Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

My son will be visiting some friends in the US for a few weeks over thanksgiving. It is his first trip by himself. Can anyone recommend an affordable prepaid sim, perhaps one that we can purchase ahead of time? He'll be on the east coast. Rogers roam-like-home is thievery.

It was discussed earlier in this thread (I think -- or another travel thread this summer) and the consensus seemed to be Airalo. It uses an e-sim, so his phone will need to support that (any reasonably modern smartphone should).

I was recently down in the States for a few weeks and used Airalo. Once I figured out how to get it set up and running, it worked perfectly and had a strong signal both in the cities and on the highway.

It is data-only, so he'd need something if he needs to receive calls/texts. What I did was leave my phone sim active to receive calls and texts, which is free when roaming (if you disable roam like home) and then responded using a non-mobile method when needed.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

If your son's phone supports esims, look into an esim app like airalo.

They mostly do data and the last time I was in the US, it worked well. Bought the 3GB plan for 30 days an cost $11 USD.

This is good advice.

I haven't had much luck with SMS on Arialo, but the data works very well.

[PepsiFree]

Yeah, Airalo is really good. Download the app and you can purchase, set up, and manage the e-sim (see the data usage, top up when necessary) right through there.

Then you just do as sureloss said. Disable the rogers sim when you board and enable the airalo sim when you land. Once you’re rolling it’s the same as using your phone as normal without a voice plan.

EDIT: totally forgot the texting part as mentioned above. If you have iMessage or WhatsApp then you’re all good.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

My son will be visiting some friends in the US for a few weeks over thanksgiving. It is his first trip by himself. Can anyone recommend an affordable prepaid sim, perhaps one that we can purchase ahead of time? He'll be on the east coast. Rogers roam-like-home is thievery.

Airalo is definitely the e-SIM that is most often recommended for U.S. travel, if your son's phone supports eSIMs.

May want to check out posts #4881 to #4915 in this thread with some more info.

[Cappy]

I was just in France and used Airalo based on the recommendations in this thread, so thank you to all who sang its praises.

If you are going to use it, read the instructions. I had 5 family members use it and 4 of them didn't read the instructions well enough and it either didnt work for them or it messed up their phone (my brother deleted his primary esim)

While most of you might say, "duh", keep this in mind for family members like my own...

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Airalo is definitely the e-SIM that is most often recommended for U.S. travel, if your son's phone supports eSIMs.

May want to check out posts #4881 to #4915 in this thread with some more info.

Thanks everyone and also thanks for the reference to the previous discussion. Very interesting. Unfortunately my son's phone is older, so no eSim. I spoke with him about it, and he wants to keep things hassle free and doesn't mind paying a little bit more to accomplish that. Mrs Ironhorse has now suggested buying a prePaid sim before he leaves. There seem to be a lot of choices on Amazon; does anyone have any experience with something like Jethro Mobile?

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Thanks everyone and also thanks for the reference to the previous discussion. Very interesting. Unfortunately my son's phone is older, so no eSim. I spoke with him about it, and he wants to keep things hassle free and doesn't mind paying a little bit more to accomplish that. Mrs Ironhorse has now suggested buying a prePaid sim before he leaves. There seem to be a lot of choices on Amazon; does anyone have any experience with something like Jethro Mobile?

When we did a big family trip to Italy this summer, the ones that couldn't do Airalo used a Sim purchased on Amazon from Sim2Roam. Reviews seemed OK, we thought we'd try it, and it did the trick.

They have a USA sim as well: https://www.amazon.ca/T-Mobile-Unlim...29&sr=1-2&th=1

No real issues reported by any of them. Just popped them in on the plane (don't let your Canadian sim even get a whiff of a foreign cell tower), landed, switched out of airplane mode, and everything worked.

You can get cheaper options on the ground in the US or Europe, but I'm one of those people who need to have it lined up in advance, especially when dealing with less techy family members, one of them is 73, etc. (Edit: we did the Europe data-only option and relied on WhatsApp, but the ones I linked to also include text/voice for USA).

[vegasbound]

What’s everyone’s experience with Lynx? $150 round trip to Phoenix (I know I have to pay for carryon) seems a little too good to be true.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by vegasbound

What’s everyone’s experience with Lynx? $150 round trip to Phoenix (I know I have to pay for carryon) seems a little too good to be true.

Anecdotally, of the Canadian airlines, I feel like Lynx, WestJet, and Air Canada all get roughly the same number of complaints. Flair is the one in their own league.

This data on the number of complaints per 100 flights seems to back that up...

https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/air-travel...2022-june-2023

Air Transat - 3.5
Air Canada - 4.3
Lynx Air - 5.1
WestJet - 6.0
Flair - 12.6

Like Flair, Lynx may only have 3-4 of flights per week on a lot of routes, so if something does go really wrong (flight cancellation) it can really screw up your plans, as opposed to getting you on the next flight out.

Looking forward to seeing them add new routes to Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. Last month they were granted 10 licenses to fly to new destinations in these areas. They have a fleet of 9 aircraft at the moment, with 46 on order.

Oh and with Lynx there's a big difference in what they charge for carry-on to the U.S. (~$60 CAD roundtrip for all destinations) versus to Canadian cities ($~130 to $150 roundtrip!).

So while their fares to U.S. destinations are very competitive, typically undercutting WestJet even after you add the price of carry-on back in, to Canadian cities you definitely need to watch out.

[surferguy]

Can anybody give me reliable info for how much it will cost me to fly my surfboard to Vancouver? The padded bag is 79” in total.

I’m looking for a one way fee. The information on the webpage is kinda goofy that’s is 100-118 plus maybe $50 extra plus maybe the baggage fee as well??

I just need a solid answer so I can figure out my options for an upcoming trip.

[Eric Vail]

Any tips on the best time to book flights to Europe this summer for my family. We'd like to fly into Paris in mid-July and home from Rome in mid August.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Any tips on the best time to book flights to Europe this summer for my family. We'd like to fly into Paris in mid-July and home from Rome in mid August.

It's an inexact science, but my general rule of thumb is:

(1) If booking with points, do it almost as soon as you can. Generally, 300 days out give or take. The best value disappears quickly. This site is really good for finding good value point redemptions: https://roame.travel/

(2) I find I've had success with decent cash fares in the period of time after Christmas, January and February -- particularly early January

(3) Check regularly and if you see a fare that you're happy with, just book it. Last year, I booked a trip in August to Sweden/Denmark for $550 round trip in late November. It may have ended up being cheaper but I was happy with that price and locked it in.

(4) Flights in Europe are generally quite cheap. Widen your search further than just Paris and Rome. You might see, for example, a super low round trip fare to Dublin and then from there you can often get one-way trips to Paris and Rome for less than $100 each way (sometimes way less than that if you're willing to fly on the Ryanair type airlines).

[InglewoodFan]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Any tips on the best time to book flights to Europe this summer for my family. We'd like to fly into Paris in mid-July and home from Rome in mid August.

Enjoy, but be prepared for how hot Rome will be in August. It can be pretty toasty and the air just doesn't seem to move. Lots of folks head for the mountains or the sea in August.

Google Flights has some graphs for price history on various routes. We're trying to go next summer too, and I am kicking myself for missing some good prices a couple weeks ago. Also, be aware if you are grabbing a low cost flight within Europe is some airlines get a bit picky on baggage compared to flag carriers.

[bizaro86]

We booked Rome next August. We booked the Westjet direct which is awesome from a convenience point of view even though the pricing was higher than what I've previously paid to Europe. We used the companion fare from RBC to bring the price down slightly, although given how much money in "Other ATC" (aka fuel surcharge) they jam in the savings wasn't huge.

[MoneyGuy]

We’re planning on a driving trip along the U.S. coastal highway spring 2025. Our great Aussie friends will fly to L.A. (TBD) where we’d pick them up and head up to maybe Seattle, Vancouver, Alberta. We’d spend 2-4 days in 3-4 places along the route before resuming our drive.

I’m excited but my only concern is the long drive down to L.A. However, this way we don’t have to rent a car at current horrendous prices. Any advice on the drive to Los Angeles.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We’re planning on a driving trip along the U.S. coastal highway spring 2015. Our great Aussie friends will fly to L.A. (TBD) where we’d pick them up and head up to maybe Seattle, Vancouver, Alberta. We’d spend 2-4 days in 3-4 places along the route before resuming our drive.

I’m excited but my only concern is the long drive down to L.A. However, this way we don’t have to rent a car at current horrendous prices. Any advice on the drive to Los Angeles.

Cool! Where did you get the time machine?

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Cool! Where did you get the time machine?

LOL, 2025. I’ll change my post.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

I did see a DeLorean once on the highway while driving from Portland to Seattle 6-7 years ago. Maybe that was you (or will be you) haha.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

We’re planning on a driving trip along the U.S. coastal highway spring 2025. Our great Aussie friends will fly to L.A. (TBD) where we’d pick them up and head up to maybe Seattle, Vancouver, Alberta. We’d spend 2-4 days in 3-4 places along the route before resuming our drive.

I’m excited but my only concern is the long drive down to L.A. However, this way we don’t have to rent a car at current horrendous prices. Any advice on the drive to Los Angeles.

What is your last stop before LA? Are you doing your own thing prior to meeting up? And are you actually doing anything in LA or just driving to pick them up? Otherwise they could fly pretty cheap out of LAX to somewhere closer to you.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Wormius

What is your last stop before LA? Are you doing your own thing prior to meeting up? And are you actually doing anything in LA or just driving to pick them up? Otherwise they could fly pretty cheap out of LAX to somewhere closer to you.

L.A. is just one idea. I’d prefer Phoenix (we have dear friends there and it’s a lot closer) but San Francisco is an option. I’m not excited about driving into or as far as L.A.

As for your other questions, thus is very preliminary so details are vague. My preference is to drive to Phoenix, tour around Arizona, drive the coastal highway and end up in Seattle, Vancouver, or Alberta.

They’d fly from Sydney, Australia.