yestravel

I'm trying to understand the difference between a local Sim card versus a mobile wifi. This is for Egypt where I have been told service can be very poor with TMobil which is what I have. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!

Dukey1

Just a question: do you have WhatsApp or Facetime?

bilboburgler

Egypt is a big place, where?

yestravel

[QUOTE=Dukey1;17417096]Just a question: do you have WhatsApp or Facetime?[/QUOTE Should have added not concerned about phone calls. Interested in apps and email. Yes, I do have FT and WhatsApp.

kureiff

We always get a local SIM. On our recent trip to Spain, we got e-sims for each of our phones. Worked great.

We could also use our Verizon International Plan but sim cards are much less expensive, and with the e-sim, you don't need to switch the sim cards out.

Dukey1

[QUOTE=yestravel;17417101] Sorry for my intrusion

Moderator1

Moved to Africa & the Middle East Forum and added Egypt to topic title

AJPeabody

Mobile WiFi will not work where there is no wifi network or where you do not have the password for a private wifi signal. Public WiFi is also subject to hacking. Get a SIM card for the local carrier (phone service).

HappyTrvlr

We used the hotel wifi all over Egypt plus Whsts App. Egypt

yestravel

Thanks! Hopefully the hotel wifi will be fine. We will be on a small Dahabiya boat for a few days where I understand wifi access is very limited. So thought I would explore an option.

progol

Just to clarify for those who are considering a dahabiya- there is WiFi on the deck most of the time, although not in the rooms which are below deck. Sometimes the power is turned off during the day for a few hours, so WiFi will be off then, but most of the time, it is on.

In our recent travels to Jordan and Egypt, we did find that WiFi was erratic, even though we have Mobile-T. I had recommended a portable WiFi to yestravel because it would be consistent, but it turns out that it is pretty expensive. A couple of people aboard the dahabiya had it, so I assumed it was pretty easy to get. Mobile-T was often too weak to access internet when we were out of range of WiFi, although texting was always available. And of,course, WhatsApp is the best way to communicate with everyone.

So rest assured, the WiFi is on the dahabiya more often than not, although not all the time!

EuGA

We always buy a local SIM card, in most cases it gives more stable internet

yestravel

Just to close the loop, we went with an eSim for Egypt and it worked great. Got it through Airalo and used it mostly on the boat. Although since there was just us and another couple on the boat, we had decent wifi and they turned the generators on whenever we needed them. The other couple were working so they needed stable wifi. They also had a Sim card they used as back up.