InfoMofo

In Croatia, actually accessing FT from a bridged connection on my Android phone, thanks to JimQuan who was awesome and sent me his prepaid croatian sim cards. I had a few tips for future travelers to the Balkan countries.

So my first stop here was Macedonia- I headed right into the mall in Skopje called Centar (Сентар) and found a T-Mobile store. The woman spoke English perfectly and it was very easy to get set up with a new SIM card (210 ден) with a basic voice set up and I added 2 GB of data for an additional 500 ден. In 4 days in Macedonia, I didn't even get close to using up this 2GB of data because there are a number of open wifi spots that I ended up using- but it was still extremely helpful for the few times that I did need it, and it was only about $15 usd in total. In general I found the 3g coverage to be terrific in Skopje and Ohrid. One weird thing was that every time I restarted my phone I had to re-enter my sim card pin. That didn't happen to me anywhere else.

For Croatia, I found it a bit more frustrating- I had a stopover in Zagreb for 3 hours before my connection to Split, and I saw a T-mobile sign at the Posta, but they were unable to add any data to the card, I think maybe there is some restriction on doing it in the airport. I had to wait until I got to Split and the next morning, when the shops opened. I went to the T-Mobile store on the Riva, and I added 2GB to the sim cards that Jim sent me. This was about 30 USD. I went to Split, Hvar, Korcula, and Dubrovnik, and there were times where I couldn't get 3G and had a very slow edge connection, but for the most part it was fine. Again, I found a good supply of open wifi, or password protected wifis from hotels, bars or restaurants that would freely give out the passwords if you asked. Another good resource seems to be foursquare, where a lot of people have added the password protected wifi passwords for establishments in the "tips" section. Because of all this wi-fi, again, over 7 days, I only used about 500MB of my data plan.

Here are my general tips for traveling with a smartphone:
- Even though I'm an iPhone guy at home, the unlock methods are extremely sketchy, so I borrowed a friend's old Android, and it was super easy to unlock and install a tethering app so I could also use my iPad, iPhone, and laptop as needed while traveling.
- Load apps onto the phone before you leave your home country as much as possible. For one thing, at least with Android, the market seems to be regional, and some apps I was not able to find once I was here, such as Google Voice app and others. I don't know if this is just pilot error, but I do think there are some regional restrictions on apps, so it is probably best to just get your phone set up as much as possible before you leave.
- For android phones a great app is "3G watchdog". You can enter your data plan here and it will track how much data you are using. When you are on wi-fi it stops tracking, so you will have a very accurate indicator of how close to your data cap you are.
- I also recommend viber and skype as alternatives to using voice minutes, since I was more constrained by the voice limitations than the data ones. I wasn't able to use google voice because I couldn't install the app here. Maybe they don't have it.

Anyway- traveling with unlocked smartphone and getting prepaid sim cards is totally the way to go! Another travel tool I will never go without in the future.

acunningham

You're absolutely correct. Paid applications are only available if you're currently using a SIM card from a country for which Google has enabled paid applications. In addition, application authors can choose which countries to make their applications available in, again based on SIM card.

jimquan

Well, I'm back in the Balkans. Relaxing in the Diners Lounge, Llubljana Airport.

Way to pay it forward infomofo!

Jim

BobbySteel

Had a hell of a time getting setup in Mozambique on a recent foray up from South Africa.

First, finding SIM cards is HARD outside Maputo. I gave up after searching Inhambane and other cities on the way up. Back in Maputo, I finally bought both MCel and VodaCom SIMs but neither would do data. Gave up on the MCel after their call center was entirely unreachable during the weekend. Eventually got through to VodaCom who confirmed that I had to email their service center to have the SIM enabled for data. Once there, the card could be activated for a data package. I took a 2GB/7 day package for 599 mts that was satisfactory.

PM me if you want more details on the setup as it was rather arduous.

Mike Jacoubowsky

I had no idea until I was ready to leave France that AT&T (US) had pretty significantly reduced data charges for smartphones. Not cheap mind you, but a fraction of what it used to cost. You can now get 800 megs for $199. True, that's a lot more than you'd be paying for a native sim, but this doesn't require unlocking your phone or making any other changes. Similar price reductions are in effect for smaller amounts of data.

If you're careful, 800 megs can last quite a long time (just don't use it for Skype calls, or monitor things very carefully if you do). I've gotten by on 50 megs for a week trip, but you've got to be careful. 800 megs is well over typical use for even a month, so you'll be able to use google maps, around me, and many other useful apps for traveling.

Hope this helps some to figure their way through the maze-

nmenaker

Yes, about six weeks ago AT&T reduced their international plans about 20% on the pricing and increasing the amount of data about 2x, so a win win. It is still QUITE expensive compared to getting something local or even getting something like an international MIFI device depending on how much one needs and length of time. I recently picked up some paygo cards for a china trip, they were 10$ for the month, with 600MB of data on them, pop in and go. I could have gone up to something like 20$ for a 2GB card, china is VERY cheap.

In europe, one should be able to get a local paygo card, that has pricing for about 5$ a day for UNLIMITED but of course this requires some planning, time and effort

Mike Jacoubowsky

Planning and effort are fine; the problem dealing with a local simcard tends to be activation. When I was in Australia two years ago, for some reason a little voice told me not to leave the store until it was activated. They insisted it was easy, no problem. Uh-uh. I was there for a while, and navigating through the maze of questions and all and wondering what the "right" answer was... better to not have to deal with that on your own, especially since the activation process is on-line. And this was in a supposedly English-speaking country. That's not fair; Aussie English is just fine. The Kiwis are another story.

It is very strange that someone in, say, Paris, doesn't promote an in-store simcard service to travelers who don't speak French. I'd think you could have quite a market with very little effort, perhaps selling MiFi units at profitable prices and provide an activated simcard before the customer leaves the store. You could even offer a credit for the returned MiFi unit at the end of their trip.

Sell a new MiFi for $300 or used for $200
Offer a $100 credit if returned

If you provided locked MiFi units, they might be considerably less. A store doing this could make a lot of money, I would think.

jbcarioca

I took your advice and have ordered from them, for a micro-sim to use in my iPad. they are the only one I have found out about. It is quite expensive, but I will need constant use, so it seems worth the huge price to me.

OverThereTooMuch

http://www.vodafone.ie/offers/free-data-roaming/

Looks like Vodafone Ireland is offering data roaming for 99c per day (up to 50MB, €1 per MB after that).

I can't seem to find this same offer on other Vodafone sites so far.

GeorgeWhite

Thanks a lot. This is exactly what I've been looking for. Bought the AT&T SIM from eBay, hope it'll still work this way when I get to the US next week.

gfunkdave

Does anyone know prices/where to buy an Icelandic SIM for data while traveling in Iceland for a couple weeks? Which operator(s) has the best rates?

Thanks!

noobflyer

In Thailand, there's also TrueMove InterSIM. Cheap calls abroad using special codes (calls go over the net part of the way). Cheap to buy and top up. Go to 7-11 to buy and top up. If you top up enough during your stay, the card stays active for a year.

The data services they mention on the InterSIM page are time based, but if you dig on the home page, there are volume based packages also (hopefully can be added onto InterSIM). 129/month for 100MB, 399/month for 500MB, 699/month for 3GB. 3G is available in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya - but only on the 850 net - only the newest Iphone is compatible, for instance.

Not having used DTAC or AIS, I don't know which is best.

sillypainter

I am not sure if this company was mentioned here before but I am using a SIM card from CelloMobile.com it has served me very well across Europe and other countries, and they also have pay per use data (about $1-2/MB.).

The data option is not on their website because they say they are beta testing it, but they gave me the APN settings, excellent customer service also.

Also a great benefit which I found very appealing that their SIM card never expires.

Shadownite

Purchased a MiFi to travel to Europe. What is the 1 SIM solution for multiple countries? I had read somewhere a couple of weeks back that Vodafone Italy had such a card? Recommendations pls, I have already searched here and couldn't find one.

kimmykimmy

I am a frequent traveler and I have found out how to make roaming cellular
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www.intouchsmartcards.com They helped me with an affordable global SIM card
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phones. The SmartFree Quattro international SIM card works everywhere I
travel and I can use it for data too..