Grandmother travelling to Canada solo - best PAYG SIM card?

cretoony

Hi everyone,

I've purchased a simple dual SIM Motorola phone for my grandmother who will be visiting her sister in Canada. She's not a heavy phone user and keeps an old Nokia 3310 turned off in her glovebox but knows her way around basic tech like a tablet, so this phone will primarily be for emergencies during her trip and some WhatsApp. I'm looking for potential roaming solutions that includes a UK number with a reasonable roaming charges. Something we could just stick a fiver on here and there would be fine  when she needs it. Would be handy if she could make and receive calls to and from the UK aswell on this end before she flies so I'm not sure about those travel Sims.

One of my main concerns is avoiding potential overcharges if she accidentally leaves roaming on. I'm hoping to find a plan that minimizes the risk of unexpected costs, and ideally, I would like the ability to top it up from the UK if necessary. I'd avoid considering a local Canadian SIM as that might be stressful for her so I'm trying to find a solution needs to be straightforward and ready to use upon her arrival. Does anyone have recommendations for carriers or plans that are user-friendly and cost-effective for such light usage?Thanks in advance for your help! Long shot as I know it's quite a specific request 

flaneurs_lobster

Only because I was looking at them for another reason, an Asda PAYG sim might suit. 

PHK

Just to point out that Canada is relatively expensive mobile wise compared to the UK. 

I your situation and given the relative costs of the mobile and the flight etc. I would just pay for a package that gave calls and texts and data roaming in Canada and back to the UK with no need to worry about switching things on and off. 

How long is she going for?

400ixl

What will the sim be used for? If she knows how to use Whatsapp or other VOIP type products to call family back in the UK then is she going to need to phone UK numbers? If she may then just buying Skype credits may be a solution for that.

If it is for data in Canada and for emergency situations there, then ask her sister to get her a local PAYG sim where she won't have to worry about roaming costs.

Does the phone have a dual sim capability?

cretoony

She's going for two months and will likely only contact us over Facebook messenger/WhatsApp so not necessarily calling canada-uk but likely Canada - Canada like if she looses her sister whilst they're out and about. As I said, they're both in their 80's and Id rather not ask them to have to go buy a local SIM as it'll stress them out and theyll probably get conned into some long-term contract.  Infact, she wasn't going to take a phone atall but I kind of insisted for emergencies atleast, plus it will be nice to video call her on WiFi in evenings. 

Anyway cheers I'll check the Asda sims out cheers. Most of the UK roaming ones don't seem insanely bad, I saw Sky does a roaming passport thing that is £2 for a day of data in Canada which would be alright, she'll likely only use data/calls a couple times a week. however, looks you have to sign up for a monthly contract which isn't ideal 

gmsery

I very very rarely visit this forum, but am browsing having added to another post and saw this one.....

I do not know if this helps, but here goes....

In February I visited the US. I would not be able to use my UK phone iin the US, AFAIK, as I have now joined Id-Mobile.

On previous visits I have gone as so far to buy a phone with one month voice/text/data for under $100. Other times I find an AT&T shop and buy a sim card, swapping in my (old) phone. Not ideal.

I now have a new phone which has eSim support.

I found an online company called SimCorner. I was able to purchase an eSim for the USA (bit works in Canada and Mexico FWIW). It was a little pricey at £38 for one month unlimited voice/text and 15Gb data. Being an eSIM (needs a modern phone) it is sent electronically (while still in the UK) and it is relatively easy to install. Once I reached the US and connected to a celluar netowrk I was assigned a local US number. I had to go into settings to choose the new number for voice and data (very important to do this, otherwise the UK number is still active). The number had a Miami area code number (FWIW). I was suprised not only to get 5G almost everywhere , but in the hotel I got 5G+. 15Gb was more than enough for my stay there and was super important when using Google maps when driving.

There might be other companies who sell eSIMs, perhaps at a cheaper rate. I'll leave you to google on that! :-)