam is "The wifi sucks in Santorini", don't be surprised if the instructor's response is "tough, you get a zero". Honestly, she probably needs to make the decision to join you after completing her academic responsibilities.

Thanks again for the solid advice, everyone. I wasn't aware that wifi is rated separately on Booking.com properties so thank you for that information. I was pleased to find that the Kymata Hotel on Naxos (another island we'll be staying at) has a 9.4 rating so that sounds promising.. I've forwarded your responses to my son and his girlfriend so they can make a decision. It's a tough one because we don't travel to Europe every year and we would really like everyone to be together on this trip, especially the Greece portion of it since Greece will be a first time for our kids and their partners. My son's girlfriend is a very diligent student and it is she who is the most hesitant while the rest of us are trying to find ways to make this happen. I really appreciate hearing the thoughts from someone who teaches college-level online classes. Your description of student language: "The wifi sucks in Santorini" is right on. I used to teach at university and my all-time favorite excuse from a student for skipping a final presentation was a much-anticipated trip to a sorority convention. And it wasn't even in Greece.