Best Smart Phone SIM for Europe

[jastel]

This looks good...anybody used it yet?
Seems good for Europe roaming but looks like it is wifi only in Dubai on the way over...

 

[cgichard]

Just a heads up on the UK 3 SIM.
It'is difficult to top up without being in the UK or having a UK card, and even a UK card must be registered to a UK address.

Also very important (copied from post by Molokov some while ago on Whirlpool:

Keep in mind that the all-you-can-eat style packages only include calls/sms to UK numbers, even in feel-at-home countries, so if you want to call or text any number that's not a UK number you'll need extra credit in your account beyond what the package costs. Same goes for data/calls/sms in non-feel-at-home countries.

That was certainly my experience and not being aware of why I was having no success contacting hotels etc. in France led to much frustration.

 

[phily]

It'is difficult to top up without being in the UK or having a UK card, and even a UK card must be registered to a UK address.

There's a very simple solution to this. Buy a virtual topup voucher from www.mobiletopup.co.uk who charge a mere £1 for the service. Add the voucher to your Three online account and you're good for another month.

 

[kevrosmith]

I used Alditalk.de when I was in Germany recently and it was cheap and worked great. EUR 12.99 for 1.5GB data and some calls and text. They have EU Internet and voice packages you can add on cheaply if you are not many days outside of Germany.

In Sweden, I used Comviq pre-paid SIMs for iPhone and iPad. Bought the SIMs are a local re-seller store along with the service you wanted. The receipts had activation codes which you registered on the phone and that was it.
Comviq Kontantkort – Ring billigt och slipp avgifter 203 SEK (~$33) gave me plenty of data on two SIMs.

They had an add-on option to add EU data, which I used for my final couple days in UK without having to worry about another local SIM. I mostly use these for mobile data.

Google translate worked well on both websites to help me understand what to buy and how to use it.

 

[moa999]

Just got back from 10 days of using the Orange Spain Mundo SIM in Sweden, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.
Worked perfectly and all for under a$30 for the 10 days (something I will definitely keep active)

Only slight issue on my Android was auto-roam didn't work for some reason so I had to manually select a new network operator when entering each country

 

[jastel]

Did read that...seems silly that you can call England from Germany but cant call the next town.
I guess there is still no perfect affordable solution...

 

[moa999]

The call restriction on the 3 SIM is easily fixed using Skype or a SIP client

 

[tmdellit]

Has anyone used the dataGoroaming SIM? dataGOroaming SIM | Prepaid International Travel SIM cards - dataGO.co

I'm heading to Russia, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, France and the UK.

 

[auriga]

Can't seem to find any MUNDO sim cards on ebay now! I definitely remember seeing them previously.

 

[Colin 2905]

Some of us need something before then, though.

I've been poking around the DUS web site, looking for shops that might be able to sell me a Vodafone "CallYa Smartphone Special" SIM card when I land there in a couple of months. There's a "mobilcom debitel" shop on Level 2 that looks promising; they have the starter packs on their web site, and theirs come with €15 credit instead of the standard €10.

An update, as I sit at the gate at DUS, due to start heading home in about an hour.....

Whilst Mobilcom Debitel might have €10 / 15 starter packs on their web site, the cheapest available at DUS is €30. So I gave them a miss and waited until I got to Berlin, where there was a Vodafone store across the road from my hotel. Vodafone guy was very helpful, and I was up and running in a few minutes.

I'd already installed the Vodafone.de app on my mobile so that I could easily keep an eye on my usage. As an added bonus, using the app gives you an extra 100MB.

I have a dual SIM 4G/3G 'phone, which allowed me to easily compare Vodafone.de's coverage to Telekom.de's, which my Telstra SIM mostly roamed to. Both had quite good coverage at the places I travelled to, although both were a little patchy on the train sometimes, particularly on the way to and from Füssen.

 

[moa999]

Can't seem to find any MUNDO sim cards on ebay now! I definitely remember seeing them previously.

Www.ebay.com.au/itm/OFERTA-Tarjeta-...-SALDO-NAVEGA-Y-HABLA-GO-EUROPA-/302089855100

 

[auriga]

Www.ebay.com.au/itm/OFERTA-Tarjeta-SIM-ORANGE-MUNDO-4G-PREPAGO-5-SALDO-NAVEGA-Y-HABLA-GO-EUROPA-/302089855100

Thanks. A bit puzzled why I am not getting any results when I search ebay!

 

[moa999]

I just searched Orange mundo

 

[Isochronous]

What's the best SIM for the Netherlands? Arriving into DUS for a few days before heading over to the Dutch Kingdom.

 

[roomer]

I'm also wondering the best sim card for a stay in Europe for about 4 weeks and have come across a recommendation from lifehacker (& whrlpool) for a prepaid Vodafone NL (netherlands) sim ( search it on Ebay ) that is meant to be free of roaming charges. Anyone have a firsthand experience of this.?

The other one was knowroaming ,https://www.knowroaming.com that has a adaption placed to your existing sim and apparently you use an app to activate it overseas pretty much immediately when you want to use but there is no contract involved just PAYG. Its meant to be useful for short stays or where you want to be able to communicate straight off the plane rather than waiting around to purchase a local sim. Thinking of getting that as a back up for my wife and I to communicate when she wanders off into a shop while I wait patiently outside

 

[cgichard]

I shall be travelling in France for 2 separate periods of approx. 5 weeks (all of June, and then again Sept.-Oct.). I shall be taking an unlocked Huawei Y635 phone and planning to buy a local SIM when I arrive in France. Ideally I'd like a plan that will cover the whole period June-October so that I don't have to go through this a second time later in the year.


Looking at the WillMyPhoneWork website I haven't been able to identify a preferred carrier for this phone in France. There seem to be several which will work only on 2G, whereas I think this phone is capable of 4G. I'm ignorant about such things as I don't use a mobile any other time except when on holiday.


But last year it proved virtually essential during the French train strikes. Then I had a 3 Feel at Home SIM bought in the UK but had many problems making phone calls in France and was unable to top it up because it was linked to my UK debit card registered to my Australian address, and not to a UK address. So this time I'd definitely prefer to buy a specifically French SIM in France.

Does anyone have a specific recommendation of a French provider for my needs?

 

[moa999]

I recommend a read of this wiki site
http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/France

Note that Euro roaming rules change substantially in mid-June and everything in EU effectively becomes home

 

[karen blancfield]

I shall be travelling in France for 2 separate periods of approx. 5 weeks (all of June, and then again Sept.-Oct.). I shall be taking an unlocked Huawei Y635 phone and planning to buy a local SIM when I arrive in France. Ideally I'd like a plan that will cover the whole period June-October so that I don't have to go through this a second time later in the year.


Looking at the WillMyPhoneWork website I haven't been able to identify a preferred carrier for this phone in France. There seem to be several which will work only on 2G, whereas I think this phone is capable of 4G. I'm ignorant about such things as I don't use a mobile any other time except when on holiday.


But last year it proved virtually essential during the French train strikes. Then I had a 3 Feel at Home SIM bought in the UK but had many problems making phone calls in France and was unable to top it up because it was linked to my UK debit card registered to my Australian address, and not to a UK address. So this time I'd definitely prefer to buy a specifically French SIM in France.

Does anyone have a specific recommendation of a French provider for my needs?

What did did you end up doing? Heading to France at end of this month. I can't find a reply that gives the advice I'm looking for. Thanks.

 

[cgichard]

Rather than risk missing my train from CDG after horrendous immigration delays, I waited until I had an hour between trains at Lyon and went to the Orange shop in the mall just opposite the station there. I paid 29.99€ for a Mobicarte+ SIM and a month's usage (not sure what it covered as I used wi-fi exclusively for internet access). Local phone calls were fine although I did find myself in one hilly rural village where 'everyone' knew there was no Orange coverage unless you went near the river at the bottom of the hill! The tourist office kindly made the reservations I wanted for me there without charge.
For my September trip (or anytime until31/1/2019) I can now buy a recharge voucher from a tabac or elsewhere for another 20€ to cover another month. I hope to do this at an Orange shop so that I can explain that I really need it only for phone calls, hoping I can get away with paying less.

This may well not be the cheapest option but the Orange staff member was very helpful in getting it set up and spoke adequate English.

 

[karen blancfield]

Rather than risk missing my train from CDG after horrendous immigration delays, I waited until I had an hour between trains at Lyon and went to the Orange shop in the mall just opposite the station there. I paid 29.99€ for a Mobicarte+ SIM and a month's usage (not sure what it covered as I used wi-fi exclusively for internet access). Local phone calls were fine although I did find myself in one hilly rural village where 'everyone' knew there was no Orange coverage unless you went near the river at the bottom of the hill! The tourist office kindly made the reservations I wanted for me there without charge.
For my September trip (or anytime until31/1/2019) I can now buy a recharge voucher from a tabac or elsewhere for another 20€ to cover another month. I hope to do this at an Orange shop so that I can explain that I really need it only for phone calls, hoping I can get away with paying less.

This may well not be the cheapest option but the Orange staff member was very helpful in getting it set up and spoke adequate English.

Oh thanks. Sounds like what I did in Spain at Xmas. I prefer to have my iPad working as I don't make too many phone calls but I want access to maps, hotels, town info as we drive along (as passenger of course!) I'm too late to order a SIM on eBay, given their delivery time. So we fly into Lyon and can go to the Orange shop there without any pressure. I'm happy to spend 30 euros for a month. Much appreciated.