richmke

I arrived TPE at 6am last week, and found the Sim Card Stands were open - Exit into the Arrival Hall after immigration/customs, around the corner to the right, on the way to the bus/MRT/HSR). I think the Sim Card stores in the rest of the airport do not open until 8am.
Note: The signs say mobile hotspot, but they also sell sim cards.

FYI Chunghwah raised the price of 7 day unlimited to 600 NT. All the others were 500 NT. I decided on Chunghwah since I had heard they have better coverage.
I was debating 300 NT for 1 gb (we go?) vs 600 nt unlimited.
I opted for the unlimited - I didn't know how much I would use in a week. The connection was 15mbs vs 5mbs at the wifi location where I was staying, so I stayed on the unlimited plan and ended up using 4gb. If I had bought the limited plan, I would have used wifi, and stayed under 1gb.

FYI: The Chunghwah stand wanted 2 forms of ID. They took my passport and driver's license.

lsquare

Is unlimited truly unlimited? Can I use a credit card to pay for the sim card? I rather have the peace of mind and go for the unlimited plan. I'll be in Taiwan for about 10 days. Is there something that I can do to get 3 additional days of coverage? How is Chunghwah's coverage around Taiwan? I'm assuming I can use the unlimited plan around the island?

Zorak

Unlimited means unlimited. I don't remember any slowdowns after using certain amounts if that's what you're asking.

There are plans other than 7 days. See e.g. post #102 .

I forget the in-person payment options but on my last trip I preordered a CHT SIM online through Klook, as mentioned in post #113 . They only seem to offer up to 10 days, but it sounds like that's about what you're looking for.

lsquare

You know what? I might just order from Klook. I'll check around to see if it's cheaper to buy in-person, but I might just use Klook for the convenience. Is the site truly safe and reliable? I just want to make sure that when I do arrive, they'll have my sim card ready. So Klook is selling a 10 day card for US$16.60. I'm assuming that includes unlimited data and calling as well? The site does say I get NT$150 for 7 days, but I'm not quite sure what that means.

Zorak

"Outgoing calls (NT$100 credit for 3/10 days, NT$50 credit for 5 days, NT$150 credit for 7 days)"

As it says, that is credit for outgoing calls, which are billed based on the length of the call. Unlikely to be of concern for a tourist, but if you really do run out you can top it up, or use data to make a VOIP/Skype/wifi calling/Hangouts Dialer call.

I had no trouble of any sort with Klook but I've only used it the one time, so I have no further info to offer...

AnalogMan

Klook's prices look pretty reasonable, and CHT is a good network, so would be a good option for people who arrive before the Telcos' own booths open. In Taiwan, the caller pays, so all incoming calls are free. As a caller, particularly when calling a cell phone, the rates can be pretty high, about 10 cents USD a minute, which is not inexpensive even by US prepaid standards. Also, unlimited data for a week costs less than 12 USD (the 150 NT of call credit is about 5 USD, sim costs $16.50) - this is why there is a lot of VoIP usage there.

For those that have used Klook, can you please describe what are the ID requirements? Did they take a picture of the passport photo page, or require more/less documentation? Generally speaking, in Taiwan, outside of the airport, one needs two IDs to buy a sim card, but in the airport the Telco' booths require just the passport.

Are there additional fees charged by Klook, or is the price shown on the web site an all inclusive price?

Zorak

I wish I could remember more details, but it was last April. The only thing I can tell you for sure, because I still have the emails saved, is that the price for 7 days went up 50 cents I paid US$16.

The voucher I received stated that two forms of photo ID are required. I don't recall how many I was actually asked to present at pick-up, or whether they photocopied them.

Hopefully someone with better memory and/or more recent experiences can chime in!

GiantCow

Is there a significant difference in service between the Unite SIM and the Welldone SIM?

Welldone's pickup counter doesn't open until 7am and my flight lands at 5:40am so Unite would be my only option unless I stick around at the airport for a while.

AnalogMan

I have never used Klook before, just looked at their web site yesterday for the first time, so I hope I am not wrong (fairly confident I am correct). As far as I can tell, Klook is a travel agent and sells service from two different companies: Unite and Welldone.

Those two companies are reselling SIM/services from telecom companies.
Unite is selling SIM card from Chunghwa Telecom.
Welldone is selling SIM card from Taiwan Mobile.

Practically speaking, there isn't much difference between the two telecoms though they do use different frequencies for LTE service. I think Taiwan Mobile is known for having slightly faster speeds, but CHT has better coverage. CHT also has lower calling rates, in case anyone is interested in making non-VoIP calls.

GiantCow

Thanks for the explanation, very helpful.

sambagrrl07

Two years ago, I arrived at Taoyuan Terminal 1 and discovered cell phone kiosks were set up in the area just before immigration clearance, so that I could pick up a SIM card without worrying about the amount of time it would take to clear immigration. This time around I'm arriving in Terminal 2 at 20:55. With many of the arrival area kiosks seeming to close at around 22:00 in T2, I'm wondering if there are any kiosks in the immigration clearance area, as there were in T1? Or, if I should reserve with Klook, does anyone have experience with that they'd care to share?

Many thanks.

msb0b

There is a counter right before Terminal 2 immigration that sells Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards. I think it is this spot on the map. There are Asia Pacific Telecom and T Star counters on the other side of the hall, but their coverages are second teir to Chunghwa and Taiwan Mobile.

The vendors in Terminal 1 arrival lobby open until midnight should you need that option.

sambagrrl07