historytraveler

Will be traveling in the U.K., Spain ( Mallorca ) and France for about 3 weeks and for the first time plan to take my phone ( iPhone 6 ) There will be 8 of us, and I really only plan to use the phone to make restaurant bookings and for dealing with emergency situations ( if they arise ) such as airline/train strikes etc. My iPad which I always take will cover all other possibilities. I have been looking at numerous options, and I'm thinking an international sim card might be easier than getting a separate sim card for each country and installing it. I'm baffled by all the choices, and I am a complete newbie on sim cards etc. I'm not looking for the cheapest option, but I am looking for the most convenient and reliable. Ideally I'd like to have it in hand when I leave the U.S., so I can use it as soon as I land at LHR if I need to get in touch with driver.

BTW, I'm with consumer cellular, and they have no overseas travel plans. They advise using wifi, and I want something a little more dependable.

Suggestions?

StCirq

Get an individual SIM card for each country. They are cheap, and it takes about a minute to install it.

Andrew

But that doesn't solve the problem of having the phone active upon landing at Heathrow, unless they are selling SIM card on the plane now.

And no, it is not always as easy as "a minute to install" at least in my experience with buying SIM cards five or six times in Europe. It depends somewhat on the phone. My old Android needed to have something setup for data to work, something manually added into the phone that took the agent at the mobile store about ten minutes to set up each time. Now I could probably do it myself, but I doubt the average person could.

I'm switching back to T-Mobile prior to my upcoming trip to the Baltics, and because I will be in six countries within 2.5 weeks, it will be far easier than trying to buy a SIM in each country. International roaming within the EU is now capped but I'll be outside the EU for part of that anyway.

T-Mobile gives you 20 cents/minute local calls in Europe, free texting, and unlimited (2G) data. It might be expensive but you can always sign up for T-Mobile ($50/month for their "Simple Choice" plan - NOT the "prepaid" plan!!!) and use it for one month, then cancel immediately upon going home. You probably don't have to cancel your Consumer Cellular service at all - just pop the SIM card out, replace it with the T-Mobile SIM, and use it with your new T-Mobile phone number while you are in Europe. Forward your Consumer Celluar phone number to T-Mobile while you are away so you can get calls. Some people claim they weren't able to cancel without paying for two months worth of T-Mobile service...I guess I'll find out when I get back from my trip, because that's what I plan to do.

Andrew

But if you think you can live without a phone at Heathrow when you arrive, using WiFi might really be good enough. You can always install the Google Hangouts Dialer - free calling back to the US, even to landlines, while on WiFi - and use that if need be on WiFi while at the airport (Heathrow must have WiFI, even if not free). To call a number in the UK using Google Hangouts is not free but only a few cents a minute. Then buy a local SIM here or there if you wind up wanting one. Slightly less convenient than signing up for a month of T-Mobile but perhaps quite a bit cheaper.

pavot

I've always used telestial SIM cards, but I don't know how/if they work with iphones.

http://www.telestial.com/international-sim-cards.php

You get a UK phone number, and you'll have it in hand when you land.

It's embarrassing: I just use the cheapest little phones.

janisj

>>Heathrow must have WiFI, even if not free<<

Not only is there wifi -- it it is free. You can pay for 'premium' faster wifi. But the free versions has always been enough for anything I need.

historytraveler

Thanks for the responses. Have considered signing up for T Mobile then cancelling upon return. I don't have a problem with the $50 fee but cannot justify $100. The phone will probably get very little use as I'm most concerned about having a phone handy in case plans need to be changed at the last minute. Much quicker than communicating via emai. I have also looked at Telestrial's international SIM card and am considering that, however some websites have negative reviews. Perhaps I need to remind myself that not all reviews are valid.


Guessing I could fall back on the free wifi available at LHR. I usually travel by myself and don't worry much about emergencies but with 7 other people along everything is magnified.

Andrew

When are you going? I will report back in June to let you know how canceling T-Mobile worked out for me, because I am planning to switch back as soon as I get back from Europe. (Last time I canceled T-Mobile pro-rated the last month instead of charging me for the whole month, which was a surprise to me, but not sure if they still do that.) I agree that two months/$100 is too much just for this. I am actually switching (so not paying two bills), so this makes more sense for me.

historytraveler

I'm also going to be gone during the month of June. Still report back for future references.

At the moment thinking of going with international SIM card to be mailed to me here. If it doesn't work for me upon arrival will just buy SIM cards for each country. Shouldn't cost any more than $50 T - Mobile plan. I have an iPhone 6 and think I know how to install the card.

dreamon

Check GoSIM. Only used it on one holiday but worked fine.

Heimdall

If you are staying within the EU (and all the countries you tagged are) you don't really need a different SIM for each country. Recent changes to EU roaming laws have made it much cheaper to call outside the country where you bought the SIM: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-...oaming-tariffs

What I would do is buy a SIM for your iPhone 6 in the first country you enter, and make sure you have enough minutes to last the rest of the trip. If you do run out you may still be able to top up, but if not just buy another SIM. This will probably work out cheaper than an international SIM.

bvlenci

I agree 100% with Heimdall. The days when you needed separate SIM cards for each country are over, if you're just making phone calls. Some providers even have reasonable rates for data roaming, and the EU plan is to eliminate data roaming costs by 2017.

However, when you get the SIM card, do tell the provider you'll be using it in continental Europe, as they may need to activate some option for that.

If you'll not be making many calls, ask your own provider what call roaming costs would be in Europe. It may not be worth buying any SIM card. If you need to make a call immediately, probably at least that one call wouldn't cost a fortune with your own SIM card, so you can wait until later to buy one.

historytraveler

Thanks, I'll have a look.

historytraveler

Submitted too soon. Wouldn't that be like the international SIM I mentioned that I could have delivered to me here in the U.S.? Any idea as to the best ones? Have heard Vodaphone is good, maybe Lebara, others?

isabel

Anyone know what the roaming charges are if you buy a SIM in London and then use it in other EU countries - for talk time but also for texts and data?

Andrew - where in the Baltics are you going and when. I'm going to Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius in July. Any chance you'll be writing a trip report or posting any info before July 1?

Andrew

isabel, here's what I found when looking into the roaming charges issue before:

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-...oaming-tariffs

By next June, roaming charges within the EU will be gone entirely.

I am also planning to visit Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. I'm not sure I will have a trip report done by then, but I am happy to answer any questions you might have if I can help!

isabel

Thanks Andrew. That link was helpful. I am starting my trip in London (and after the Baltics going to Italy and Greece) so if I bought a SIM in the UK (have an iPhone 6s) it looks like it would be reasonable to use it for the rest of the trip. Right? I would probably be using it mostly for data and emergency calls since I use skype and email for regular communication (every hotel I have booked has free wi-fi).

Have a good time in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius - looking forward to your trip report. Can I ask how you plan to get between those cities?

Andrew

By bus and/or train (making this brief, don't want to hijack the thread!).

Heimdall

Isabel, Scroll up to the post I made yesterday. It answers your question about buying the SIM In the UK and using it in other countries.

isabel

Thanks Heimdal. Do you prefer one UK company over the others?