Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

PurpleJay

Off to Morocco on Friday and trying to work out a cheap way to phone home. I have signed up to Vyke after reading about call back. Basically, I wanted to text them from my orange contract phone for them to call me back and dial my mum's number. If this works, I would be charged the vyke rate for the calls and possibly the price of the text (is this local or international does anyone know).

Anyway, I can't find on the vyke website the number to text or any info about this. There are other services like Call@ for example makes the request via the data allowance - no idea how to make this happen! Could anyone clarify (there is a download - will this make things clear - I didn't want to pay for it if I am not going to use it. Or it seems you can do it online - no idea if hotel has easy access to net.

I thought 'callback' was the service I would want but this appears to be for international calls from the uk.

If I go for the call@ option if I can figure it out, does anybody know what the cost would be? Am I better getting a bundle..

Sorry for all the questions - this is making my head hurt!

BTW - phone locked to Orange so can't get an local sim card and orange calls to morocco are £1.45 per minute!!!!! Ouchy. I will probably be making an hour or two's worth of calls to my disabled and housebound mum while we are away and don't want a bill for £150+!!!!

How much is hotel likely to charge?

Thanks in advance

mrcamp

What about getting a second phone and put a local sim card in it (would definitely be the cheapest route), then text the number to your family to call you on it. Or forward your UK mobile to it via a 3rd party or so.

PurpleJay wrote: »

Off to Morocco on Friday and trying to work out a cheap way to phone home. I have signed up to Vyke after reading about call back. Basically, I wanted to text them from my orange contract phone for them to call me back and dial my mum's number. If this works, I would be charged the vyke rate for the calls and possibly the price of the text (is this local or international does anyone know).

Anyway, I can't find on the vyke website the number to text or any info about this. There are other services like Call@ for example makes the request via the data allowance - no idea how to make this happen! Could anyone clarify (there is a download - will this make things clear - I didn't want to pay for it if I am not going to use it. Or it seems you can do it online - no idea if hotel has easy access to net.

I thought 'callback' was the service I would want but this appears to be for international calls from the uk.

If I go for the call@ option if I can figure it out, does anybody know what the cost would be? Am I better getting a bundle..

Sorry for all the questions - this is making my head hurt!

BTW - phone locked to Orange so can't get an local sim card and orange calls to morocco are £1.45 per minute!!!!! Ouchy. I will probably be making an hour or two's worth of calls to my disabled and housebound mum while we are away and don't want a bill for £150+!!!!

How much is hotel likely to charge?

Thanks in advance

redux

The best use of a callback service in that context would be using the callback first leg to either a local SIM card or the hotel room if you can chat up the receptionist to get the direct (i.e. not via switchboard) number.

And that's what Vyke's call@ definition implies, setting a different number to receive on rather than your number in the account.

So you might use 2 phones, the Orange to trigger the call, and another with a local SIM bought there.

If you'd don't have a second mobile phone, or can't borrow one, get the hotel room number as I said - do this not by explaining exactly what you want to do, but say that your family might want to call you, and it would save a bit of work for reception if they could call direct.

If you just used Vyke with the Orange number, it would save a little bit but not a lot. Yes, you'd avoid Orange's outgoing rate, but it would instead still cost you the aggregate of Vyke's callback rate between your mobile and your family's number, plus Orange's incoming roaming rate in Morocco.

redux

confusedcolin wrote: »

Firstly, I confess I am a bit of a ludite and only use a mobile as an emergency resource. But, we are likely to travel to Morocco for regular holidays, and will want to keep in touch with UK - either by text, phone or e/mail; I do not have a contract at present and want to buy a phone that wiill give best options. Ideally, I would like to have internet access, and play own music also, but prioprity will be to be able to contact UK at cheapest rates etc. Can anyone suggest best way to go forward please?? Thanks. Colin.

Local SIM card is the only option that has any chance of giving you decent price internet access.

The 2 networks are Maroc Telecom and Meditel

I don't know whether you can use the same SIM for calls and internet in a dongle, or would need different ones, so have an explore of their websites - the latter looks a better prospect for internet

For call rates, you might find cheap direct-dialled international calls, or you might use a callback service as mentioned in above posts

deebee

off to Turkey in 3 weeks, and having been stung with huge mobile bills on holiday in previous years, decided to plan a bit ahead, thinking of leaving my G2 at home as continual internet access will probably cost a small fortune, have blown the dust off my old Nokia - which is a great litlle phone, and was planning to get a paygo sim and top it up with a fixed amount before I go on holiday, have read on here about buying a local sim abroad, is this a better option? or if buying a UK paygo sim, which is the cheapest network for phoning home?

thanks in advance for your advice

Ziggy_Stardust

I hope someone can help as I've been searching lots of global sim cards and its all confusing.

My daughter is going to Kenya for a month with the school and will be taking her unlocked mobile along with a global sim, which we still have yet to decided upon. She will be texting me or calling me and asking me to phone her back. So I'm looking for a company that will give cheap rates for her to call and text me but even cheaper rates for me to call her back...please help

mrcamp

Her best bet is to buy a prepaid sim. She should be able to get it easily. I heard Zain is good. Here are the carriers there. You just have to find a calling card with good rates to a Kenya mobile.

http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/kenya.html

Ziggy_Stardust wrote: »

I hope someone can help as I've been searching lots of global sim cards and its all confusing.

My daughter is going to Kenya for a month with the school and will be taking her unlocked mobile along with a global sim, which we still have yet to decided upon. She will be texting me or calling me and asking me to phone her back. So I'm looking for a company that will give cheap rates for her to call and text me but even cheaper rates for me to call her back...please help

LizzieMoss

Does anyone know anything about Planet Talk. By phoning a prefix you can get calls to Australia for 1p a minute. Sounds too good to be true

nellieB_2

I want to send a global roaming SIM card to my daughter in Cambodia. Does anyone know if this is ok to do. Have heard that you are not allowed to send SIM cards as they are considered "Negotiable Items".
Thanks

the-mango

Could I just ask for some help?
I am going to Greece for three weeks and I would like to contact home quite a lot. Text or call. I was wondering what would be the best option - to buy a sim card there? beacuse I will be on an island and I'm not sure how many places to buy one there would be or to buy a Greek sim card while still in the uK or just to take my phone and use it?