Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - SIM CARD / South Africa and Mozambique

A bit off topic but i figured if anyone knows the answer, its this group...any help will be appreciated :-) !

I'll be in South Africa for 2 wks and then Mozambique for a week...want a SIM card to let me call around SA and Moz and let people on the ground in both places call me for a reasonable price. Also need to be able to call internationally...My GSM phone is unlocked. Anybody have an idea on what to do/buy/rent?

I have heard that Vodaphone is a good carrier for SA, does anyone know if i can get a SIM card in advance of my trip or at the JNB or CPT airports? Prefer to change out a sim card rather than rent a phone if possible....or any other carrier you can suggest...

Will be arriving into JNB just to transfer to CPT, then will be in CPT at ArabellaGrandSheraton near the waterfront if that info helps at all....

MANY MANY MANY THANKS for any guidance....

A bit off topic but i figured if anyone knows the answer, its this group...any help will be appreciated :-) !

I'll be in South Africa for 2 wks and then Mozambique for a week...want a SIM card to let me call around SA and Moz and let people on the ground in both places call me for a reasonable price. Also need to be able to call internationally...My GSM phone is unlocked. Anybody have an idea on what to do/buy/rent?

I have heard that Vodaphone is a good carrier for SA, does anyone know if i can get a SIM card in advance of my trip or at the JNB or CPT airports? Prefer to change out a sim card rather than rent a phone if possible....or any other carrier you can suggest...

Will be arriving into JNB just to transfer to CPT, then will be in CPT at ArabellaGrandSheraton near the waterfront if that info helps at all....

MANY MANY MANY THANKS for any guidance....

For South Africa (no clue about Mozambique) I would buy a simcard at any Pick'n Pay (grocery stores). They sell either Vodacom or MTN (service is equally good on both) sim-cards for less than the equivalent of US$ 1,00. It might well be that these cards allow roaming in Moz (could be quite expensive though).

BTW: if you can wait that long - there is a Pick'n Pay at the Waterfront.

For South Africa (no clue about Mozambique) I would buy a simcard at any Pick'n Pay (grocery stores). They sell either Vodacom or MTN (service is equally good on both) sim-cards for less than the equivalent of US$ 1,00. It might well be that these cards allow roaming in Moz (could be quite expensive though).

BTW: if you can wait that long - there is a Pick'n Pay at the Waterfront.

Yes, according to www.vodacom.co.za, roaming is allowed in Mozambique for prepaid customers. You need to 'activate' roaming before you leave SA, but this can be done though a simple SMS (see above website). As capetonian says, it could be quite expensive. And of course you need to make sure you have enough 'airtime' available before you leave (buy airtime at Pick'n Pay at a discount!)
Agree that you should buy the simcard at a Pick'n Pay, if you buy it at a cell phone outlet, it wil cost you (litterally) up to almost 100* as much. I bought a sim card for my son for R1.99 the other day (at Checkers - another supermarket chain - actually), the MTN shop wanted R149!

Agree that you should buy the simcard at a Pick'n Pay, if you buy it at a cell phone outlet, it wil cost you (litterally) up to almost 100* as much. I bought a sim card for my son for R1.99 the other day (at Checkers - another supermarket chain - actually), the MTN shop wanted R149!
usually the packet you buy the sim card in has something like R149 marked on it, but certainly Pick 'n Pay and CNA (and probably most other places) - do sell them for R1-R2. Why they still print packets with that price is beyond me - unless they are just happy catching unwitting customers who don't know the shop down the street is basically given them away!

Many thanks! Yes, i can wait until i get to Cape Town so will definitely hit up the Pick N Pay....i knew if i posted here i would get the info, and as always appreciate the valuable advice :-) !