Best sim deal for abroad (Isle of man)!

onejontwo

I'm presently with virgin on a £5 per month rolling contract with 250 mins, 1gb data and unlimited texts. Now I'm of to the Isle of man soon which virgin regard as abroad and so incur extra charges. I' m anticipating making quite a few calls and texts so does any body know a decent sim card I could use for the duration?

eDicky

Depending on how long you are staying, it might be worth considering a local SIM:

shop.manxtelecom.com/s.aspx?groupid=1&categoryid=1&sectionid=6&pagepos=1

onejontwo

eDicky wrote: »

Depending on how long you are staying, it might be worth considering a local SIM:

shop.manxtelecom.com/s.aspx?groupid=1&categoryid=1&sectionid=6&pagepos=1

That sounds ideal but does it include calls to the UK? It's not very clear on the website as it seems to be just for manx inland calls.

d123

onejontwo wrote: »

That sounds ideal but does it include calls to the UK? It's not very clear on the website as it seems to be just for manx inland calls.

A quick search finds their tariff page.

https://www.manxtelecom.com/personal/mobile/tariffs/pay-as-you-go/popular-call-charges

Local UK and Republic of Ireland

Calls to Cost per Minute at All Times
Isle of Man Fixed Lines and Mobiles 30p
UK, Republic of Ireland & Channel Isles Fixed Lines 30p
UK, Republic of Ireland & Channel Isles Mobiles 30p
Voicemail Message Retrieval 121 FREE
154 (Top-Up) FREE
Out of bundle on-net Mobile Internet

They also say:

Other Features

Free to receive calls whilst roaming in the UK

System

There is more than just Manx telecom -

The other network is called Sure and it operates on the IOM, Jersey and Guernsey.

eDicky

onejontwo wrote: »

That sounds ideal but does it include calls to the UK? It's not very clear on the website as it seems to be just for manx inland calls.

Apologies for the unresearched suggestion and faulty link that I posted hurriedly, having only my phone to use. I later looked up the actual costs but Dave beat me to it. The included 'free' calls/texts with a top up are only for IoM use, and it looks like quite an expensive option for UK calls. 'Out of bundle' data use is at 50p per MB, and I can find no information about any availability of bundles for calls or data.

Isn't there a UK network that gives PAYG inclusive usage in IoM?

Calling any Manxmen - how do you manage for economical mobile PAYG use?

onejontwo

Last time I went overseas (Spain and Ireland) I used the "Three" network which was a good cheap deal but sadly the Isle of man isn't in a "Three feel at home destination". Something similar would be ideal if possible. Thanks in anticipation.

Castle

I was using "Three" PAY AS YOU GO when I was on the island last year; here are the current rates:-
http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Roaming_and_international/Mobile_Roaming?content_aid=1214306358083

onejontwo

Castle wrote: »

I was using "Three" PAY AS YOU GO when I was on the island last year; here are the current rates:-
http://www.three.co.uk/Support/Roaming_and_international/Mobile_Roaming?content_aid=1214306358083

Even though the Isle of man isn't in a "feel at home" destination those rates are really good! Did you have any problems with the network? Also how does the process work as it's not in a fah destination ie. does the 4.5p per minute per call come out of your 10-20 pound top up as opposed to getting several hundred minutes as I have in the past for the 10-20 pound fee?

Castle

onejontwo wrote: »

Even though the Isle of man isn't in a "feel at home" destination those rates are really good! Did you have any problems with the network? Also how does the process work as it's not in a fah destination ie. does the 4.5p per minute per call come out of your 10-20 pound top up as opposed to getting several hundred minutes as I have in the past for the 10-20 pound fee?

The calls/texts simply came out of the top-up; I didn't use the internet as I had free Wi-Fi at the hotels. No problems with phone calls although I was staying in Douglas; might be different on other parts of the island.