Phone Use in Europe

[polak]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if any one here has any suggestions of what the best plan of attack would be for cell phone use in Europe? Ideally, I'd like to unlock my phone (Galaxy S4), sign up for a prepaid plan in Poland and use it normally like I do here (data and all) however I'm not sure how feasable that is? I'll also be bouncing around a bit (Poland, Austria, Croatia, Hungry) so I'm not sure how that will work with carriers and roaming and what not.

I know I could also get an international plan with Telus but it doesn't seem like a very good deal. I feel like for $125 bucks I could get quite the plan in Europe for two weeks?

I really need to have the phone working in Croatia mainly so if the bouncing around is an issue then that's where I'd get the plan for.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[Nuje]

I know for Poland, my uncle says "Heyah" Is the Best deal. Not sure about roaming though. I'll try to find out.

[FlamesAddiction]

When I go to Croatia, I typically just buy a cheap flip phone and sim card at a newsstand kiosk (I think Hrvatski Telekom is the company). I can't remember how much they are, but I don't remember it being a lot. There are kiosks all over the place that sell cheap mobile phones and cards. Usually the person working there sets it up for me and it literally only takes 2 minutes. Just tell them how much money to put on it and if you run out, go to another kiosk and buy more minutes.

I am not sure about crossing the border though and if it works in other countries.

[DuffMan]

I'd pay the $125 to Telus.

and limit GPS use.

[Brewmaster]

I used a basic unlocked GSM phone and this international SIM card : http://www.roamsimple.com/products/R...-SIM-Card.aspx

It would have been cheaper to buy local SIM cards along the way but not worth the hassle for me. I was only using the phone for important calls or texts and not as a smart phone with data.

[polak]

The reason why I don't want to get a cheap phone there is cause I plan on using my phone as a camera for the trip (at least for when we're are the festival we're going too) I'd rather not carry around two phones.

I plan on using the telus dealio as a back up should I get to Europer and not having another choice.

[CaptainYooh]

You will get screwed either way, probably, especially, if you intend to travel through a few countries. We paid to unlock our phones to Telus and wasted our money, because the phones wouldn't work in Switzerland anyway. Ended up buying two new phones with pre-paid cards at the airport at $90 each. Gave us all we needed for 1 week in Switzerland including calling home to Canada, texting, data and calling between these two phones, which was better than paying $125 to Telus for the smaller amount of data and calling time. I heard that buying a cheap pre-paid phone in each country is the best way to go usually.

[Nuje]

I would probably sim card it. The heyah card was 10zł 3 years ago. That's almost nothing.

[Jordan!]

Make sure to download offline map apps. GPS doesn't use data.

Was a life saver on my recent 8 country tour of europe

[jeffporfirio]

Apologies for the Old Bump, but felt a new thread was probably unwarranted.

Heading over to Europe this summer with the family, we will be in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and London.

Is there a sim card that I can purchase, say when we land in Gatwick, that I can use during the trip, that will work in all three countries?

Thanks in Advance

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

Apologies for the Old Bump, but felt a new thread was probably unwarranted.

Heading over to Europe this summer with the family, we will be in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and London.

Is there a sim card that I can purchase, say when we land in Gatwick, that I can use during the trip, that will work in all three countries?

Thanks in Advance

When I was in Europe a few months ago I bought a sim card that worked in all of the EU except the UK he told me. That was wind mobile so other companies could be different. But I mostly hear the UK is the trouble spot when it comes to SIM cards.

[opendoor]

From what I remember, Gatwick was pretty useless in terms of getting a decent SIM card. They had machines that sold them, but I've heard those can be pretty useless. You're probably better off waiting until you get out of the airport.


Getting a SIM that'll work everywhere you're going is easy. I used EE, but there are a bunch of options. I think I paid £15 for 10GB of data and it included free roaming everywhere in Europe except for a few countries (Albania, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, etc.). I ended up using it in 8-9 different countries and didn't have a single problem.

[topfiverecords]

Walked into a Three in a small town in the UK and paid 15 pounds for a 5GB 30 day sim. Swapped the sims, waited for an activation text and carried on like normal. Spent 4 days in a rural area without any loss of coverage.

Was just a data sim so I didn't worry about phone number for calls or anything though but that's an option.

Worked in Dublin and was supposed to work in almost all of Europe.

Just make sure your phone is unlocked well before leaving home.

[Barnet Flame]

A SIM card purchased in the UK will work anywhere in the EU. That is not expected to change if the UK leaves on 29 March.

Some options:
https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/offe...yABEgI1-vD_BwE

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Plans_for_phones

Lastly, there are Carphone Warehouses all over the place https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/si...sort/relevance

[jeffporfirio]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

A SIM card purchased in the UK will work anywhere in the EU. That is not expected to change if the UK leaves on 29 March.

Some options:
https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/offe...yABEgI1-vD_BwE

http://www.three.co.uk/Store/SIM/Plans_for_phones

Lastly, there are Carphone Warehouses all over the place https://www.carphonewarehouse.com/si...sort/relevance

Originally Posted by opendoor

From what I remember, Gatwick was pretty useless in terms of getting a decent SIM card. They had machines that sold them, but I've heard those can be pretty useless. You're probably better off waiting until you get out of the airport.


Getting a SIM that'll work everywhere you're going is easy. I used EE, but there are a bunch of options. I think I paid £15 for 10GB of data and it included free roaming everywhere in Europe except for a few countries (Albania, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, etc.). I ended up using it in 8-9 different countries and didn't have a single problem.

Thanks to all.
We'll spend about 24 hrs near Gatwick before heading out to Amsterdam. I'll venture out to find an EE card, possibly find a Carphone warehouse.
Again, Thanks

[blankall]

Telus has $12/24 hours roaming when travelling abroad. It lets you use your data/phone plan on their networks without any additional charges beyond the $12.

Depending on how long you are going for, this might be the easiest solution.

Keep in mind it's 24 hours, so you can make a phone call at 6:00PM and free use until 6:00PM the next day. So you may be able to skip days of usage. Maybe unlock the roaming every other day.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Completely agree with the above. Others may not like the cost but for how often I find myself overseas, it's the most convenient. That price covers costs all around the country you are in and any calls back home to Canada. Also uses your current data plan.

[Weitz]

I mean I picked up a 20 gb sim good for 30 days for like 20 euro. Was an extra $10 for talk and text. So in 4 days you’re already paying more on the roam like home.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I mean I picked up a 20 gb sim good for 30 days for like 20 euro. Was an extra $10 for talk and text. So in 4 days you’re already paying more on the roam like home.

The biggest issue is whether or not there's any advantage in using your own number. For me, I'd rather pay the extra than having to deal with the hassle of checking my messages/texts on my number. Depends how long your travelling for too. My trips are typically about a week.

[malcolmk14]

Flying in to Rome June 30th. What's the best thing to do to ensure cell coverage while there? We have iPhone X's.