Getting reliable connectivity on the road isn’t glamorous. It’s wiring, planning, and a bit of trial and error. But for us, it’s essential — not just for navigation and admin, but for the creative work that underpins Our Third Life.
We are on a year’s tour around Europe and needed a setup that was solid, flexible, and didn’t depend on a single point of failure. What we’ve ended up with is a small ecosystem — phones, routers, SIM cards, and a VPN setup — that keeps us connected wherever we stop. It’s not revolutionary, but it works, and that’s the point.
1. The phone setup
Pip’s iPhone runs on EE, which covers UK calls and texts, and she uses a Holafly eSIM while we’re in Europe. The Holafly plan gives her unlimited data for 90 days across France, Italy, and Greece, so she can switch off EE roaming and avoid surprise charges.
My phone runs on Fonus, a Canadian-based global plan with unlimited data and calls. It connects automatically to local partner networks and supports Wi-Fi calling, so communication and navigation all work exactly as they do at home. There are no roaming charges with this plan.
Between us, that gives two independent networks. If one falters, the other steps in by creating a hotspot— redundancy over reliance.
2. The router network
At the centre is our Huawei router paired with a Poynting roof antenna for strong reception and stability. It handles the heavy lifting — streaming, uploads, and day-to-day work while we’re parked.
The router runs on a Lebara France SIM when we’re in-country: cost-effective, fast, and easy to top up locally. I pay £9.99 per month for 250GB of data, with no contract.
For mobility, we use a Huawei MiFi loaded with an Orange Holiday SIM. It gives us safe data access for laptops and tablets when we’re away from the van — cafés, libraries, or shaded picnic tables.
Together, the router and MiFi form a simple two-layer system: one for basecamp, one for roaming.
Starlink was unfortunately not an option for us. We would have had to change accounts several times to addresses in country – we are nomads without a fixed address in each country we visit. It is also a significant cost.
3. VPN and internal Wi-Fi
For privacy, security, and access to familiar UK services, a Beryl travel router connects to the Huawei router and runs a VPN constantly set to London.
Everything — phones, laptops, TV — routes through it automatically. We get one secure network wherever we are, no setting changes required. Services like BBC iPlayer and iCloud behave as if we’re still at home.
The gain isn’t cleverness; it’s consistency. We chose to go with Surfshark and it is delivering what we need.
4. The AI connection
The design evolved through testing and quiet collaboration with Chat GPT 5 as my AI partner — now part of the Third Life project team. Together we examined how the network behaves: what fails first, where overlaps occur, and how to keep things simple.
It’s a blend of logic and lived experience. I bring the context; the AI brings pattern recognition. The result is tidy, balanced, and reliable.
5. How it performs
In the field, the system has been calm and predictable — exactly what you want from technology.
- On solar or shore power, we can stream, upload, and edit freely.
- Off-grid, the MiFi handles low-bandwidth use and keeps us reachable.
- The VPN stays steady, and keeps us safe.
When a system works this quietly, it earns its place.
6. Reflections for other travellers
For other travellers — vanlifers, boaters, or anyone building a similar rig — the lessons are simple:
- Plan for redundancy. Two phones, two routers, multiple SIMs.
- Keep it modular. Swap a SIM, not the system.
- Test before you travel. Easier in the drive than mid-Channel.
- Don’t chase cleverness. Build what you understand completely.
The goal isn’t novelty; it’s confidence. When you can trust your systems, they fade into the background — as they should.
Postscript
Connectivity is easy to take for granted until it disappears. Our setup isn’t perfect, but it’s balanced — reliable enough to trust, flexible enough to adapt, and simple enough to fix when needed.
When the systems hum quietly in the background, we can focus on what matters: the road, the light, and the living.
I’ve named the products we use for reference. I am not advocating for then nor do we receive any incentives for mentioning them.
