aspiemelly
Traveller
6 comments
Posted 13 years ago
Hi,
I wasn't sure wether to put this here or under equipment, but anyway...
I*m thinking on buying a prepaid sim/phone for my trip, and leave my phone with a monthly plan at home to not run up a huge bill, using maps or even just talking on it. So the question is, where can I find a prepaid card without being a resident? a friend went to italy and was denied buying due to this rule.
also and importantly, I want to be able to put money on the phone while in europe. any provider that covers many countries? Say buy the phone in germany and run out of money in spain...can I refill the sim there?
I'm very techno and would rather keep a tiny phone then tons of maps and books to both keep safer and minimize packing.
my current trip idea is: copenhagen - osnabruck - utretcht - england/scottland or from utrecht - paris - bordeux - san sebastian - porto, will try to get to barcelona too.
nltrainer
Traveller
1405 comments
1.I think you had better put Qs like this on a normal general traveller-forum .
2. you forgot to mention the most imptt thing; YOUR country. if that is in the EU, then in the distant past this made sense, but as the EU now has capped those former high roaming prices etc, it is not much of an issue anymore. Also: those SIm cards etc will work everywhere, but the low price you ONLY get in the country you bought it for and your nr is for. Better start looking at the www of your provider to see what the charges are out of your country. if you want to to a lot of internet etc-then the cost is still skyhigh-no matter what plan you choose.
3.you grossly overestimate what you can get on those tiny screens in good and uptodate tourist-info-most is advertising (rubbish). But indeed in some=not all countries it can work magic for traintimes and alternatives in case of strikes, works or whatever. You do not need ''tons'' of books-plus you can throw away in a bin what you have used when on the way.
4. again: every country has its own providers, and even if they have the same common names as vodafone or T-mobile, the rates/conditions are different in every country. (dont moan: in China it is even different for every province). Yes, IT is a special case-there are high taxes on those beloved telefonino there. Other countries have special rules against supposed terrorists.
but this is mainly from what I read on those general fora- maybe someone else more techny may know more or better.
meenaghans
Traveller
3 comments
im currently doing an interrail trip round europe and just brought my phone from home (ireland) im with vodafone. the credit will last yopu a good while if all you do is text as the calls cost to both make and recieve. if you want something that can be used for maps and that get an ipod that is what i have aswell and you can use the wifi that is available in most hostels/hotels to download the maps onto it or buy the eltronic version of europe on a shoestring or similar book.
if you want to be able to use local country sim get the phone unlocked before you leave home and then you can use any sim in it. calling home would still be expensive as it would be an international call.