Flying out at the end of March and looking into an esim so I can keep my "normal" sim in situ. 6 months of travel. Was going to look at Orange or voda but there's tonnes of companies I'm a bit bamboozled.
Last time I enabled international roaming, they screwed me on data charges so I'd like to avoid that this time!
Suggestions?
who are you currently with?
Optus
Flexiroam used by a few people I know at work, provided you can get it going. Don’t pay the full price as there are discount codes everywhere if you look.
I’ve used these eSIM packages in the past without much success as it seems they insist on overriding so many settings that it’s often easier to have a dual-SIM phone and just buy a local card on arrival.
Slightly off topic but have you got a visa for a 6 month visit? If you're not resident in an EU country, 90 days is the max continuous stay without one.
I can't even have this convo now dude. My head is full of entry requirements, tests, covid rules different baggage allowances for every frickin flight etc etc.
In a nutshell, we're not staying anywhere close to 90 days and as Aus citizens we are not currently required to obtain visas for europe. Towards the end of 2022 will need an ETIAS but that's not in place currently and we'll be back in Aus in September.
Me, wife and son are dual nationality and daughter was born here.
So far we're hitting UK, Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Italy. We were going to Croatia after Germany and before Italy but we might spend a little longer in Italy around Toscany and Amalfi as that's where we got married and honeymoon'd andwe've got 4 weeks just outside Roma - still not even close to 90 days.
well the issue i gave is getting massively stung last time with my "normal" sim (optus / australia) so assumed an esim would be the easiest option. ok.... so a big part of the problem was me.... decided to video call my wife in Aus from the top of Pen Y Fan cos there was snow hehehe oopsie.
my phone is an s20+ which doesnt have dual sim, but i hadnt considered the fact that the esim settings and normal sim would conflict in this day and age. I didn't want to have to keep popping sims out and swapping round but we're gonna need ++ data for maps and getting around. The other issue might be my phone being carrier locked and buying a new sim from some random phone cartel that might not even work. I suppose most places will have wifi (questionable security?) and we could just download maps for each country we go to....
jeez you'd think in 2022 this kind of stuff would be much simpler eh?
4 days til we fly. might just see what the phone shops say when we get to the uk
++ data for maps
Download all you need on Windy Maps before you leave home. You'll still have maps in white zones then.
My Free sim has worked everywhere in Europe I've been. 210 Gb 5G for 20e/month is as cheap as you'll find anywhere in Europe.
Cheers Edu that's super helpful.
I'm just looking at the site now - 210gb 5G for 20e a month is spot on. Can you only buy these SIMs in France though? I'm just skimming the site now and looking for the English translation option as my French is as rusty as my 30+ year old Tricolor textbooks! It might be easier to organise this when we're in UK rather than from here in Oz. We fly in ..um..... 3 days!!!!
I've not heard of Windy Maps - I thought you could download portions of Google Maps locally to your phone? This was some time ago so maybe that's not an option but cheers again, super useful.
You can get Free sims from machines in Free shops in France. Signing up via the site you need a French address for them to deliver the sim to.
I suggest trying the Windy maps app, it's a lot more detailed than Google especially in the mountains.
Here's the PC version:
https://www.windy.com/MAPS?-32.403,115.790,14
The mobile version has a track log which is handy for finding your way home when skiing in the fog for example.
We're some way off France though. Uk first, Spain, thrn France in July.
Used 50mb roaming from Dubai Airport to the hotel cost me $50. Dollar per mb.
Need data as the kids have learning / study program.
First air bnb in Cornwall which has "free wifi" as long as you walk for 20 mins to the reception. Lol.
The other issue might be my phone being carrier locked
Get it unlocked as well for flexibility...
Holafly has been great. Esim works like a dream.
Visa wise zero issues. We've travelled by train and plain with no probs. Currently in Bulgaria and came here via Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain and UK.
Rome next. Then back to Aus
