Has anyone used their cell phone while traveling in the Mayan Riv area ? Desperately seeking some kind of assurance, since neither of my phone companies (Bell & AT&T) seem able to provide any. Pathetic, really...I feel like the first guy who ever asked about it. They know little or nothing. So any help would be deeply appreciated. <BR> Steve in Toronto

As an employee of one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, I don't recommend bringing a US cell phone to Mexico. There are two main reasons for this. 1. It probably won't work! We are used to almost seamless coverage areas here in the US, but Mexico is a third world country where only the rich can afford cell phones. Therefore, the networks are not very well built, and the Mayan Riviera is really on the fringes of civilization and will most likely have poor coverage. 2. Are you aware of how high the roaming fees will be if you phone does manage to make a connection??? OUCH!! If you need to stay in touch, just give friends and family the numbers to the hotel, and use a calling card to call in to the office. <BR> <BR>If I had to bring a US cell phone, I would recommend AT&T over Bell. Your odds are better of finding a compatible network, since they are a much larger provider with more roaming agreements.

okay, don't mean to sound critical here but LEAVE THE CELL PHONE AT HOME - THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW YOU ARE ON VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leave the cell phone home. It will work in the Mayan riviera no problem with service. The problem is the cost. Friends brought theirs to Akumal when we were there. They made 4 5min calls and it cost $200us. If you need to call get a Ladatel card when you are there. In December we used a 50peso card and got 10minutes of calling. Thats about 5us dollars. This is definately the best option.

I took my cell phone last time i was there to see if it would work, as i had to make calls to the office periodically. Luckily for me, i couldnt get it to work. Doug is on the money with his Ladatel Card suggestion. Its pretty inexpensive, you can see your remaining time on the phone itself, and they are pretty too (;-), I kept mine. And you can buy them almost anywhere.

Actually I used our cell in Cancun it worked great also used it in st Thomas(worked sometimes). I had to call ATT many, many, many, times before I got the same answer on what to do. From what I remember you must dial a 2 or 3 number code then your # it was 75 cents a min. much cheeper than using hotel.GOOD LUCK!!

Have you considered using e-mail to stay in touch instead of a cell phone? If you'll be in Playa Del Carmen there are many internet cafes and it is very inexpensive per minute to use.

Where can you buy a Ladatel card? Can one be bought at the Cancun airport upon arrival? I'd much rather get it there so I don't have to spend time shopping for one when I get to my hotel.

Christie,

Are you kidding me? Most Mexicans (almost all) have cell phones in Playa del Carmen - very few people have land lines. We are definitely not on the fringes of civilization. I use my Nextel down there when necessary and also use Skype or MagicJack. There are quite a few internet cafes all over town where you can call or email. Several are open 24 hours. I have a friend who lives next to me in Playa who is from Toronto and he uses MagicJack as well.

We used our Verizon cell phone in Cancun, Barbados and St Martin within the last 2 years without any problems. The bills weren't extraordinarily high either. We rented a local cell phone in St Martin but if we go again we probably won't.

I've used my cell in Riviera Maya several times. Check with your provider to turn on international roaming before you go. I have t-mobile and that's a free service. You also have to have a phone that supports international roaming, most newer phones to - they have to be at least a tri-band phone. I think for t-mobile the rates were about 75 cents a minute, so it wasn't cheap, but it was far less than calling using a calling card or credit card from the room.

The last time I travelled I bought an international SIMM chip and installed it in my phone. You have to have your phone unlocked to take additional chips before you go - but that was a huge money saver. It only cost me about 10 cents a minute maybe for calls? Try www.celtrek.com

US cell phones generally work just fine in Mexico but as has been suggested, check with your provider first to make sure.
Roaming charges are quite high so be prepared for that.
Also be prepared to be shocked at all the 3rd world Mexicans that have cell phones.......

My T-Mobile Motorola quad-band works anywhere in the world simply by asking T-Mobile to turn on global roaming. Simple and it works very well.

We've used our AT&amp;T Cell phones on each trip to the Yucatan and particularly in Quintana Roo.

We did add the international service, which was $5 USD per month, which dropped the charge from $1.50 per minute to .75 per minute.

Another time, we rented a cell phone for the week from the auto rental company with unlimited calls. Consider this also, as I think it was around $40 for the week.

Have fun!

Our cells (Verizon) work well in most areas of Mexico, but you must activate them before you leave. Calls are not nearly as expensive as from Europe.

We used to own a cheap Mexican cell, which we bought in a phone store in Puerto Vallarta for $30 U.S. several years ago. You can purchase pre-paid cards in newstands to buy minutes. If your provider is too expensive, this is a great alternative (as is renting a phone from Mobal).

yes, my Verizon cell worked - I turned on global roaming and kept the calls short. Yes, I know we were on vacation, but I wanted to keep in touch with my husband and kids while away. Texting is more expensive IIRC - watch out for that.

Jeez everyone. Are we really that far behind here at Fodors?

Over at xA (disguised name of a competing travel website) it's been known for years now that it's very cheap and very easy to make cell phone calls from and within Mexico by using a Mexitel phone. (do a search) It's $1 to call the US and Canada (not $1 per minute, just $1) and apparently not much more than that for Europe, Australia, etc.

URL for Mexitel is www.mexitel.net in case you need it. You're welcome, have fun (more fun - now that your'e connected).

I have AT&amp;T and carry their package that allows me to call from all over the world. I still have to pay so much a min but its much cheaper than calling wo/ the package.

I used my cellie all over the Yucatan....and I also texted and received lots of texts.

I use my phone to keep in touch. Its much easier than lugging a lap top or using emailing from the hotels. Also cheaper!

We just returned from 5 nights at the IB Tucan in Playa del Carmen . . . it was a family trip and we probably had 8 cell phones . . . Sprint, Verizon, ATT.

Several of us had activated international roaming, some didn't, we all were able to use our phones. The only problem was that we had to call from outside our rooms.

Good luck,
Sandy (in Denton)

We use our AT&amp;T (previously Cingular) cell from Cozumel. Your phone must be a <b>quad band</b> phone. Call AT&amp;T and sign up for the &quot;Mexico&quot; plan -- make sure its the plan to call <u>from</u> Mexico to North America not the other way round -- they have two different programs.