Any thoughts on what is the best way to call the U.S. from G. Cayman? Are there any international phone cards?

These day the calling cards are a rip off, competition has meant regular call costs have plummetted, but AT&T et al still plunder the consumer for high connection fees and per minute rates.

At my resort I am in the business of filling rooms, not the phone business, I charge a flat rate for worldwide calls of US$1.50 per minute.

I just talked to a rep. from AT&T calling card.My card is from Sam's Club. The rep told me it would cost 9 times the rate on the card to call from GC to US. So, for a 3 cents per min. card, it would cost 27 cents per min. Doesn't do too bad. Just call from a pay-phone. The rep also said there is no surcharge when calling from outside US on a pay-phone.

Good luck placing the 1-800 # for your calling card. We tried several calling cards when we were in the Cayman Islands and couldn't get any of them to go through. Finally we just placed the call from our hotel phone like TomCayman suggested.

I read on another list, some time ago, so the info may not be as current, that it may be best to go to a local gas station or store and buy a calling card for $10 and use it.

I can't vouch for this method as we never used it, but I wonder what anyone else knows about this.

We used the Cafe Du Soeul [spelling] cyber cafe right in town to keep in touch via email with friends and family. It was quick, cheap, easy, and we got to stop for gelatto [in the same complex] each time we went in, so BONUS!

EJC--have you tried the AT&T calling card from Sam's Club yet? Or when will you be going? I would be interested in finding out if it worked.

This is not the first time this issue has come up here. Call AT & T before you leave for Cayman. Ask them what the tollfree number is for dialing from GCM into the AT&T system. I've done this the last 2 years and it works fine. The cost per minute is a multiple of what it costs to call within the U.S. My 1000 minute AT&T card from Sam's costs 3.4 cents per minute calling within the US, with a 45 cent charge for calls from pay phones(that's 15 units as AT&T considers each miute a unit). I thought the calls were about 25cents a minute the last time I called last year, but I'm not sure. Still, even at 9 units a minute (28 cents or so)it's hands down the best buy I've ever found.

I'd post the 800 number to access AT&T from the Caymans, but I can't find it right now. If someone else finds it, would you please post it here? Thanks!

I just returned from GC on Sat.
I tried using my AT&T card with no luck, and plenty of frustration. If you care to try ;;the access # is: 1-800-872-2881

So, it just never went through? What did you end up doing? Maybe I shouldn't bother getting the card.

I am going in a couple of weeks. I plan on getting a $10 phone card just to call home and let everyone know I made it. After that, internet cafe seems the way to go to update everyone. You get an hour of internet use for practically the same price per minute on the phone! Seems like the better way to go.

The number that EJC lists is supposed to work at all pay phones, hotel phones and from MOST resort locations. After digging into my gear in preparation for our upcoming visit to Cayman, I found the same number 1-800-872-2881. I've used this number the last 2 years while staying at the Anchorage and another condo complex on 7MB. The AT&T person I spoke to said that there should be no surcharge when using a pay phone and that most phones on the island should accept this.

IF you are looking for AT&T access numbers for other countries, call 888-854-6741 for an automated system.

We too have a phone card (AT&T) from Sam's club. The pay phone(s) we tried would not take the 1-800 number. However, our hotel had a flat rate of $1 to call a 1-800 number, so we were able to still use the card, it just cost $1 extra.

I used my AT&T credit calling card and never had a problem with it. I did get charged by the hotel an extra $1.50 every time we picked up the phone to call out even if it was local. We had the conceirge make all our reservations

Just returned from a week in GCI at a private hom in Rum Point. Calling home was impossible using a 1-800 calling card. Cayman doesn't allow the use of 800 numbers because of so much misuse.There was one number listed to call to get a long distance line, but it was continually busy. No direct diaoling froma private home. Finally picked up my cell phone (at&t, no special international plan) and it worked! We had a family emergency, so I was very grateful although I dread to see the roaming charges. But in a true emergency, check out your cell phone! You might call in advance to make sure.

I've just returned. Neither the MCI or ATT calling cards worked either from a pay phone or from my hotel room, although the companies both told me their cards would work. However, I bought a Cayman phone card, and it worked great.

We just returned from our week and the phone card from Sam's did not work this year. The Cable and Wireless people told me that with the deregulation that they implemented on April 1, very few of these cards will now work. I used my credit card to call home on the 800-CALL USA plan and those rates were about $1.50 per minute plus a connection fee of $3, supposedly this is cheaper than the AT & T rates by about 5%. The Cable and Wireless cards that you can buy around Cayman are worse rates. A $10CI card gives you 8 minutes of talk time. Sorry for the inaccurate information on my earlier post! The Sam's AT&T cards used to work!

I understand you can rent a cell phone for CI$5.00/day plus CI$.55 to CI$.40 /min. Does anyone have experience doing that?

Remember that the US is gradually catching up with the rest of the world on mobiles and using GSM, so if you have a phone with GSM, it may well roam, and if not you can just buy a prepaid SIM card in Cayman, slot it into your phone, and off you go.

Note that AT&T are in Cayman, so your phone should work fine, and I guess if you set up your plan for overseas roaming in advance your may get a great rate.

In the other direction, I pay CI$0.49 per minute roaming in the US with my (Cayman) AT&T phone, and then about CI$0.40 per minute for the calls.

When I go to the UK, I just pop in my UK SIM Card and off I go again.. no need to own (or carry) multiple phones.

My Cayman card was $15 for 15 minutes. I used pay phones and there was no extra charge (I was also just happy to find something that worked....)