This is my first trip abroad. I had planned to use many Rick Steve's audio tours for my trip to Italy. This plan might change if I will be charged data usage as I use the audio guides. I can see the dollar signs add up quickly. Does anyone have info about this? Is wifi generally available so that your audio guide will work either in a museum or as you walk around outside in the city if your data is turned off? Thanks so much for any help.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15847 posts
The good news? You don't need wifi to listen to the audioguides; just download them to your device before you go and listen to them as you would, say, itunes.
This thread may be helpful:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/using-rick-s-walking-tours-app-do-they-have-free-wi-fi-everywhere-or-is-it-expensive
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9101 posts
You download the tours (mp3 files) ahead of time before you leave for Europe. No data or wifi needed to use them when you are visiting attractions.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks soooo much,
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
922 posts
One word of caution - some of the museum audio tours may be outdated. This happens sometimes when the museum moves things around or adds a special exhibit. We tried to use the audio tour of the D'Orsay in Paris a few years ago but they had moved ALL of the impressionist paintings to a new location! The audio tour may have been updated since then. The walking tours (such as Trastavere or Florence) will be immune to this as they won't be moving entire cities any time soon!
The app and the podcasts/audio tours are great! If you have an iPhone and use the app, be sure to look at the maps associated with the tour. They help you get a feel for where you are headed.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
pop,
As mentioned previously, the audio tours are downloaded similar to a music file, so they reside in the phone memory. They're not live streaming, so no data is used.
I've only used the one for Versailles so far and it worked extremely well, and saved me the cost of renting an audio guide from the venue.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15597 posts
The audio tours come with maps. You can see them on your device, but it's a really good idea to print them out at home and bring them with you.