Best way to roam these days in England and Italy

[karen blancfield]

The option of $10 a day for Optus is too pricey for 40 days. I used to buy a sim in Europe mostly for when there’s no wifi. That worked well. Anyone used a good plan lately for Singapore, England, Italy?

 

[TheRealTMA]

The option of $10 a day for Optus is too pricey for 40 days. I used to buy a sim in Europe mostly for when there’s no wifi. That worked well. Anyone used a good plan lately for Singapore, England, Italy?

Try eSims. There are several available for multiple countries.

 

[karen blancfield]

Try eSims. There are several available for multiple countries.

Just Google? I don’t know what they are.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Just Google? I don’t know what they are.

GIYF. Depends on you phone of course.

 

[karen blancfield]

GIYF. Depends on you phone of course.

Thanks, will do. New iPhone 13Pro

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

I use O2 in the UK, and it also works in italy. Probably not Singapore, though. £10 a month gets you 10GB, £15 gets 17GB. Both with text and calls.

02 stays valid without recharge as long as you do something that costs within 9 months. I just send myself a text to my Oz number for £2.50 once every 8 months, and kept it even during covid.

In Italy I also use Vodafone, because my bank insists on Italian nos for 2fa. The deal is pretty fantastic, though, with 100GB, unlimited text & calls, all for €11 a month. Sim costs an additional €15. You need to use the app to turn off the additional optional offers (a completely bogus 'malware' protection and a 'club' that gives cash back for things most visitors won't use) to keep it to that cost.

Italian Vodafone may well work in the UK too, it used to before brexit. I like it because it stays valid for a long time outside of Europe without recharge*, which I need for 2fa. I did lose it during covid, though which was a pain.

(* Vodafone now has a weird system that uses credit you don't have, giving you a negative balance, so I think that you now need to drop the monthly offer before you enter a new month outside of Europe, or you will be charged for it anyway. I guess that although you didn't use it, the negative balance will swallow up your next recharge. Vodafone are becoming a bit of a con-merchant, but the deal is great if you manage it correctly.)

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

Try eSims. There are several available for multiple countries.

Yes, I use MTX connect as a spare eSim on my phone (it allows a physical and an esim simultaneously, which I like). The data is quite expensive, like €0.012 a MB (€12 a GB), but it works pretty much everywhere in the world. I keep it off generally, keeping in reserve for emergencies. I detest being caught short without data.

Good job I did, too, because Telstra, in their wisdom, stopped all roaming for prepaid plans. They say they're going to restore it, but I'm not banking on it. They did offer me a refund on my annual recharge because changing a plan loses all existing paid for data and call time etc.

 

[Thibault]

Good job I did, too, because Telstra, in their wisdom, stopped all roaming for prepaid plans. They say they're going to restore it, but I'm not banking on it. They did offer me a refund on my annual recharge because changing a plan loses all existing paid for data and call time etc.

Yes - but they also are allowing wifi calls overseas.
As long as your phone is compatible in Australia and has Internet via wifi or the 2nd sim card in your phone, your phone will display Telstra Wifi Calls and you can receive calls as if you were in Australia. You can also call Australian phone numbers for free.
It also works with SMS over wifi.

Very practical up to a certain limit.
I was back in France and Europe last 2 weeks and at the end of my trip, my Boost sim card was registering on Orange France, Orange Spain, and DU/Etisalat in the UAE. So it seems that the roaming support is not too far away !

 

[SYD]

The option of $10 a day for Optus is too pricey for 40 days. I used to buy a sim in Europe mostly for when there’s no wifi. That worked well. Anyone used a good plan lately for Singapore, England, Italy?

Thanks, will do. New iPhone 13Pro

Your phone is eSIM compatible (both a traditional physical chip SIM and a software programmable eSIM). Plus Optus also supports “wifi calling” so you should be able to make/receive calls and text over wifi (just make sure “roaming“ is turned off to avoid it using data).

If your current Optus service is using a physical SIM, then two options:

1. Find a suitable eSIM provider - many / most will cover multiple countries regions or allow you to buy coverage for each country. They can provide cheap access to data when travelling. They’re generally easy to install and use via an app and some iPhone settings.

Some useful info and discussion here:

eSims, what is your experience.

I am interested in the concept of eSims but have no experience with them. The notion of running my local sim plus having an international sim for phone use while in USA and EU could be handy. What have members experience been? TIA

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

2. if you prefer physical pre-paid SIMs for each country or region, then you can switch your Optus service to the eSIM and that frees up the physical slot for roaming SIMs. Some people like this option because they already have SIMs.

 

[jeza]

Depending on length of trip this deal from Ozbargain may be of use, credit to jaseo.

Orange Flex European 5G SIM Plan, 11.14GB Roaming Data, 1 Month for PLNzł1 (~A$0.32) (Renews at PLNzł80 / A$26 Monthly), App R

Deal: Orange Flex European 5G SIM Plan, 11.14GB Roaming Data, 1 Month for PLNzł1 (~A$0.32) (Renews at PLNzł80 / A$26 Monthly), App R, Store: Orange Poland, Code: FLEX, Category: Mobile

www.ozbargain.com.au

 

[VPS]

Your phone is eSIM compatible (both a traditional physical chip SIM and a software programmable eSIM). Plus Optus also supports “wifi calling” so you should be able to make/receive calls and text over wifi (just make sure “roaming“ is turned off to avoid it using data).

If your current Optus service is using a physical SIM, then two options:

1. Find a suitable eSIM provider - many / most will cover multiple countries regions or allow you to buy coverage for each country. They can provide cheap access to data when travelling. They’re generally easy to install and use via an app and some iPhone settings.

Some useful info and discussion here:

eSims, what is your experience.

I am interested in the concept of eSims but have no experience with them. The notion of running my local sim plus having an international sim for phone use while in USA and EU could be handy. What have members experience been? TIA

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

2. if you prefer physical pre-paid SIMs for each country or region, then you can switch your Optus service to the eSIM and that frees up the physical slot for roaming SIMs. Some people like this option because they already have SIMs.

do you happen to know if Telstra is available as an eSIM - I had some issues in South America with my Flexiroam esim and it might be easier to make my Telstra the eSIM and put in other cards - thanks

 

[TheRealTMA]

do you happen to know if Telstra is available as an eSIM - I had some issues in South America with my Flexiroam esim and it might be easier to make my Telstra the eSIM and put in other cards - thanks

Yes they do. Login to your telstra acount and you'll be able to find details.

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

Yes - but they also are allowing wifi calls overseas.
As long as your phone is compatible in Australia and has Internet via wifi or the 2nd sim card in your phone, your phone will display Telstra Wifi Calls and you can receive calls as if you were in Australia. You can also call Australian phone numbers for free.
It also works with SMS over wifi.

Very practical up to a certain limit.
I was back in France and Europe last 2 weeks and at the end of my trip, my Boost sim card was registering on Orange France, Orange Spain, and DU/Etisalat in the UAE. So it seems that the roaming support is not too far away !

Hah!

Yes, it seems that roaming is restored now. I turned the sim back on today, and I've actually got a signal, and it's registered on the network.

I don't know about WiFi calling, I've never used that, or been able to afaik.

 

[SYD]

Depending on length of trip this deal from Ozbargain may be of use, credit to jaseo.

Orange Flex European 5G SIM Plan, 11.14GB Roaming Data, 1 Month for PLNzł1 (~A$0.32) (Renews at PLNzł80 / A$26 Monthly), App R

Deal: Orange Flex European 5G SIM Plan, 11.14GB Roaming Data, 1 Month for PLNzł1 (~A$0.32) (Renews at PLNzł80 / A$26 Monthly), App R, Store: Orange Poland, Code: FLEX, Category: Mobile

www.ozbargain.com.au

A couple of years ago I bought an Orange pre-paid SIM in France (something like €30 for 30 days and X GB data, calls and text - no ongoing cost). But the website to manage it was in French and more importantly, it didn’t allow tethering ie use your phone as a wifi hotspot for other devices.

If going down the physical SIM path, GiffGaff in the UK (pickup the SIM from Tesco or Sainsbury for about £1 or £2 add min credit. Activate online and then add a “Goodie bag” for data, calls and text (including EU roaming). Very handy if your first port of call is the UK. Easy to manage online or app (all in English of course).

https://www.giffgaff.com/sim-only-deals

There‘s another thread discussing a very good SIM deal for Singapore from SingTel.

SIM for Singapore and Malaysia?

jayjay, Welcome to AFF. :D You have a PM. Thanks for the welcome and the PM - I've been lurking for quite a while!

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[docjames]

Telstra or Optus - I just turn it on every few days to clear messages etc and use wifi for everything everywhere else.

So 40 days could be reduced to about 10 (Or zero if you are regularly on wifi) - I typically do “airport/travel” days so i get any delays info even whilst off wifi.

Downloading to your phone the google maps of the area you are visiting also helps as then you dont need data for basic mapping (read: exploring towns / navigating etc)

 

[Austman]

I don't know about WiFi calling, I've never used that, or been able to afaik.

Neither did I. But thanks to MattA, I do now. It worked a treat in New Caledonia for me on Telstra Prepaid:

Brilliant! That worked nicely! Thanks so much.

View attachment 285812

I just received a lot of backed up SMSs…

And can make phone calls!

An interesting thing here is that all the hotels so far use the one WiFi provider: Bluewave Premium. The hotels give you an account for free but I note the signal can be picked up all over the place. So an option could be to buy an account with Bluewave Premium. I did that for a day (the Ramada only gave me 500 MB for free) for $13 and it worked in many places for 24 hours.

As long as you had WiFi, my phone, as far as calls and TXTs are concerned, was like being in Australia.

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

Neither did I. But thanks to MattA, I do now. It worked a treat in New Caledonia for me on Telstra Prepaid:




As long as you had WiFi, my phone, as far as calls and TXTs are concerned, was like being in Australia.

Thanks, but sadly, neither of my phones appear to support this, even though one is a very recent Galaxy Fold 3. Ho hum.

 

[SYD]

Thanks, but sadly, neither of my phones appear to support this, even though one is a very recent Galaxy Fold 3. Ho hum.

This one has wifi calling.

Guide for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G | Vodafone Australia

Guides for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G

devices.vodafone.com.au

 

[karen blancfield]

Telstra or Optus - I just turn it on every few days to clear messages etc and use wifi for everything everywhere else.

So 40 days could be reduced to about 10 (Or zero if you are regularly on wifi) - I typically do “airport/travel” days so i get any delays info even whilst off wifi.

Downloading to your phone the google maps of the area you are visiting also helps as then you dont need data for basic mapping (read: exploring towns / navigating etc)

I have used maps.me for years, as you say, download then they work offline. I suppose I could just manage turning it on occasionally but think I’m too used to having access 24/7! Might just buy a SIM card in UK and top it up. But I’d like to give eSIM a go as it sounds good. Just need to get my head around it.

 

[serfty]

The option of $10 a day for Optus is too pricey for 40 days. I used to buy a sim in Europe mostly for when there’s no wifi. That worked well. Anyone used a good plan lately for Singapore, England, Italy?

The newer Optus plus plans have $5 a day roaming.