Travelling to France, Italy, Greece and Turkey, need sim card advice (please)
 

Hi everyone,

I'm planing on travelling to France, Italy, Greece and Turkey this summer. I have been trying to figure out what my best option is for a sim card to use in the countries I will be visiting.

I will be spending most of my time in France and Italy and only two weeks in Greece a Turkey (combined).

I currently have a quad-band phone that has been unlocked. I primarily plan on using the phone for emergencies, and to call some of the people I will be visiting in the countries I'm travelling to as well as back home to Canada. I don't plan on making a lot of calls, over the three month period, but I know my family and friends will be calling me.

In France i know there's SFR (owned by vodafone) and Orange
Italy: Wind or Vodafone and TIM (I don't want to deal with the hassle)
Greece: wind, Cosmote and vodafone
Turkey: Vodafone, avea and turkcell


So here are my questions:
1. Does anyone know if incoming calls to the above sim cards are free?
2. Is it better to just get a vodafone card and roam while in the other countries (I would be able to keep my phone number) or just buy a country specific card (can't keep old number)?
3. Is there a sim card that I could use in all those countries, where I would get free incoming calls, and a flat rate for outgoing and not be charged for roaming?
4. Are there restrictions for getting any of these sim cards like requiring a local address etc. ?
5. Can I order any of these online before I leave so I have it when I land?
6. If it's best to buy a sim card when in Europe does anyone know if I can buy sim cards in CDG airport in Paris?


I would really appreciate some help on this, I have been searching the internet for as much information as possible so that I'm well prepared when I arrive.

Thanks:)

1. incoming calls are always free in europe as long as you are in the home country of the SIM card.
2. if you are travelling to other countries the roaming prices are capped by law - ~20ct/min for incoming calls and ~50ct/min for outgoing calls (vary slightly due to different VAT)
3. some international roaming cards offer free incoming, see here: PrePaidGSM.net: International GSM Operators
4. usually a passport and/or adress of a hotel is enough
5. the international SIM cards can be ordered online, otherwise have a look at ebay, there are always local cards for sale

Chris

ekit's SIMple Calling Plus Service
 

There is a guy on ebay reselling ekit's SIMple Calling Plus Service for $8 [ouch, for Canada he wants $10.00 shipping vs $3.50] : SIM Card (item 140399251599)

This could give you one SIM for your whole trip. It also works in Canada and the US. [look up rates.]
The SIM has a US and a UK number.
All four of the countries are Zone1. A 35c connection fee applies to each call made (from all Zones) or received (outside Zone 1a & 1b).
There is a 19c per minute surcharge to receive calls on your US +1 number in all countries. Calls _to_ your UK number in your 4 countries is free.

Study the rates and see if this works for you.

On second thought, for you as a Canadian, seller ekitmobileusa has the same card for $9.00 + $5 postage to Canada.

You might send a message to the first seller about his rate to Canada and if it is adjustable. I have purchased one of these SIMs from this seller and verify that this is what it is.

that doesn't apply to Turkey, unfortunately, only for EU countries.

Ah sorry, i oversaw that there was Turkey in the list.. my fault.. but for many internat.roaming cards turkey is in zone1 with free incoming calls....

Chris

It also depends how much you are planning to use the phone. For occasional short calls within the EU (ie, calling ahead to a hotel or whatever, people from home calling to check if you're OK), it might just make sense to use a SIM from the first country you arrive in for the rest of the time, or the Vodafone (UK?) SIM you mention if you already have one, rather than buy for separate ones. The French ones in particular are not much cheaper to use for outgoing calls than roaming on a foreign one, and are expensive to buy. And a few SIMs offer cheap roaming in Turkey, too, due to the large number of Turks living in Europe.

SFR isn't controlled by Vodafone, unfortunately (Vf has a 44 percent stake), but by Vivendi, which treats it as a "cash cow" (ie, it keeps the prices high).

and what's the difference with Vodafone controlled operators? They are usually the ones with highest rates in every country...

BTW I agree that buying a French sim has little (if no) sense for few days, while in Italy, Greece and Turkey he can buy a sim card for little money and get cheap rates.

Thank you for the replies. I'm going to look into all this information. I think just getting one card and roaming may work for me or an international card since I'm really just using the phone to check in with family and for emergencies. I'm going to check out the info all of you have provided to make the best decision.


Thanks so much and I'll get back with any further questions I have after taking a look at the info.

Agreed, but I think if they had control of SFR, they might bring a little competition to the French market, which has looked like a very cosy cartel for a long time.

As for the question from the OP, all the British providers cover pretty much everywhere, apart from a few remote mountains, so coverage isn't really an issue.

Go to ebay and take a look at the ekit simple card for the USA and Canada; all 45 of these countries are considered to be in their zone 1 which means....

1. You get both a +44 and a +1 number. Calls received on the +44 number will be free. Calls received on the +1 number will be 19¢/minute...your choice which number to give out to use...

2. Calls to Canada would be 49¢/minute with a 35¢ set up fee....calls to other zone 1 places (Europe, Australia) would be same price to landlines and 84¢/minute to mobiles all with the 35¢ set up fee.

All prices are in US currency but from what I understand, it's essentially the same in Canadian funds.

Ekit has been pretty reliable and stable so I don't foresee it suffering the fate of United Mobile, O9 and others.