Let's Get You 'Covered' in France - Hippocketwifi

So you’ve decided to visit the romantic France, whether you’re here on a holiday or simply coming for a café to people-watch like a French, you’ll most likely need to have some network coverage for the visit. Let’s face it, most of us can’t live without the internet. I for one, who usually travel alone in countries where I don’t know the local languages, need to have the internet to survive.

Don’t get me wrong, France is a place where you can definitely travel comfortably without the internet. However, if you’d like to use Google map, check out the nearby famous travel spots, or connect with your family and friends back home, read on this post.

Portable Wifi

There are so many options to stay connected in France – international roaming, data sim card, random public wifi, or visit a coffee shop for some café and complimentary wifi there. These options are either too expensive (roaming & coffee shops), or too dangerous and scarce (random public wifi).

My personal favourite has always been to use a portable wifi. It is less expensive and doesn’t drain the phone battery like a data sim card would, and will drain as little as a normal wifi. In addition to that, it is so handy with a long-lasting battery life, and can usually be connected by up to 10 devices anytime you want to use the internet. You can share and enjoy the wifi together with your friends – how great is that?

Hippocketwifi

There are also many other great options for a portable wifi. I’ve only tried Hippocketwifi so far and was extremely satisfied with what I’ve got. If ever you’re lost in all the choices, I highly recommend this for you. Furthermore, delivery is free if you’re collecting directly in France! In the section below, I will explain the step-by-step guide in ordering and getting your very own Hippocketwifi!

Different price plans depending on what you need as well as the price calculator can be found here. Since I only needed it for my France trip, I’ve selected the France 1GB/day package. In Hippocketwifi homepage, select the ‘Book Now!’ button on the top menu bar. It will redirect you to this page to start your booking.

So which package to take?

I’ve tried the different packages just to check out the prices. Surprisingly they were all rather affordable for a pocket wifi. They also seem to always have a 10% discount popping out in their website. Last I booked, it was a SUMMER10 promo code, now it is a SPRING10 promo code. For delivery and return of device within France, it is free of charge.

My choice was 1GB data / day in France only, and it was €73.50 for 15 days.

Other choices like Unlimited data / day in France only was €103.50 for 15 days.

This is for unlimited data in France only, but with a 1GB data / day in Europe for 15 days.
Perfect for those travelling to other parts of Europe when in France.

With the SUMMER10 promo code, there was a 10% discount off the total price. I’ve paid for a total of €66.15 for 15 days, which comes to a €4.41 / day – simply affordable and amazing!

*The prices shown above are all inclusive of taxes.

Settling the Payment

After filling in your dates and personal information (and promo code) in the same form, submit the form to proceed to the payment page. It looks like this:

Confirm the payment and you will be redirected to this page:

You will also receive a confirmation email with an invoice like this:

As you can see, delivery fees are waived if you collect and return within France. You can choose to pick up from Orly or CDG airports, your hotels, post offices, or search for one of their designated pick-up stores here, as long as they are all within France.

How long in advance to book for the portable wifi?

You may want to book it minimum 4 working days before your collection. Otherwise, a €12 surcharge will incur if you want an express delivery in 1 working day.

Delivery of device to your own country are at €15 within Europe, and €25 for USA/Canada. In addition, you will need to return the device using a registered mail at your own expense. I don’t generally recommend this option as you may end up paying more than the wifi services.

Long-term monthly plans are also available here.

I have opted for delivery to my hotel in Paris, and it was so well-prepared in an envelope.

Here is what it looked like when I’ve collected it from my hotel’s reception.

A Word of Caution

Some hotels have stocks of Hippocketwifi available for rental on the spot, this is an immediate yet pricier option and you need to check with your hotel in advance.

When I approached my hotel’s reception, he thought that I wanted to rent a Hippocketwifi from the hotel directly. He tried to make me fill up a credit card form in case of faulty device, but I had to explain very hard that I do not need to fill up this form because I have already rented, paid, and given the card information directly to Hippocketwifi. He didn’t seem to understand and kept explaining why a credit card is required instead. After a long mess, he finally understood and took out an envelope with my name on it.

Therefore, if you choose the delivery to your hotel / B&B / apartment, always accept a device ONLY if it is enclosed in an envelope with your name stated as the recipient.

It came with a pouch to hold the device and cables, and an empty envelope for the return.

The inside of the pouch – a pocket wifi, an emergency sim card, a USB cable, and a power adapter.

After my first positive experience with the service, I will definitely use Hippocketwifi again whenever I return to France. It was easy to book, fairly affordably priced, and just so many convenient delivery options.

On my last day, I simply dropped the device in the given envelope into the post box in CDG airport.

The yellow post box is located right in front of a huge Relay store, so lookout for it. If you have trouble finding it, you can ask for the directions from the Information Counter at the airport.