parioneti

Has anyone have experience with the Roaming Data package for either Du or Etisalat?
Staying in Dubai 3 days and then stopping by BKK and HKG for a day each. I found out that both Du and Etisalat offer international roaming for these two locations for even prepaid customer for 200AED (1GB). I'm specifically talking about these.
http://www.du.ae/personal/mobile/vis...g-data-bundles
http://www.etisalat.ae/nrd/en/generi...ming_packs.jsp

S c 0 TT y

Will be traveling into Dubai next month and would like to know if buying prepaid sims is easy to do so at the airport and what the costs are?

Looking to hire a car as well so would need to run my sat nav off my phone/data as well.

Additionally, what is the iPad sim pricing like for data?

Dubai Stu

It is very easy to buy at the airport. Both Etisilat and Du have booths set up in after you clear customs. Also, I think you can still buy Etisilat SIMs at the duty free store near the luggage returns.

Here is Etisilat's plan:

http://www.etisalat.ae/nrd/en/generi...data_plans.jsp

Here is Du's:

http://www.du.ae/tourist

You're looking at about another 100 AED (Etisilat) or 55 AED (Du) to get the SIM card. Du tends to have the better rates, but Etisilat has slightly better coverage.

3.67 Dirham = 1 US dollar. Stated another way 1 AED = 27 US cents (apx).

Keyser

thanks for the links....my understanding is that aed 55 with du will get me a 7 day plan with 200mb data, 20 minutes of talk time & 20 sms....aed 100 with etisalat will get me a 30 day plan with 700mb data, 40 minutes of talk time & 40 sms....

is that correct or do the sims alone cost aed 55 & aed 100 & we have to pay more to get the plan we want????

MareLuce

Anyone actually experienced this?

"We want you to make the most out of your stay in the UAE. That’s why we’re giving you a free Prepaid SIM, which you can collect at the immigration counter. You’ll get 1 GB free data, valid for 24 hours. To add more benefits at any time, simply recharge online for one of our bundles..."

https://www.du.ae/touristsim
Convenient for the traveler and a clever business move by Du!

=== Du network

SIM @ immigration counter

You pay: 55 AED
You get: 500 MB - 20 Flexible minutes - 7-day validity.

You pay: 75 AED
You get: 2 GB - 40 Flexible minutes - 14-day validity.

You pay: 110 AED
You get: 3.5 GB - 50 Flexible minutes - 14-day validity

I was trying to figure out how this compares to what I could get via Etilisat for an upcoming 2 week stay in Dubai:

=== Etilisat

Enjoy 1GB data valid for 7 days
With recharge of AED 25 or more + 24h free delivery

For me, I’ll be in Dubai for 2 weeks, and I typically use a ton of data and minutes.
I believe this is what I’d pay:


With Du, I would pay: 110 AED ($30 US) for 3.5 GB - 50 Flexible minutes - 14-day validity
https://www.du.ae/touristsim

With Etilisat, I’d pay: 79*2= 158 AED($43 US) for 3.5 GB * 2 - 175 * 2 Flexible minutes -
$79 each week renewing after 7 days for 2 total weeks

WaselGo Extra Large page
https://www.etisalat.ae/b2c/eshop/pr...plan&locale=EN

So I think I'd be better off going with Etilisat
I just wish I could pay once for the entire 2 weeks.

MareLuce

Anyone else heading to Dubai for Expo2020? (Oct 2021 - spring 2022)
https://www.expo2020dubai.com/
I've been looking forward to it since I last visited in 2017 and heard everyone talking about it.
Am SO excited!

Update to my post above - Etisalat now has a visitor line option that is good for 28 days.

Is it safe to assume it's activated via the new eSIM process?

Can anyone with an iPhone and recent experience in Dubai comment on their experience with eSIMs via Du or Etisalat?
Any thoughts on the new eSIM capabilities in iOS 15?
Dubai Stu any new insights here?

bensim

Hi, going to Dubai next week and will be arriving at Dubai airport around 2-5 am and would appreciate advice on the following. Are the shops selling SIM cards in the Dubai airport arrival hall open at this time? Also, do the staff help me to activate the card too? Thanks.

Keyser

Yes & yes.

DYKWIA

You can get a free 1GB SIM as you pass through immigration. See here :-

https://www.du.ae/tourist