I am a total novice and have little if any knowledge of cell phones and various plans. We will be in Scotland for 3.5 weeks and will be taking a cell phone. We want to stay in touch and have the ability to use google maps especially in Edinburgh and Glasgow if we're on foot. We will have SatNav in our rental when we're driving. I'm unsure of the costs if we try to phone back to Canada or send text messages. I've looked at GiffGaff but don't really understand the options and possible costs. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1209 posts
Giffgaff I have used since they started.
A goodbag gives best value, from memory £25 unlimited UK calls and txt and a generous amount of data for a month.
You then add a little credit to the account to pay for non UK calls
Calls to Canada either a landline or cell phone is 2 p a minute.
From what others have said Giffgaff will post out a SIM
That said all supermarkets and many many other small shops have SIM cards for sale straight off the shelf .
Takes bare minutes to activate a SIM.
Do it in a WIFI network ,most cafes and pubs offer free wifi often city centres too
There are many different Goodybags to choose from.
It's still the case you can but paper credit vouchers and use that if you don't want to register a bank card to your account.
Make sure to swap the credit to a goodybag !!
Posted by
Yorkshire
1209 posts
https://www.giffgaff.com/international
Txt are relatively "expensive" but you could just use the data to email,or Facebook messenger whatsapp etc at no cost
Posted by
Yorkshire
1209 posts
EE has the widest coverage but there's not much in it
What is certain in the Highlands there are blank spots in the wilder bits across all the networks
The likes of Lebara/ Tesco/ Giffgaff piggyback of the big providers masts.
Posted by
184 posts
I had GiffGaff send me a couple of free SIM cards to us in Canada last month, they arrived very quickly. We'll pop them in once we get there. We had planned to use their 30 pound plan but I see it has changed and become better, 20 pounds for 100 Gb, 35 pounds for unlimited.
We don't plan to make calls, but will use WhatsApp to converse with family at home. And like you, plan to use the Maps to guide ourselves around.
Posted by
Western Canada
3107 posts
As you are a novice, one thing I will say is to download WhatsApp onto your phone, and get all your family to do the same.
Then practice calling/texting each other on it before you leave home.
If you have Wifi in your accommodations, you can use it without incurring data use.
Also, if you all have IPhones, practice using FaceTime with each other before you leave home.
You can always use Skype as well, again with Wifi.
There are plenty of good simcards to get once you get to the UK, so that you can make actual phone calls from anywhere, use google maps etc.; and if you go into a mobile-phone store, they will help you get it up and running.
I've used GiffGaff, Lebara and Vodafone ones.
The thing is to make sure you practice all the apps before you leave for your trip, so you will be an expert on arrival and not have to worry!