Phone cards in Peru
 

Hi -

My family and I will be spending two weeks in Peru soon and plan to purchase some phone cards. Should we plan to buy them after we arrive in Peru or should we get them here ahead of time. Either way, does anyone have suggestions as to the best phone card bargains out there?

Thanks in advance.

fz

Are you planning to call to another country? Or are you talking about prepaid cards for cell phones?

Calling outside of Peru (and inside) is very economical from the phone cabins (cabinas). I don't waste my time buying cards as a cabina is found on every block in the cities and the rural areas have them too.

I plan to make a couple of calls ex Peru to the US and don't plan on bringing my cell phone with me. So you suggest that I just use the cabinas to make the call, right, rather than bother with phone cards? What kind of rates are charged? Thanks for your help.

It's about 200 centimos per minute in the cabinas. So roughly $.07 per minute.

Muy barato! Gracias!

Sorry... 200 centimos equals 2 soles.. which is not what i wanted to quote ( i am still thinking in colombian pesos). It costs roughly 20 centimos which is still about $.07.

ASFL, is it seriously that cheap for int'l long distance Peru->US?

higher_flyer Dad is traveling to Lima this week and is concerned about how to call home [not taking his mobile]. It sounds like you are suggesting just plugging the cabina pay phones with coins? If he were to feel more secure bringing along a pre-paid card, should he buy one domestically or on arrival?

Thanks for your help, I have no experience with phone cards or Peru.

No no.. A payphone will be very expensive. Cabinas are usually internet cyber cafes and they have phone booths inside as well. They use internet phone lines and the calls are very cheap.

He can just tell them where he is calling to and they will tell him how to dial. There are always signs in the windows for prices to call USA, Europe, etc.

Can you buy a sim card for an unlocked phone in Peru? Are they cheap? What kind of price and airtime comes with them and where can they be purchased?

The 2 main companies are Claro and Movistar. Yes, you can buy a SIM card for prepaid service with an unlocked phone. Have the sales rep make sure your phone works before buying (they will use their own SIM card in your phone to test it). You can get the SIM cards just about anywhere they sell the prepaid cards.

I doubt you can buy a postpaid if you don't live there. Prepaid is not a bad price but it's hard to tell what the prices are. Prices vary whether you are calling Claro to Claro, Claro to Movistar, Claro to home phone, etc. Text messages are about 10 centimos. Very cheap.