Is there a SIM card that works in both Ireland & Italy
Jul 8th, 2006, 08:51 AM
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Is there a SIM card that works in both Ireland & Italy
Help. I've been reading the posts on cell phones & my vision is starting to blur. I'm sorry if this has been asked & answered before but I still don't get it. I have a cell phone that works in Europe. I need a cell phone for only 5 days in Ireland (both Dublin & Northern Ireland.)A phone card won't help because I need to be able to receive local calls away from the hotel. I also need a cell phone (for about 10 days) in Rome. Do I have to buy both a SIM card in Ireland & a TIM card in Rome or can I get one that will work at a reasonable price in both locations. Thanks
Jul 8th, 2006, 09:08 AM
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It's really a toss up since both Irish and Italian prepaid sims are pretty cheap. Probably the biggest question is how much local calling you will do. And the disadvantage of 2 sim cards, hardly earth shattering, is that you have to notify those calling you of 2 different numbers (or you can use a forwarding service such as kall8 to forward to your local sims and just switch the call to number when you switch sim cards; easy to do via the net).
The advantage of the international cards, as it stands today, is of course 1 number. Also calls to the USA (assuming that's where you are) are only 14¢/minute via callback world whereas calls to the USA on both the Irish and Italian sims are in the vicinity of 40¢/minute via cbw or even a little more calling directly; although you can get a prepaid long distance card called bizon which enables you to dial a local number in both Ireland and Italy and call the USA for no more than 7¢/minute (even less from Italy).
You can get an 800 number from callbackworld used with a pin and have people call you via united mobile and you will pay 14¢/minute also. Callforwarding via kall8 to Irish and Italian sims is twice as expensive if not more and costs $2/month.
So it's really hard to advise you what is the absolutely best way to do it...all the ways are simple enough and will save you lots of money over using a US carrier's asininely overpriced international roaming.
The advantage of the international cards, as it stands today, is of course 1 number. Also calls to the USA (assuming that's where you are) are only 14¢/minute via callback world whereas calls to the USA on both the Irish and Italian sims are in the vicinity of 40¢/minute via cbw or even a little more calling directly; although you can get a prepaid long distance card called bizon which enables you to dial a local number in both Ireland and Italy and call the USA for no more than 7¢/minute (even less from Italy).
You can get an 800 number from callbackworld used with a pin and have people call you via united mobile and you will pay 14¢/minute also. Callforwarding via kall8 to Irish and Italian sims is twice as expensive if not more and costs $2/month.
So it's really hard to advise you what is the absolutely best way to do it...all the ways are simple enough and will save you lots of money over using a US carrier's asininely overpriced international roaming.
Jul 8th, 2006, 09:36 AM
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I have a SIM from Italy that I've used throughout my trips in Europe. The only caveat is that when I ran out of prepaid minutes on my cell phone, I needed to go back to Italy and get a recharge card to get more prepaid minutes. And as I wasn't in Italy recently (I was in the Baltics), I could not get mroe prepaid minutes and therefore my cell phone was rendered useless.
A good place to find more info is prepaidgsm.net.
Enjoy.
A good place to find more info is prepaidgsm.net.
Enjoy.
Jul 8th, 2006, 11:31 AM
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Hi,
Thanks for the info but I'm still confused. I won't be calling the US; I'll be calling & receiving calls from my family who will be in the same area. We will be calling each other for times to meet up etc...Do I order a sim card online or buy one when I reach Ireland. Actually, I need 2 - one for me & one for the kids. I've looked online & the prices don't seem all that cheap to me. But, definitely cheaper that using a US cell number.
Thanks for the info but I'm still confused. I won't be calling the US; I'll be calling & receiving calls from my family who will be in the same area. We will be calling each other for times to meet up etc...Do I order a sim card online or buy one when I reach Ireland. Actually, I need 2 - one for me & one for the kids. I've looked online & the prices don't seem all that cheap to me. But, definitely cheaper that using a US cell number.
Jul 8th, 2006, 12:02 PM
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The one caveat...
Do not get the sim card from the rip off US merchants who advertise sim cards...
You can get Vodafone Ireland cards upon arrival at the Dublin airport for much less then what these almost crooks would charge.
Do not get the sim card from the rip off US merchants who advertise sim cards...
You can get Vodafone Ireland cards upon arrival at the Dublin airport for much less then what these almost crooks would charge.
Jul 8th, 2006, 12:07 PM
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I second xyz123. Get your SIM card in Dublin and call your friends/relatives from your new phone. It's relatively easy to do once you land, and much cheaper too. Plus, they'll make sure things work for you so you have one less thing to worry about.
Jul 8th, 2006, 06:40 PM
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So, if I wait till I get to Dublin & buy a SIM card there, will it work in Italy & will I be able to recharge it there? I suspect that the problem is with the roaming charges. Is there one SIM company that will work better than others in Ireland, Northern Ireland & Italy? Thanks to everyone who has responded. If you guys don't know the answer, no one does.
Jul 13th, 2006, 06:07 AM
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"I'll be calling & receiving calls from my family who will be in the same area"
Who pays what depends on what SIM they've got. If you and they both have a SIM from the country you're in, you'll pay only local costs. If one of you has a SIM from a different country from they one they're in, that person will pay roaming costs to send, and will also be charged to receive.
The lowest call costs need you all to have a local SIM. Whether this is worth messing about buying a different SIM is a separate question. I'd never bother buying an Italian SIM for 10 days' holiday in Italy, and I know nobody who would. Most people save money on holiday by texting rather than phoning.
There are more things in life than saving a few euros on phone calls.
Who pays what depends on what SIM they've got. If you and they both have a SIM from the country you're in, you'll pay only local costs. If one of you has a SIM from a different country from they one they're in, that person will pay roaming costs to send, and will also be charged to receive.
The lowest call costs need you all to have a local SIM. Whether this is worth messing about buying a different SIM is a separate question. I'd never bother buying an Italian SIM for 10 days' holiday in Italy, and I know nobody who would. Most people save money on holiday by texting rather than phoning.
There are more things in life than saving a few euros on phone calls.
Jul 13th, 2006, 06:47 AM
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Hi Mimmel
My mobile phone company is vodafone, i have a sim card from them, and its worked in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Holland, Lanzarote, Spain, Belgium, and Italy.
Just buy a vodafone sim card when you arrive in dublin, and you can use it in most of europe, but you will pay for roaming charges unfortunately. Hope this helps, by the way when you purchase the sim card , you get €10 or €15 free credit with it.
My mobile phone company is vodafone, i have a sim card from them, and its worked in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Holland, Lanzarote, Spain, Belgium, and Italy.
Just buy a vodafone sim card when you arrive in dublin, and you can use it in most of europe, but you will pay for roaming charges unfortunately. Hope this helps, by the way when you purchase the sim card , you get €10 or €15 free credit with it.
Jul 13th, 2006, 07:14 AM
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flanneruk...
In all due respect to you given that Italian sim cards and local calls on Italian networks are among the cheapest in the world, there is no reason not to get a local Italian sim...Irish sim cards are not terribly expensive either. Texting is an alternative but nothing beats having your own phone; especially if one is making a lot of local calls..admitedly communicating between one another would work with texting pretty well.
As far as Irish providers, Vodafone and O2 are pretty much on a par, Meteor seems to be a distant third.
Vodafone might be advantageous as you can sign up with Vodafone Passport which means you can receive calls in Italy for only a 0,75€ surcharge for call, also it doesn't charge roaming when in Northern Ireland.
Also you can use Vodafone Italy recharge tickets to top up a Vodafone Ireland sim while in Italy....
In all due respect to you given that Italian sim cards and local calls on Italian networks are among the cheapest in the world, there is no reason not to get a local Italian sim...Irish sim cards are not terribly expensive either. Texting is an alternative but nothing beats having your own phone; especially if one is making a lot of local calls..admitedly communicating between one another would work with texting pretty well.
As far as Irish providers, Vodafone and O2 are pretty much on a par, Meteor seems to be a distant third.
Vodafone might be advantageous as you can sign up with Vodafone Passport which means you can receive calls in Italy for only a 0,75€ surcharge for call, also it doesn't charge roaming when in Northern Ireland.
Also you can use Vodafone Italy recharge tickets to top up a Vodafone Ireland sim while in Italy....
Jul 14th, 2006, 11:04 PM
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Ok. This is getting a litle clearer. Texting would be fine -I just need a way to communuicate multiple times a day. But don't I need a SIM or TIM card to text? Do roaming charges not apply to texting? I have 2 teenagers who will be roaming around Rome on their own & I need a way to find them when they have completely lost track of time & for them to find me when they get completely lost.
Xyz123 tells me that I can use Vodafone Italy recharge tickets to top up a Vodafone Ireland sim while in Italy. Where do I get these tickets? At a Vodafone store? But if I do this I still have to deal with the high roaming charges? Right? Or do I not pay roaming charges because it's a Passport card? I do pay for receiving calls.
Over all, it sounds like a need a TIM card for each phone in Rome - no roaming & no charge for receiving calls
Thanks everyone for your patient answers to my questions. I can do a lot of things really well, but figuring this stuff out is NOT one of them! The last time I bought a TIM card was in Venice; my phone only displayed in Chinese. The SIM Store clerk couln't figure out how to change languages. For about 3 days we went into every Chinese restaurant we saw until we found someone who could actually read it . It took him about 2 minutes to turn it back to English.
Xyz123 tells me that I can use Vodafone Italy recharge tickets to top up a Vodafone Ireland sim while in Italy. Where do I get these tickets? At a Vodafone store? But if I do this I still have to deal with the high roaming charges? Right? Or do I not pay roaming charges because it's a Passport card? I do pay for receiving calls.
Over all, it sounds like a need a TIM card for each phone in Rome - no roaming & no charge for receiving calls
Thanks everyone for your patient answers to my questions. I can do a lot of things really well, but figuring this stuff out is NOT one of them! The last time I bought a TIM card was in Venice; my phone only displayed in Chinese. The SIM Store clerk couln't figure out how to change languages. For about 3 days we went into every Chinese restaurant we saw until we found someone who could actually read it . It took him about 2 minutes to turn it back to English.
Jul 14th, 2006, 11:21 PM
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Some answers:
The tariffs on roaming are fiendish. But texts are typically a third the cost of voice calls, even when roaming.
To add to your confusion. Go to the Vodafone Ireland site, then search for "Passport". It may well be that a Vodafone Passport account - which you can set up in Ireland, in English - is the straightforward solution.
And I really wouldn't worry about teenagers getting lost in Rome. I first roamed its streets alone at 15. Having a mobile phone wouldn't have helped. And it's unimaginable your can have less gumption that I did at that age.
The tariffs on roaming are fiendish. But texts are typically a third the cost of voice calls, even when roaming.
To add to your confusion. Go to the Vodafone Ireland site, then search for "Passport". It may well be that a Vodafone Passport account - which you can set up in Ireland, in English - is the straightforward solution.
And I really wouldn't worry about teenagers getting lost in Rome. I first roamed its streets alone at 15. Having a mobile phone wouldn't have helped. And it's unimaginable your can have less gumption that I did at that age.
Jul 15th, 2006, 01:59 AM
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For the most part you can get vodafone italy recharge tickets at tobacco shops, vodafone stores, some gas stations etc.
Or you can get 1 sim card in each country and use text messages as suggested with say your home carrier if they have international roaming if you have a phone with at least one of the European frequencies but the phone will be able to receive local calls and the nice thing about Vodafone Passport is you only pay the one price 0,75€ to receive calls (note not per minute but per call)...but making calls will still be expensive especiallhy using the Irish sim in Italy.
One other point...TIM is the abbreviation for a local Italian mobile provider....a TIM card is a sim card just like a Vodafone Ireland card is a sim cards...you might find in Italy there are other carriers besides TIM such as WIND, Vodafone Italy to name a couple. Each has its own SIM cards.
But as I noted, Ireland and Italy sim cards are among the cheapest in the world.
Or you can get 1 sim card in each country and use text messages as suggested with say your home carrier if they have international roaming if you have a phone with at least one of the European frequencies but the phone will be able to receive local calls and the nice thing about Vodafone Passport is you only pay the one price 0,75€ to receive calls (note not per minute but per call)...but making calls will still be expensive especiallhy using the Irish sim in Italy.
One other point...TIM is the abbreviation for a local Italian mobile provider....a TIM card is a sim card just like a Vodafone Ireland card is a sim cards...you might find in Italy there are other carriers besides TIM such as WIND, Vodafone Italy to name a couple. Each has its own SIM cards.
But as I noted, Ireland and Italy sim cards are among the cheapest in the world.
