Traveling to England and Paris for a month...June 4 to July 5. Spoke to my cellphone carrier and it was mentioned that if we didn't want to purchase a sim card from them, one could be purchased once we arrived in England. So my question is what are the pros and cons of each option. Going through my plan is not to bad, $50 allotment. .30cents per minute of talk, .25 per megabyte data and .10 for sent texts. Are there any reliable better deals if we wait to get there? Thanks
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11316 posts
Do you have an unlocked phone? If so, the rates for a SIM in the UK that will allow riaming in France, are reasonable. We paid £20 or 30 per SIM for 6+ gb data (it was plenty and I used data a lot). Made very few calls but calls in Europe were included as was texting. Downside is you won't have your US number. EE stores have done well by us. Great service.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
You can beat your carrier by buying a SIM when you get to England. I'm planning Ireland, N. Ireland and N. England in May. It looks like "3" is the best carrier for my purposes. There are lots of carriers with multiple plans. I'd budget about 70 euro for a month (under 60 pounds) including more than enough data for the average user.
The only reason to go with your carrier is if you have a need to keep your phone number. A SIM in Europe comes with a local phone number. It means your calls aren't roaming but if anyone calls or texts your phone number, you're not going to receive it on that SIM.
If I were you, I'd try looking at a department store in England. Many of the big stores have an electronics section that offer multiple plans from multiple carriers. They may be able to show you options you can pick from. Kiosks generally offer only one carrier, they may have different plan options but they won't be able to show you competing carriers.
Have them put the SIM in and make sure it's functioning before you pay. It's usually very easy. When it's not, it's better to run into the issue before you pay.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
It would help to know which cell carrier you're with, and what type of phone you're using? The two basic options are using a roaming plan with your home network or buying a SIM in Europe. A brief summary.....
ROAMING
- usually a bit on the expensive side but provides the convenience of travelling with your home number. If you need to be reachable from home during your trip, this is the best choice. The disadvantage is getting phone calls in the wee hours from someone who forgot to check the time difference. Many cell companies provide a "flat rate" international roaming option (ie: $12 per day).
LOCAL SIM
- provides a local number and cheaper local rates, but will be on a PAYG plan so SIM will have to be topped-up each time you deplete the bucket of minutes. Topping-up may be slightly more difficult outside the country where the SIM was purchased. If your trip is starting in the U.K. and you want to buy a SIM there, I'd suggest stopping at the nearest Carphone Warehouse as the staff there will be able to set things up.
There's also the option of using a travel SIM from companies like iRoam, Mobal or Cellular Abroad. Their websites will have all the info. They don't typically provide good data coverage but good for voice and text. Accounts are usually linked to a credit card, so topping up is done automatically.
FWIW, I've been using the roaming plan with my home network for the last few years, as it provides the same voice, text and data coverage that I have at home. It's a bit expensive at about $15 per day (to a maximum of about 10 or 15 days in each billing cycle), but I have to be reachable from home so using European or travel SIM's is not an option for me. In the overall cost of a European trip, the phone cost is not a big deal.