tom_h

I'll be bringing my own, unlocked phone to Greece on an upcoming trip, and will buy a prepaid SIM chip upon arrival.

Web Sites such as
www.prepaidgsm.net/en/greece
list the major network operators (Vodaphone-Panafon, Cosmote, etc), but I dont necessarily believe or trust the claimed coverage areas!

I'll mainly be travelling in Attica, Peloponessus, and Crete.

Would Fodorites have firsthand knowledge of who has the best coverage and service?

TIA

Heimdall

Both Cosmote and Panafon have good coverage in the areas of Greece I've visited. I use my Vodafone UK sim, and usually get strong signals from both providers. Of course there may be dead spots in mountainous areas, but on the whole you should be okay with either.

xaroula

TIM and Cosmote have much better coverage than Vodafone, which is awful in the mountains and in rural areas. I have TIM and it's fine. I've had Cosmote and had no problems with them either.

Heimdall

Xaroula, that is interesting, because I seem to pick up TIM signals less frequently than the other two, in the Cyclades anyway. We both agree that Cosmote provides good coverage, and that may be the best bet for tom_h. A good website to check local coverage is http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_gr.shtml. You can zoom in on the coverage maps to see in detail where the dead spots are likely to be.

tom_h

From the map link Heimdall provided, it does seem Cosmote has the best overall coverage. And, both Xaroula & Heimdall have had good reception with Cosmote.

As long as Cosmote's tariffs are reasonable, Cosmote it is!

Thx.

deniz666uk

i use cosmote and never had a problem

Yiannis_GR

I live in Greece and travel a lot. All companies have good reception - but what I hear often (no evidence though) is that Cosmote has better coverage. Concerning rates - are very competitive and all 3-4 major networks are charging almost the same.

Yiannis

polly229

Picked up a Vodafone card for my phone last year - cheap at a tobacco kiosk with 8 euros of time for 6 euros. Coverage fine in cities. But my husband had his Cingular phone on and roamed on Cosmote through the mountains of Crete and most or all the way across the Aegean from Santorini to Crete. Although he has had good luck with Vodafone in the UK and other parts of Europe, we conclude that Vodafone is trying to make inroads in Greece, hence the "deal" on their SIM card. But if you want coverage outside of relatively populated areas, Cosmote is far better.

tom_h

Upon arrival in Athens, Any suggestions on places to purchase the SIM chip, at the fair and "correct" price? (the tiny card that inserts INSIDE the dell phone).

I noticed there is a "Germanos" electronics store located at Athens airport arrival, but it's a chain I am unfamiliar with in USA.

xaroula

Germanos is fine; they are everywhere, and they'll sell you a SIM card. They stock TIM and maybe the other brands as well. Alternatively, you can buy a Cosmote SIM at some kiosks on the street. Just make sure you're getting a SIM and not just a recharge card. They come in packaging that looks just like an aluminum beverage can. Where in Athens are you staying? If you're in Plaka/Monastiraki area, there's a Germanos store opposite the Monastiraki metro station.

Germanos is a perfectly respectable electronics chain. Why would you expect to find American electronics retailers in Greece? There is no such thing as far as I know.

tom_h

" ... Why would you expect to find American electronics retailers in Greece? ..."

Same reason I find Starbucks, McDonalds, etc, everywhere! Can Radio Shacks & Best Buy stores be far behind!

thanks for the advice, seems the SIM chips are easy to find.

xaroula

Ok, then! But I hope and pray that your Greek travel experience does not include relying on McDonalds for food and Starbucks for coffee! Greece has such better options! If in downtown area, try the restaurant "Orea Penteli" in Psyrri and have the yogurt eggplant dish and for coffee how about the cafe in the old gasworks at Ghazi?

totally unrelated to your question, but you're in Athens, so have some fun after you get your SIM card!

tom_h

I'm pleased to report that Cosmote & my Nokia 1100 cellphone provided great coverage throughout the Peloponessus, during the last 3 weeks.

I was pleasantly surprised to have decent coverage even in some rather remote mountainous regions. They must have cell phone towers concealed in the monasteries!

I bought a Cosmote SIM chip, with included talk minutes, for 49 Euro at a Germanos store. Don't recall how much of the purchase price was talk-time, but remember thinking it reasonable at the time.

Thereafter, "Cosmo Carte" recharge cards, in denominations ranging from 9 to 30 Euro, were easy to find at kiosks and markets.

the Cosmote recharge instructions and voice menus were only in Greek, and it overwhelmed my simple language skills.

But after my hotel desk clerk walked me through it the first time, it was straightforward.

Heimdall

Thanks for the feedback.

polly229

We just got back from Greece again and topped up our Vodafone card, which was still good for the first few days we were there, because we had coverage from Athens to Kalampaka, then back to the Peleponnese. Okay on Rhodes, too, except around Lindos. However, it was fine down the other coast even though it seemed more sparsely settled. In our experience and from what a couple of Greeks said, Vodafone coverage is much better now than it was a year ago. But Cosmote was still the best.

I'm not sure I'd have paid that much for a card, though. We got the Vodafone SIM at a kiosk in Athens last year for 8 Euros, which included 6 Euros of talk time. We could only find 20 or more Euro top-ups in Germanos, which tends to be a little expensive (though certainly ubiquitous), but Vodafone stores are now very wide-spread. So we topped up for 10 at Vodafone, still have almost 12 Euros left and the card is good till next May. (Wonder if I can sell it on eBay since we don't plan to be back in Greece before it expires next time.)