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Post by love2travel on Dec 28, 2015 9:09:34 GMT
We are doing Insights Treasures of Italy in April. I want to know how I go about getting a SIM card for use in Europe (Italy, France, Belgium, UK) I mainly want it for the data useage and won't need much credit for calls/SMS. I will need one for 6 weeks, or do I need a different one for each country? Also do you know if my phone is locked to the Vodafone network in Australia will an overseas SIM card work in my phone? TIA  |
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Post by Owen on Dec 28, 2015 10:24:24 GMT
Please talk to Vodaphone Australia about your present SIM card and your travel plans to UK, Belgium, France and Italy.
Ask questions about using your present SIM (or a new SIM) in all or any of the countries you are visiting ?
What choices & charges do Vodaphone Australia offer ?
Are you making a stopover in Asia or the Middle East on the way to Europe (London) and or on the way home ?
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Post by love2travel on Dec 28, 2015 12:41:27 GMT
I have spoken with Vodafone and it's way too expensive for 7 weeks of travel, that's why I want to find out about buying one for use in Europe. Yes I am stopping in HK both ways.
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2015 12:58:51 GMT
There's enough free wifi in Europe that you don't need a SIM card if all you essentially want is data. It easy to keep in contact via email and skype, and if you use SMS the odd time, it's not expensive. (I tell those who I SMS that I will message them via FB while I'm away). Wifi in the hotels is generally free now with the odd one having a small fee. Cafes and restaurants have free wifi, some public areas do, and of course, the bus has wifi and in Western Europe, the coverage would be pretty good.  |
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Post by Owen on Dec 28, 2015 18:35:53 GMT
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Post by chech on Dec 28, 2015 18:37:45 GMT
If HK is just a flight stop, there's free wifi in the airport. And the hotels there had it no problem. (Free all throughout China's hotels when I was there).  |
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Post by love2travel on Dec 29, 2015 7:32:43 GMT
I would still like follow up on a SIM card as the free wifi we get here in Australia is usapually so slow it drives me crazy, all of our hotels in Europe have free wifi but I wonder wether it's fast enough for FaceTime? If I have my own data it should be much quicker.
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Post by Owen on Dec 29, 2015 9:27:08 GMT
Yes, the WiFi reception in many suburban shopping centres leaves lots of room for improvement Westfield Centrepoint & QVB in Sydney are two locations with fast and reliable WiFi. Have you ever tested your phone using reliable WiFi in lobby of a major hotel ? Can Vodaphone unlock your phone for use by other SIM cards ? Vodaphone are an international company operating in UK & Europe. Pocket WiFi device is available from Vodaphone Australia. Can it be used in the UK & Europe ? or Is it cost justified to “rent” a Pocket Wifi device from Vodaphone UK ? or Check out this third party Pocket WiFi Device for use in UK & Europe. Please check out the costs etc for 7weeks rental in UK & Europe. It can be collected in London At Heathrow or maybe your hotel. Worth researching your options www.tepwireless.com/wifi/europeand Ask your travel agent about SIM cards for use in UK & Europe ? |
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Post by Oz-T on Dec 29, 2015 10:50:37 GMT
Hi Love2travel; I'll try to assist with your queries. Usually your phone won't be locked to one particular carrier unless you purchased it as part of a plan. A discounted phone price often locks the phone to that network. There is no point purchasing an international SIM card if it won't work in a locked phone so call Vodafone to find out. Assuming the phone is not locked, an international SIM card is a good choice. Not only do you access cheaper phone rates, you avoid having your regular mobile phone on whilst overseas. This has two distinct advantages: 1. If somebody calls your regular phone at daytime at home, it could be 2am when you're on the other side of the world. Unless it's an emergency, you won't welcome being called throughout the night by well-meaning friends who didn't realise you're overseas. 2. Any calls to your regular phone go through an international diversion to find you overseas, assuming it's switched to global roaming. However, you pay for the diversion cost, not the caller who can't bear the cost for calling somebody they didn't realise was overseas. You don't want to return from your holiday to see a huge Vodafone bill for international calls you didn't make. I recommend that you buy an international SIM and advise the number to only those close people who you want to hear from whilst on holiday (i.e emergencies etc). I don't recommend buying data as well because it's a rip-off. The data balance can mysteriously expire very fast and they then start stealing credits from your phone call balance. Stick with free WiFi from McDonalds, Starbucks, cafés, hotel lobby etc. When you're on holiday you should be too busy enjoying the sights without worrying about internet connectivity 24/7. You could look at the Ekit products or SIMs available in Australia Post. One SIM will work throughout the world, assuming your phone is fairly new and accesses several frequency bands. The GSM system used in Australia is also the main worldwide technology, but most modern phones will also have frequencies for North America. And do make a test call at home before you leave, just to ensure everything is working properly. |
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Post by chech on Dec 29, 2015 13:25:33 GMT
I would still like follow up on a SIM card as the free wifi we get here in Australia is usapually so slow it drives me crazy, all of our hotels in Europe have free wifi but I wonder wether it's fast enough for FaceTime? If I have my own data it should be much quicker. Wifi in Europe is very different than in Australia. I found it slow down under as well. Slow enough that I didn't even bother uploading my photos while I was there. Not the same in Europe. There's no throttling of the bandwidth. I can upload photos very quickly and download football games without having to leave the computer on all night. Facetime shouldn't be an issue. I know a lot of people who use Skype with no issues. As Oz noted...don't worry about the connectivity, enjoy the holiday. Just tell those who you routinely want to talk to how you plan to connect with them. If they're not expecting phone calls, they won't worry...and won't call you. The time difference makes calls hard whereas email/FB etc doesn't wake people up or catch them on their way out for work or in the middle of dinner. (Or as Oz notes...they wake you up! LOL) In 20 trips overseas, I've yet to get a card for my phone. Wifi has done the trick. Australia and New Zealand are the only countries where I found the connections frustratingly slow. If you go for a sim card, Oz's suggestions are excellent. As he says, if you get one, get it in Australia. I think he was the one who had a friend go overseas and insist on getting a card at the destination and wasted a lot of time trying to find one. If I ever had the need for a sim, I'd get it here before I leave. |
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Post by solaria on Dec 29, 2015 20:17:45 GMT
I am on vodafone here in NZ. I took my phone overseas as vodafone was worldwide - at least in the countries I went to. At that stage I did not have a smart phone so did not have to worry about data charges. I also took my android tablet that is wifi only. Had no trouble accessing or downloading photos etc or accessing the internet if I needed info. The family either emailed me of sent txt to my phone. I did not find the costs incurred overly expensive. Txts were a $1 from memory as apposed to 50c. I found it easier to have my own phone and sim as I had everyone's number and everyone had mine. The only time we needed to actually talk to someone was when Eddie's elderly mother had a fall and his brother wanted to talk through the implications with him.
Eddie on the other hand was on Telecom. Much more diificult to connect his phone to other networks. He got voicemail messages regarding work and found out later that it cost $6 to retrieve each voicemail message! After that trip he left his phone at home and we just used mine.
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Post by love2travel on Dec 30, 2015 10:10:08 GMT
Thanks for all your help everyone. I will follow up some of these links. I do plan to enjoy our holiday but as we are leaving our 18yr old twins by themselves for the very 1st time, I want them to be able to contact us at any time (& vice versa) should they need to and I can rest easy if I know this can happen |
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Post by bet on Dec 30, 2015 18:42:50 GMT
I got an international SIM card with my latest Trafalgar documents so you might just get one too when you receive your Insight papers. I never used though and didn't look at their rates.
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Post by Boop on Dec 31, 2015 21:48:06 GMT
I paid my provider, Rogers, $10/day while roaming in Prague, Vienna, Slovakia and Budapest. It was like using my phone at home, I had no issues at all with sms, internet, facetime. That was $10/day to a maximum charge of $100 whether I was there for 10 days or 15 days the max I paid is $100. Worth it! Two of the three hotels charged (big time) for room access.
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