I’m just back from two weeks in the UK with a side trip to Brussels.
I bought , in advance, a simcard from giffgaff.com
It’s the second time I’ve used their service.
They send you a free simcard, it arrives by mail in about a week, then you buy a”goody bag” for what service you need.
I chose the £10 one which gave me unlimited calls and texts in the UK and Belgium, with 20 gb of data, lasting one month.
I checked after arriving home and I’d used less than 2gb, so next time I’d get an even cheaper plan.
It was very reliable and I used it mainly for maps and transport schedules and updates
You must use it first in the UK to activate it before you can use it in the EU.
I changed sim cards on the plane, and it worked as soon as we touched down in London.
You can instantly buy credit if you need to call any other countries, but I didn’t need to this trip.
I would recommend it for anyone going to the UK!
Posted by
78 posts
Does this work with IPhones and Android? Does your phone number change to a UK number for the rest of the trip? Is there a similar card available from them that you activate in other countries on the mainland?
Thanks
Posted by
San Francisco area
1804 posts
Plans like this should work with any phones that have a physical SIM card tray. That would include iPhones and Android phones. The plan described above included calls and texts. Therefore it would give you a new UK phone number. Some phones allow dual SIM usage. In which case you may be able to get texts sent to you “home “ number. On my last trip I had my US service active but turned off roaming. I had an EE SIM card and plan. Texts to my US number would come through but sometimes with a significant lag. I could not determine if it due to my being overseas or an issue on the sender’s end.
Posted by
OP
Western Canada
3123 posts
Yes, you get a UK phone number.
I think they are UK based, so you’d have to look for a different one if you were not going to the UK first.
I’ve used Tim and Vodafone for Italian trips, and Orange for France.
Posted by
1 posts
I noticed on their coverage map that Scotland looked spotty. Do you know how well it works if traveling to England and Scotland?
Posted by
Yorkshire
1229 posts
Giffgaff should have esim capability rolling out soon.
Long time user from thier start up
Posted by
OP
Western Canada
3123 posts
I used it in England and Scotland with no trouble.
I was only in Edinburgh ,so I don’t know about remote places.
Posted by
New York City
151 posts
I used it in Edinburgh and on my Glencoe/Glenfinnan and Anstruther/St Andrews/Falkland day tours last June, and it worked well everywhere. I've recently topped up my Giffgaff credit bank with a small amount to keep the number active, and will do so again before I head back to Scotland this May.
My phone is an old enough model to have a physical SIM tray, but I'm glad to hear Giffgaff will be introducing an eSIM option as well.
Posted by
Yorkshire
1229 posts
I knew they were doing trials late last year, esims are now available