I have a Siemens cell phone bought a few years ago in Italy. I usually buy a pre-loaded SIM card when I arrive in Europe and, in the past, I have used Orange for France. This year, I will be mostly in the south and southwestern parts of France. Mobiho now seems to be the most economical choice. It also seems to be easy to recharge more minutes from most "tabac" stores. Has anyone had experience with this service? Do you think the coverage will be good, from the Côte d'Azur, through Provence, the Languedoc and Lot valley? Thanks!
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
You'll want to check out Lebara
Posted by
OP
Ottawa
1446 posts
Thanks Tex, I hadn't heard of that one. It is even cheaper than Mobiho! The difference seems that you can only buy the Lebara card online for postal delivery to a French address, which is possible for me this time. Recharging online seems to be quite straightforward as well. What about coverage for either the Mobiho or Lebara?
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
I learned about Lebara after our June trip when I used Virgin. I understand Lebara sims are available in tabacs and stores throughout France, but as yet I have no experience with the service. It gets good marks on TA.
Posted by
Columbus, TX, USA
1 posts
we used Lebara in the UK for a month last summer and would highly recommend it; now that I've learned of their France service, we will be using it this summer
Posted by
Socal
4 posts
I've used Mobiho SIM cards since 2008, and I haven't had any coverage problems in Paris, Provence, Brittany, Normandy. Telecomm in France is way more advanced than in the US, and all providers even have coverage in the subway. You can go to just about any tabac store and ask for a recharge of however much you want (5 euros to 50 euros). Then you send a text message to a special number, entering the recharge code provided from the store. In a few seconds, you receive a text message back saying you've successfully recharged your card. Voilà. Unfortunately, the stores (where you buy water, magazines, gum, etc) at CDG airport don't sell Mobiho cards or recharge minutes. They only sell SFR. So as soon as you get into town, just head to your nearest tabacco store.
Posted by
OP
Ottawa
1446 posts
Since this thread has been revived... I ended up using Mobiho. It was very easy to buy and I topped it up once. Coverage was not an issue and the price was very reasonable - I would use them again.