Cell phone kiosks at Toulouse Airport,help with cell plan?
May 13th, 2019, 10:01 AM
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Cell phone kiosks at Toulouse Airport,help with cell plan?
Hello all Fodorites,
My son and I are leaving in one month for two weeks in France. One week in the Basque country (near St Jean Pieds de Port,a bit remote) and one week near Sarlat,so not as remote. I will be buying SIM cards for both my son and myself and we will be using them for calls/texts/data. We do have a built in GPS for our car so at least my data consumption will probably be farily low,my sons will probably be higher. When I last traveled to France in 2017 I bought a Bouygues network card from Cellular Abroad in Los Angeles. It was fine in paris but spotty in the Aveyron. They currently offer a card using Lebara network. $60 for 4 G network,unlimited calling/texts within France,free incoming calls/texts from anywhere,4 Gigs of data. It sounds like most people today use WhatsApp/Skype to call/text back to the US.
My base question is,are there cell networks that have kiosks/stores in the Toulouse airport? I did enjoy the last time I went having the SIM card in hand and questions answered before the trip. Ideally, I’d like not to have to sort both the rental car situation and getting a new SIM card both upon arrival. I am a bit of a luddite but fortunately will have my tech savy sixteen year old with me. I have looked online at several different network providers including Orange,Free,SFR,Bouygues and Lebara. Some like Orange have two week limits which will not work for us as we are in country for sixteen days. It seems like you can get a substantially better deal if buying a card from a French provider directly,usually while in France. It seems like some of the carriers I mentioned will ship to the US. I speak decent French but would be most comfortable dealing with the set up of a new SIM card in english.
So,if anyone has any opinions on what type of plan may be best for us in our situation and also have knowledge/experience of wether or not Toulouse airport has kiosks,and from what providers,it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any responses.
Best,
Vance
My son and I are leaving in one month for two weeks in France. One week in the Basque country (near St Jean Pieds de Port,a bit remote) and one week near Sarlat,so not as remote. I will be buying SIM cards for both my son and myself and we will be using them for calls/texts/data. We do have a built in GPS for our car so at least my data consumption will probably be farily low,my sons will probably be higher. When I last traveled to France in 2017 I bought a Bouygues network card from Cellular Abroad in Los Angeles. It was fine in paris but spotty in the Aveyron. They currently offer a card using Lebara network. $60 for 4 G network,unlimited calling/texts within France,free incoming calls/texts from anywhere,4 Gigs of data. It sounds like most people today use WhatsApp/Skype to call/text back to the US.
My base question is,are there cell networks that have kiosks/stores in the Toulouse airport? I did enjoy the last time I went having the SIM card in hand and questions answered before the trip. Ideally, I’d like not to have to sort both the rental car situation and getting a new SIM card both upon arrival. I am a bit of a luddite but fortunately will have my tech savy sixteen year old with me. I have looked online at several different network providers including Orange,Free,SFR,Bouygues and Lebara. Some like Orange have two week limits which will not work for us as we are in country for sixteen days. It seems like you can get a substantially better deal if buying a card from a French provider directly,usually while in France. It seems like some of the carriers I mentioned will ship to the US. I speak decent French but would be most comfortable dealing with the set up of a new SIM card in english.
So,if anyone has any opinions on what type of plan may be best for us in our situation and also have knowledge/experience of wether or not Toulouse airport has kiosks,and from what providers,it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any responses.
Best,
Vance
May 14th, 2019, 07:30 AM
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I can't give you any info about the airport in Toulouse specifically, but I can tell you that we have been going to France every year and staying 3-6 months at a time, so we had been using the Bouygues B&You plan picking up the SIM at a local boutique. But last summer when I went into a store in Paris I was told that now they will only deliver the SIM by mail, and since I needed one that day since I was starting a road trip (and wouldn't be in one place to receive the SIM by mail), and ended up buying the Orange Holiday card (indeed limited to 2 weeks). At the same time I bought a "recharge" that you enter by code that allows you to recharge it. In general, it was much more costly and a royal hassle! So I think that having something in had before you go isn't a bad idea these days.
I did notice that there is a FNAC store in the airport in Toulouse but honestly have no idea if they sell SIMs. I get the feeling that in general it is getting more regulated to sell SIMs in general.
In terms of the Lebara network, most friends I know who use it have pretty good coverage. With Orange last year in the Sarlat area and the Basque country I would say that we had coverage around 98% of the time-we only lost coverage in the most remote areas of the drive-pretty similar to my experience driving up the coast from California to Washington-for example....
I did notice that there is a FNAC store in the airport in Toulouse but honestly have no idea if they sell SIMs. I get the feeling that in general it is getting more regulated to sell SIMs in general.
In terms of the Lebara network, most friends I know who use it have pretty good coverage. With Orange last year in the Sarlat area and the Basque country I would say that we had coverage around 98% of the time-we only lost coverage in the most remote areas of the drive-pretty similar to my experience driving up the coast from California to Washington-for example....
May 14th, 2019, 07:54 AM
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We were in France for a month last June and I bought an Orange SIM at the Relais store at CDG. This was the regular SIM valid for six months, I could have extended the validity by adding extra credit but didn’t need to. We travelled in Provence in the Avignon region, then later in Bourgogne and I never once had any trouble with network or connectivity. Can’t remember how much I paid but it was well €50, more like €30+ I believe. This gave me more than enough data for the whole month, plus calls and texts.
May 14th, 2019, 08:49 AM
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I don't think FNAC sells SIMs anywhere in a store, let alone a small airport shop. I could be wrong but I don't think so.
There is no phone provider in Toulouse airport, but there are numerous Relay stores, there always are. I don't know where you are going, but if on some major highway, you might just stop off shortly at a big store like Carrefour, Leclerc, etc to buy one.
I don't quite understand what your desire is regarding the language. It sounds like you want to do this in the US, but I don't know how you can set it up in the US if it's a French network. I had one set up in FNAC because I bought my phone there (but I brought my own SIM to the store), and even in Paris, I conducted that conversation in French, I knew more French than the clerk knew English. Or maybe I just speak it well enough he never bothered to switch, I forget the details, I just know it was in French. It wasn't that hard to set up,you just stick it in the phone although I guess there was some code involved. But he wasn't any representative of the network card I had, anyway. I just wouldn't count on small shop clerks knowing fluent English in an airport or anywhere, I guess.
There is no phone provider in Toulouse airport, but there are numerous Relay stores, there always are. I don't know where you are going, but if on some major highway, you might just stop off shortly at a big store like Carrefour, Leclerc, etc to buy one.
I don't quite understand what your desire is regarding the language. It sounds like you want to do this in the US, but I don't know how you can set it up in the US if it's a French network. I had one set up in FNAC because I bought my phone there (but I brought my own SIM to the store), and even in Paris, I conducted that conversation in French, I knew more French than the clerk knew English. Or maybe I just speak it well enough he never bothered to switch, I forget the details, I just know it was in French. It wasn't that hard to set up,you just stick it in the phone although I guess there was some code involved. But he wasn't any representative of the network card I had, anyway. I just wouldn't count on small shop clerks knowing fluent English in an airport or anywhere, I guess.
May 14th, 2019, 09:30 AM
#5
There are no cell phone kiosks or SIM outlets at Toulouse Airport. And if you have an Android, you may not even be able to get the public hotspot to work..I couldn't even find it . Although it shows up on my sibling's Apple.
You may want to search for an Orange store somewhere along your route, we went to the one at the big mall in Blagnac..note its closed on Sunday. Address if you want to enter it in your Google Maps now...download for offline use. In that part of France we did not find a small store in the small towns that sold SIM cards, so don't count on it once you leave the immediate environs of Toulouse.
Centre Commercial Blagnac, 2 Allée Emile Zola, 31700 Blagnac, France
If you won't need to call the US you won't need the expensive traveller package Orange Holiday Europe, but can just buy the standard prepaid SIM card if your son can fill it online for you. Bring your passport. Don't worry about it expiring, I think you can top up online and extend it... Possibly you can find more info on the Orange website here before you leave.
https://boutique.orange.fr/mobile/offres-prepayees
For car rental I used Budget via Expedia, but didn't need the rental insurance as was covered through my credit card. Avoid Rhodium and Gold.. they do the whole 'scare you into upsell thing".
*
You may want to search for an Orange store somewhere along your route, we went to the one at the big mall in Blagnac..note its closed on Sunday. Address if you want to enter it in your Google Maps now...download for offline use. In that part of France we did not find a small store in the small towns that sold SIM cards, so don't count on it once you leave the immediate environs of Toulouse.
Centre Commercial Blagnac, 2 Allée Emile Zola, 31700 Blagnac, France
If you won't need to call the US you won't need the expensive traveller package Orange Holiday Europe, but can just buy the standard prepaid SIM card if your son can fill it online for you. Bring your passport. Don't worry about it expiring, I think you can top up online and extend it... Possibly you can find more info on the Orange website here before you leave.
https://boutique.orange.fr/mobile/offres-prepayees
For car rental I used Budget via Expedia, but didn't need the rental insurance as was covered through my credit card. Avoid Rhodium and Gold.. they do the whole 'scare you into upsell thing".
*
Last edited by mlgb; May 14th, 2019 at 09:40 AM.
May 14th, 2019, 09:37 AM
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Geetika,
Thanks so much for the reply. Can you tell me if the Relais store was inside the secure area or outside of that? We have a 2.75 hour layover in CDG so that may work for us. I believe the Relais stores are snack shops/new stands etc.,am I correct? Did someone at the Relais store help you get your SIM card set up with your phone or were you able to set it up on your own? Thanks in advance for any response you can offer.
Best,
Vance
Thanks so much for the reply. Can you tell me if the Relais store was inside the secure area or outside of that? We have a 2.75 hour layover in CDG so that may work for us. I believe the Relais stores are snack shops/new stands etc.,am I correct? Did someone at the Relais store help you get your SIM card set up with your phone or were you able to set it up on your own? Thanks in advance for any response you can offer.
Best,
Vance
May 14th, 2019, 09:45 AM
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MLGB,
Thanks for the reply. It sounds as though you came through TLS airport. Was the mall at Blagnac with the Orange store easy to get to from the airport? We arrive at noon on a Saturday so we should be fine as far as store openings.
Best,
Vance
Thanks for the reply. It sounds as though you came through TLS airport. Was the mall at Blagnac with the Orange store easy to get to from the airport? We arrive at noon on a Saturday so we should be fine as far as store openings.
Best,
Vance
May 14th, 2019, 09:46 AM
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Vance, we had gone through passport control and picked up our bags and had some time before our TGV to Avignon. I remember there were several Relay stores in the terminal, also at the train station. You should have easily enough time to pick up the SIM. Yes, these are the stores where you can pick up snacks, etc, they are ubiquitous in France.
I’m fluent in French, so language wasn’t a problem, but I asked the store attendant to insert the new SIM and set it up. It comes with a password to activate it and the girl took care of it for me, it was done in a couple of minutes. Don’t worry about not knowing the language, you’ll certainly find at least one person with a working knowledge of English.
Your son will certainly be able to take care of all of this but I wasn’t too confident and preferred to have the girl handle it. My niece was also there and was quite amused that I needed help, oh to be 22!
I later had to go online and fill in my details, this is particularly important if you want to keep the number for any future visits, etc. Though as I mentioned earlier I let the number lapse.
Am sure you’ll do just fine, don’t stress about this.
I’m fluent in French, so language wasn’t a problem, but I asked the store attendant to insert the new SIM and set it up. It comes with a password to activate it and the girl took care of it for me, it was done in a couple of minutes. Don’t worry about not knowing the language, you’ll certainly find at least one person with a working knowledge of English.
Your son will certainly be able to take care of all of this but I wasn’t too confident and preferred to have the girl handle it. My niece was also there and was quite amused that I needed help, oh to be 22!
I later had to go online and fill in my details, this is particularly important if you want to keep the number for any future visits, etc. Though as I mentioned earlier I let the number lapse.
Am sure you’ll do just fine, don’t stress about this.
Last edited by geetika; May 14th, 2019 at 09:52 AM.
May 14th, 2019, 10:01 AM
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Here is a link that lists the Relais Store locations at the Toulouse Airport. There is at last one they call RELAY CÔTÉ VILLE that is in the public area (ZONE PUBLIQUE)
RELAY CÔTÉ VILLE Presse, livres, tabac, confiserie, produits nomades, produits enfants - Épicerie, produits frais | Aéroport Toulouse-Blagnac
I forgot to mention earlier that one reason it was so costly for us this last trip with Orange was that I needed voice and data across Europe, not just France. So if your whole trip is within France that should make the cell phone stuff one step easier at least
RELAY CÔTÉ VILLE Presse, livres, tabac, confiserie, produits nomades, produits enfants - Épicerie, produits frais | Aéroport Toulouse-Blagnac
I forgot to mention earlier that one reason it was so costly for us this last trip with Orange was that I needed voice and data across Europe, not just France. So if your whole trip is within France that should make the cell phone stuff one step easier at least
May 14th, 2019, 03:34 PM
#12
Yes I was there last fall, (October), there is some construction so you may or may not find what you need now. If not, the mall it isn't that far from the airport and there is a big surface parking lot. If you follow Google Maps directions that you download ahead of time should be okay. It was a big Orange store on the ground level IIRC.
Last edited by mlgb; May 14th, 2019 at 03:47 PM.
May 14th, 2019, 03:38 PM
#13
Your orange data will work most places in Europe now..mine worked in Portugal just fine. I did not fly from CDG, but rather from Barcelona.
Maybe you will find a store that sells SIM cards in TLS, maybe not. Just be prepared in case you can't find one that has the right size card or doesn't sell them at all.
Maybe you will find a store that sells SIM cards in TLS, maybe not. Just be prepared in case you can't find one that has the right size card or doesn't sell them at all.
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