Traveling to Canada - Halp me

[Drunk Skunk]

Heya folks - I used to be a regular around these parts. I always liked you people, and thought that the Calgary fans were awesome(shameless attempt to suck up after an almost three year absence)

I have a question for you kind people. I'm from the US, and my fiancee and I are planning a trip to Ontario next month. I'm trying to find out the best way to use my/any cell phone while up there. I've looked at some of the Canadian pre-paid mobile sites, but they confuse me because numbers.

Basically, I need a phone that won't charge me ridiculous data rates. I'm not too concerned about texting or phone minutes, although 500 or so minutes would be nice. Down here, we have pre-paid plans that are all inclusive for between $40 and $60 a month - is there anything like that available up there? I'm willing to buy a pre-paid smartphone if I have to do that.

Also, are there any Torontonians around here? We are looking for stuff to do in the greater Toronto area that's sort of off the beaten path. There are some obviously touristy things that we're going to do, but we would like to do some more 'local things'. Any place that's a can't miss?

Another option, perhaps, is a Canadian SIM card - do I have any options that way? Thanks for any help, and for your time, here is a picture of a corgi puppy sniffing a bunny:

[Chingas]

I have a friend who is a trucker and uses a prepaid phone that he got from Walmart in the states that is good for North America. Not sure of any of the details but he reckons that it works out better for him.

Phone rates in Canada are some of the highest in the developed world and are a rip off.

When I travel home I usually get a prepaid Rogers number for the three weeks or so that I'm back and It usually runs me close to 200 for that time.

[Table 5]

You might want look into what T-Mobile is offering these days. Apparently free unlimited international data/texts.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-576...al-data-texts/

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by Table 5

You might want look into what T-Mobile is offering these days. Apparently free unlimited international data/texts.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-576...al-data-texts/

Thanks for this. If I can find out some more info about it, I'll be very happy.

I just called T-Mobile, asking about this, and the customer service was ... well, less than helpful. After answering such questions as "Where you is gonna be?" and "What phone you be using", I decided to just wait and see if I can't find a store within driving distance of me.

[ken0042]

"Where are you travelling to" is a good question. One of our best value discount providers only works in major centres. So if you were going to be staying in the GTA, I would suggest Wind.

Your current phone, is it unlocked? Can you just put another company's SIM card in it?

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by ken0042

"Where are you travelling to" is a good question. One of our best value discount providers only works in major centres. So if you were going to be staying in the GTA, I would suggest Wind.

Your current phone, is it unlocked? Can you just put another company's SIM card in it?

We'll be staying in Brampton, ON, and traveling through Ontario in general.

My phone is a Droid 3, it's not currently unlocked but it wouldn't be problem to unlock it. Is it possible to get a SIM card for a Canadian carrier to use while I'm up there?

[Drunk Skunk]

Sorry to bump my own thread, and maybe I should just start a new one, but I have another question -

Are there any Virgin Mobile month to month users on here? I'm thinking that paying for a month of service will be the best way to go. I've had little to no luck getting a hold of anyone that works for Virgin Mobile Canada, though

[socalwingfan]

I picked up a Verizon burner today, i will be calling Verizon to activate and let you know how that goes. I am going back to Calgary on the 19th and I can't take my cell phone, it's a work phone that I can't take across the border. I was looking at Virgin Mobile but their coverage map looked pretty bleak. Hopefully I can fill in some details for you tomorrow.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by socalwingfan

I picked up a Verizon burner today, i will be calling Verizon to activate and let you know how that goes. I am going back to Calgary on the 19th and I can't take my cell phone, it's a work phone that I can't take across the border. I was looking at Virgin Mobile but their coverage map looked pretty bleak. Hopefully I can fill in some details for you tomorrow.

What? Considering Virgin is owned by Bell and uses the same network, it has the exact same coverage map

http://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Coverage_map

http://www.virginmobile.ca/en/suppor...oResult=failed

[Jimmy Stang]

Unless you can get a good deal on Canadian roaming through your US provider, I think that your best bet would be to unlock your phone and pop a Canadian sim in there. While looking for a plan for my Dad, I came across this site: http://www.comparecellular.com/

That will give you a good idea as to what's out there. You'll want a "prepaid" plan which is basically a "pay as you go" sort of thing. The other plans are contracts.

A few caveats though: There are really only 3 big providers in Canada: Rogers, Bell, and Telus. They each have a discount brand : Fido, Solo/Virgin, and Koodo respectively. There are a number of other brands out there, but they do often come with coverage limitations. Wind, for example, which has already been suggested, might give you adequate coverage in major urban areas.

I can't speak personally about how good or bad Wind, etc. are as I have been a Fido customer for quite some time. Perhaps someone can chime in with their own experiences. The one major caveat is that we are pretty gouged for wireless in Canada, and although the US is also pretty horrible for prices and options, just be prepared to pay a good chunk for what seems like a small amount of minutes and megabytes. And customer service? Forget about it.

[loob job]

If you're staying in Brampton, travel up highway 10 and go to Colllingwood to Blue Mountain for a couple days, very cool up there, nice ski resort owned by Itrawest which owns Whistler as well. They call it mini mini Whistler, lots of shops, restaurants and pubs at the bottom of the hill as well as lots of hotels. I just got back from there on Sunday. It's about an hour and 15 min. from Brampton.
http://www.bluemountain.ca/

[Drunk Skunk]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Unless you can get a good deal on Canadian roaming through your US provider, I think that your best bet would be to unlock your phone and pop a Canadian sim in there. While looking for a plan for my Dad, I came across this site: http://www.comparecellular.com/

That will give you a good idea as to what's out there. You'll want a "prepaid" plan which is basically a "pay as you go" sort of thing. The other plans are contracts.

A few caveats though: There are really only 3 big providers in Canada: Rogers, Bell, and Telus. They each have a discount brand : Fido, Solo/Virgin, and Koodo respectively. There are a number of other brands out there, but they do often come with coverage limitations. Wind, for example, which has already been suggested, might give you adequate coverage in major urban areas.

I can't speak personally about how good or bad Wind, etc. are as I have been a Fido customer for quite some time. Perhaps someone can chime in with their own experiences. The one major caveat is that we are pretty gouged for wireless in Canada, and although the US is also pretty horrible for prices and options, just be prepared to pay a good chunk for what seems like a small amount of minutes and megabytes. And customer service? Forget about it.

Looks like I'm going the SIM card way. I'm going in to talk to T-Mobile this weekend, but from the looks of it, the SIM card is going to be the easiest. I'm okay with spending $50 or $60.

Originally Posted by loob job

If you're staying in Brampton, travel up highway 10 and go to Colllingwood to Blue Mountain for a couple days, very cool up there, nice ski resort owned by Itrawest which owns Whistler as well. They call it mini mini Whistler, lots of shops, restaurants and pubs at the bottom of the hill as well as lots of hotels. I just got back from there on Sunday. It's about an hour and 15 min. from Brampton.
http://www.bluemountain.ca/

We have a couple of free days when we're up there(going up for three hockey games), so we very well might do that. Thanks a lot!