Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Post Reply
nirakaro
Posts: 1578
Joined: 22 Dec 2007, 2:01am

Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by nirakaro »

3p a minute/2p a text/1p a megabyte from Three, if I’m in France or Italy or Austria or a few other countries, looks hard to beat. But it’s still around 20p/minute & 20p/megabyte in Netherlands or Germany, where I might be heading in the spring. That seems to be about the going rate – any better deals around?
User avatar
Cunobelin
Posts: 10801
Joined: 6 Feb 2007, 7:22pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by Cunobelin »

You have made the same mistake as myself and chosen countries where 3's "Feel at home" does not work.

Depending what you want, I have often found it cheaper to buy a local sim card
tim_f
Posts: 251
Joined: 12 Oct 2009, 10:37pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by tim_f »

I use T mobile UK PAYG (EE have some thing similar) -

EURO - Internet Travel Booster 200MB
200MB OF DATA TO USE FOR 7 DAYS
200MB
£12
EURO - Internet Travel Booster 500MB
500MB OF DATA TO USE FOR 7 DAYS
500MB
£25

which works out at 6 or 5 pence a MB.
gplhl
Posts: 119
Joined: 9 Oct 2013, 1:41pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by gplhl »

It works out cheaper in the long run to get a new sim in each country if your going to use the phone. Especially lots of data.

Gary
www.longbikeride.co.uk
User avatar
MrsHJ
Posts: 1823
Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 1:03pm
Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by MrsHJ »

gplhl wrote:It works out cheaper in the long run to get a new sim in each country if your going to use the phone. Especially lots of data.

Gary
http://www.longbikeride.co.uk


I'm wondering if this will be the solution quite soon though:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/16/legislation-abolish-roaming-charges-european-parliament
bohrsatom
Posts: 807
Joined: 20 May 2013, 4:36pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by bohrsatom »

If you are European country hopping but also spending time in France, a "Joe Mobile" SIM may be the best deal. They are the French version of giffgaff where you can switch on/off your service on a month by month basis. Their best deal is €20/month and includes lots of data and free calls including to UK landlines. But it gets better. There is a "Mode Europe" where you can use the allowance from the monthly package in other European countries for €2/day. Much better value than paying o2 £2/day for 15Mb!

And it gets even better. Each year you get 10 days free "Mode Europe" so if you're only outside France for a few days it won't cost you a penny.

Given the cost of buying SIMs/data packages abroad if you are visiting 2 or 3 countries in a short period of time it should work out cheaper than a country specific SIM and gives you loads more data/calls than roaming on a UK SIM.

Although SIMs are only sold in France a bit of googling should find you someone willing to ship one to the UK.
User avatar
Cunobelin
Posts: 10801
Joined: 6 Feb 2007, 7:22pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by Cunobelin »

tim_f wrote:I use T mobile UK PAYG (EE have some thing similar) -

EURO - Internet Travel Booster 200MB
200MB OF DATA TO USE FOR 7 DAYS
200MB
£12
EURO - Internet Travel Booster 500MB
500MB OF DATA TO USE FOR 7 DAYS
500MB
£25

which works out at 6 or 5 pence a MB.

Problem is the definition of "europe"


For a week away in Iceland, the cost for 50 Mb data per day and roaming is almost £50

I can get a Simmin card with similar for less than £15
gplhl
Posts: 119
Joined: 9 Oct 2013, 1:41pm

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by gplhl »

MrsHJ wrote:
I'm wondering if this will be the solution quite soon though:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/mar/16/legislation-abolish-roaming-charges-european-parliament


They have been talking and talking for years about reductions and it is slowly getting cheaper.


Foreign sims normally cost no more than a pound. You can cut them with scissors or a knife to fit and then PAYG and data bundles will in most cases be much cheaper using a local network.

Take for instance Vodafone, they wanted £3 per MB, yes MB as soon as I arrived in Morocco. My Vodafone sim was quickly ripped out of the phone and replaced with a local one which cost about £1 and a GB of data was £4!

It's inly since Zambia that datas got more expensive but it's still significantly cheaper than roaming. South Africa worked out £13 for 2GB.

Gary
www.longbikeride.co.uk
User avatar
al_yrpal
Posts: 11537
Joined: 25 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
Location: Think Cheddar and Cider
Contact:

Re: Best deal for Pay-as you-go roaming?

Post by al_yrpal »

Even if you are with some other supplier Threes 321 deal is the way to go for the countries it serves. You can simply take your SIMM out if your phone is unlocked, get a 321 simm for £1 , top it up with a fiver, then get a £10 add on and you are set to go with a handset in all these countries http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phones/ ... set=1#dest with 1000mb of data at your fingertips.

Its a no brainer. I hear the billionaire owner is a Mr Li Ker Ching - most appropriate :D

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
Post Reply