Phones while touring in France

[classic33]

I take it your phone is unlocked, in which case I'd go for a French SIM card.

Never had a handset that was locked to a network, so the option to use a foreign SIM card, because its cheaper, has never been a problem.

 

[jefmcg]

Yes,

This looks pretty good

http://www.lebara.fr/boutique/illimite €15 for unlimited calls and texts +3GB data.

 

[Dogtrousers]

An alternative approach, which I used in Finland a couple of years ago is to get one of those personal WiFi hotspots from a local supplier on pay as you go. They hook up to the phone data network and enable data access for your devices over WiFi. When I'd finished with it I sold it on to a friend over there. I have never done this in France tho, so no help there I'm afraid.

 

[Simon_m]

Why not review the maps offline using the MAPS.ME or OsmAnd app? The maps are just as detailed as Google Earth, but you won't destroy your data. I'm not really sure regular use of street view is needed. With both these apps you can overlay the route making on-the-fly navigation easy.[/QUOTE]

Cheers HovR, £12 isn't too bad. Best I give them a call and go down that route instead of getting a new sim

I need to review it live so I can have access to their database.

 

[Simon_m]

Yes,

This looks pretty good

http://www.lebara.fr/boutique/illimite €15 for unlimited calls and texts +3GB data.

that looks great! thanks, good find!

 

[Simon_m]

An alternative approach, which I used in Finland a couple of years ago is to get one of those personal WiFi hotspots from a local supplier on pay as you go. They hook up to the phone data network and enable data access for your devices over WiFi. When I'd finished with it I sold it on to a friend over there. I have never done this in France tho, so no help there I'm afraid.

oh i've not heard of that, but i would need to find a find connection, and if camping, that may prove hard? good idea though, thanks

 

[Dogtrousers]

oh i've not heard of that, but i would need to find a find connection, and if camping, that may prove hard? good idea though, thanks

Well if camping, and you were in a place with a 3G/4G signal then you would be fine and could connect all of your devices to one WiFi network (albeit a bit of a limited one). Mine was 3G only (I think it was pre 4G) and I connected my laptop and phone using it. I had the advantage of helpful Finnish friends to do the research for me at the other end beforehand, so I just had to buy it. That transaction tested my Finnish language skills to destruction though.

 

[Simon_m]

Good responses overnight. French SIM looks good, phone is unlocked I believe.

OK EE:
http://explore.ee.co.uk/roaming/ee/france

Calls
Service Make Receive
Calling to Europe, Ireland & the Channel Islands and back to the UK
Make: 18.8p - Receive: 4.9p

Texts
Service Make Receive
Text message to Europe, Ireland & the Channel Islands and back to the UK
Make: 5.9p - Receive: Free

To access the internet you must purchase a data add-on,see the add-ons section of this page for available add-ons.

Ah ok bundles:
Get unlimited calls and texts while abroad in selected European countries for £2/day (inclusive of VAT where applicable).

Get a 50MB EE data add-on for only £3 a day

200MB of Data to use for 7 Days
200MB - £12

etc etc etc
Not sure how much data is used from maps etc. OK actually looks pretty easy and not too costly. Glad I asked!

 

[Simon_m]

Well if camping, and you were in a place with a 3G/4G signal then you would be fine and could connect all of your devices to one WiFi network (albeit a bit of a limited one). Mine was 3G only (I think it was pre 4G) and I connected my laptop and phone using it. I had the advantage of helpful Finnish friends to do the research for me at the other end beforehand, so I just had to buy it. That transaction tested my Finnish language skills to destruction though.

haha I bet it did! I bet they are not the normal phrases in the back of Lonley Planet guide! Yep I use my phone sometimes to connect my laptap to the net using 3g.

 

[glenn forger]

I would do as Simon m does. My phone would be used so infrequently it isn't worth changing sims.

 

[jefmcg]

I swap SIMs when i go to australia as I need to make lots of local calls and there is a pretty good PAYG option available in arrivals. And O2 have an app that you can make and receive calls on your O2 number even when you have a different SIM in the phone, so I was able to have both an Australian number and a UK one without needing dual sims.

 

[Simon_m]

Good that we can share ideas and get good results on this forum. a lot of experience to call upon.

 

[classic33]

Good responses overnight. French SIM looks good, phone is unlocked I believe.

OK EE:
http://explore.ee.co.uk/roaming/ee/france

Calls
Service Make Receive
Calling to Europe, Ireland & the Channel Islands and back to the UK
Make: 18.8p - Receive: 4.9p

Texts
Service Make Receive
Text message to Europe, Ireland & the Channel Islands and back to the UK
Make: 5.9p - Receive: Free

To access the internet you must purchase a data add-on,see the add-ons section of this page for available add-ons.

Ah ok bundles:
Get unlimited calls and texts while abroad in selected European countries for £2/day (inclusive of VAT where applicable).

Get a 50MB EE data add-on for only £3 a day

200MB of Data to use for 7 Days
200MB - £12

etc etc etc
Not sure how much data is used from maps etc. OK actually looks pretty easy and not too costly. Glad I asked!

The thing to watch is when you go over that limit. Then the costs really increase. At 50MB you'll be looking at around half an hour a day(EE's own figure being used here).

 

[Simon_m]

thanks classic, yes i bet as soon as you are over the limit then they charge you loads! Is there a way of working out how much data you'd think you'd use? thought i would ask

 

[jay clock]

I am on Three. Google their Three Feel at Home package. However they don't allow tethering (i.e. create a hotspot) so not perfect . So I have bought a 3GB data SIM from them for £20, plus an unlocked Mifi device off Amazon, that should provide tons of data.

Re the offline maps, I use the stunning FREE "maps.me". Download the app, then all the regions and countries you want, then you have them on your phone and can zoom in to alley-level details without any data connection. Does not navigate but does allow you to use GPS to identify your exact location