My daughter is travelling to SE Asia for a couple of months. She's with Plusnet Asher UK mobile SIM provider. They don't have what appears to be any kind of affordable / inclusive international data and calling bundles.
I was wondering what options people would recommend for a cost effective SIM option whilst she's travelling.
I've read that you can get a SIM out there as a tourist PAYG option but want to understand the practicalities of what is involved, where do you get them, country coverage etc etc.
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Me and the Mrs always pickup a local sim card when visiting thailand located the airport arrivals hall, they will even fit it and test it, can’t remember the network we used but super speedy data!
Pretty cheap from what I remember, like £20 for unlimited data for month. Obviously you will use a new number temporarily but thats not much of an issue.
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As above, a 'local' SIM card has been my preference for many years now. Significantly cheaper than UK 'overseas packages' IME and FWIW a local dual-SIM handset can often be had cheaply too so you can have the best of both worlds.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
You can pick a sim up when you land at the airport in Bangkok.
I favour the eSIM approach, assuming you have a handset that is capable of accepting one. This means you're able to leave your normal SIM card in, and just get a data package on an eSIM, which can be investigated and even bought in advance. You simply direct anything that needs data to use that SIM rather than your normal one. This means that your normal phone still works for iMessage and Whatsapp etc even when aboard.
Thanks all, really appreciate your input, will share with my daughter and see what she wants to do.
The eSIM is a good call!
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E Sims are very useful as long as you have a phone with a spare eSIM capability - I use Airalo and they have the option of global, regional and country specific packages. Irritatingly you normally need some form of access to the internet to get them working - this could mean using a sliver of roaming data on your UK SIM or simply not leaving the airport free WiFi until it's all working.
One disadvantage for e SIMs is that you don't get a local telephone number which might be useful for all sorts of reasons (but I'm assuming she'll have 911/999 even without any SIM).
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
When you put in a new local sim, you should see a message for WhatsApp if you want to update the number, click no. Your whatsapp will continue working on your UK number and you can make and receive messages and calls as normal.
I asked a similar question a couple of months ago as my daughter is in Australia, Japan and South Korea. The overall advice was Airalo as she can use an esim. So far it seems to be working well. She did have the issue at Aus customs not being able to activate the sim as there was no wifi. So as said just take that into account. My son when he visited Japan just ordered one of those personal hot spot devices they rent there and that also worked really well for him.
My Airalo experience had always been that you can set it up on your WiFi/data at home and the clock will start ticking as soon as you connect to the signal at your destination. No setup required when you land. Just turn the new esim on and away you go.
Mine too.Originally Posted by Tony
Only downside, already mentioned, is no local phone number which can be useful sometimes.
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