I think the suggestion is that you might try buying a SIM from the Netherlands online, in advance of the trip. Costs more to do it this way, but you would know your number before the trip.

Well, I was suggesting to buy it online ahead of time too - but I was merely pointing out that in some countries (like the Netherlands), showing your passport or registering your identity is not required to purchase a SIM card.

The Dutch Vodafone SIM can still be bought on eBay (new, unopened) from the same place I bought mine over a year ago, for $5 USD + $3 USD shipping to the US. The SIM comes with no credit, but you can sign up for an account on the Dutch Vodafone website to add credit. (Google Chrome translates the Dutch automatically if you want.) US credit cards are accepted. You can receive free incoming texts to the SIM if you want to set up the SIM at home before leaving for Europe.

The main reason I bought this SIM originally was that EU "roam like at home" was not yet in place when I was to visit Europe, but Vodafone was already supporting it...and there were no good local SIM options in any of the countries I was visiting. (I've never used the Dutch Vodafone SIM in the Netherlands.) I wanted a SIM that would work in each country I visited, too. Today most local SIM cards will work in other European countries for no extra roaming cost, though not all of them do.

Andrew often suggests a lot of things that are more complicated than necessary. But don't worry he'll walk you through it, LOL.

When you get to Paris and buy your SIM there, the store will insert it and activate it. Ask them to call or text from your phone to themselves. I also experienced a delay before it worked in all modes (not a few minutes, more like 30 to an hour). I finally got it to work after my brother and I called and texted back and forth.

By the time you get to your lodging, it should be working. If not, you'll have wifi there.

I found France sort of backward as far as availability of free public wifi and even places to buy a SIM Card (although I'm sure Paris is fine). It's sort of funny that a supposedly "third world" country like Colombia has faster internet and cheaper, easier access, but that's probably because the population depends on it.

"Andrew often suggests a lot of things that are more complicated than necessary. But don't worry he'll walk you through it, LOL. "
I've found Andrew's advice always very helpful. He's suggested and helped me with many tech solutions.

Andrew, I noticed the Orange SIM did not have Ukraine on the list of countries; would the Dutch Vodafone SIM work in Ukraine? TiA

Thanks, yestravel!

Unfortunately, no - not with free EU roaming, anyway. Ukraine is not in the EU or EEA. You could use the SIM there but it would be very expensive. Better to buy a local SIM in Ukraine. Or use a US international roaming plan.

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Having a phone upon landing is not important if you are simply walking out, taking a taxi to a hotel that has a 24/7 desk.

Having a phone number or a phone with data (not just wifi use) upon landing is actually very important if...

1. You or your lodgings have arranged for a driver to pick you up.

2. You are staying in a short-stay apartment where the host is meeting you there with keys.

3. You prefer to use a ride-sharing service to get to your lodgings, like Uber or Hailo (a taxi option in England).

4. Your flight is late and you need to contact either your driver or your lodgings host. (Which you may if the lodgings don't have a 24/7 manned front desk).

OK. It's important to some of us to have a working phone upon landing. I know it is to me. I think we can each decide for ourselves whether it's important or not.

I think we can each decide for ourselves whether it's important or not.

EXACTLY. And we can decide whether it's worth taking public transit, or a taxi rather than an Uber on arrival. Or booking an airport hotel for one's first night and just walkiing over there. Or whether it's worth buying a SIM card in advance, installing and activating it yourself, or waiting until you reach your destination and having someone there do all of that for you (and possibly saving the cost of your origin taxi fare!)

And even deciding whether you really need to have a local SIM or whether you are comfortable with using hotel wifi and downloaded or paper maps, supplemented by whatever international plan your provider offers (if any) or none at all.

Thanks for your response -- I wasn't thinking of that. One of these days, however, I may ask for that walk through!

That is a very interesting affirmation if one is to believe this website which lists France as #23 in internet speed and Colombia as #114.

https://www.atlasandboots.com/remote...-in-the-world/

If anyone is thinking of buying a SIM card in the UK as we did, I'm pretty sure we didn't show ID. We tried CarPhoneWarehouse first, as we bought mobile phones years ago from them when we went to live in England, but they don't sell them. They suggested 3 (that's the name of the shop), Vodafone or EE. It was cheap, I think 15 pounds each for a month's worth of data, calls etc and quick to set up. Took a few hours for activation as I mentioned earlier.

Kay

I purchased the orange holiday sim in CDG by the baggage claim and they did not require my passport.

The data is working fine, but I haven't been able to make a phone call yet. I try and get a recording in french, I assume it's telling me that i'm doing something wrong! I installed Whatsapp before leaving, and that works, so no big deal.

I bless the original poster for asking a “stupid” question. I’ve seen entries on other communities that insist that all applications are on one’s original SIM card.

I DID buy two Orange SIMs on Amazon, and I ended up only using one—I gave that one to one of our travel companions on a recent trip. She was going to Portugal, Spain and France, and was departing before us, so the SIM was a blessing to her and to us who had different travel itineraries.

You are given the option to register, but basically, you can forego the passport registration for two weeks and still have a working SiM.

Why did I not use one? Our hotel, it turns out, had free loaner hotspot WiFi’s. We don’t typically call anyone when we land, we actually like being a little out of reach from back home—time to disconnect and “be”—and It just became super easy to tether our two phones, our two iPads—and heck, even one Kindle—to the hotspot. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

As to choices everyone makes—I echo the sentiment above that we all can make different choices and “be right.”

Good point re hotels having loaner hotspots (I've also stayed at lodgings which had loaner cellphones). Many of us don't really need or want to call back home or are familiar with other options of communicating from overseas with friends and family.

Flwr if you can, ask someone to call you and see if your phone rings.

If it doesn't, stop into an Orange store, assuming you can find one!

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Thank you, I will ask the concierge to try to call me tomorrow. It would be good to have a working phone just in case!

kerouac is correct in stating that French law requires ID from anyone purchasing a SIM. Whenever statements are made in the absolute, someone will inevitably want to recount his personal experience of exception to another posterīs original statement.

However, any one time exception does not change the rule of law nor does it indicate that a one off can be duplicated with any degree of certainty by someone else.

Orange sells their Holiday SIM on Amazon and doesn't require registration to use it for the first two weeks. Apparently, the same applies if one buys the SIM at CDG. So it seems not to be simply a "one time exception."