Daughter going to Australia - Help!

ANGELB

No1 daughter is going to Australia for 3 months. That's bad enough but she said she isn't taking her mobile phone as it would be too expensive. Apparently her friend (who is already there) racked up a £500 bill. What is the best kind of phone she could get whilst out there to make calls/text home and us to her? Thanks

pavlovs_dog

a prepaid phone card might be an idea (but then you couldnt call her if she didnt have a fixed number), or possibly buy a cheap PAYG mobile out there. it will probably be much cheaper for her to find internet cafes and send you regular emails.

welcome to the forums :wave:

curlylou_2

hello there, i went to australia in 2006, and my sister is over there just now, and i would recommend doing what i did. Basically taking the handset i already had at home (making sure it is unlocked before you go) then when you get over you can get pay as you go sim cards as cheap as chips!! I think mines was AU$10 and it was vodafone red the mobile company, then for AU$29 top up you get a certain amount of minutes and texts. from what i can remember, it was a very generous amount. (ill have a look on the website and see what it is) plus, they dont charge you extra for texting home, as in the uk. Hope this helps you xxx

Mikeyorks

Internet cafe or friend with PC ... and send you Emails / pics that way. Better still if she can access a PC with phone attached (VOIP) .... as calls should be free (mine are - in the other direction).

curlylou_2

ok, just had a quick look on the website. and you can top up a pre paid amount, and it is called a cap. for AU$29 you get


Pay just $29 and get $130 of standard calls and TXT, PXT™, Voicemail and more, so you'll always know what you're spending. There's so much included, see the table below for details.

SpendCreditCall RateConnect FeeTXTExtras$29$13039c/30sec29c25c

So basically for AU$29 you get $130 of credit. you can find out more on www.vodafone.com.au
Also, if she is not sticking to just travel around australia, then she might be worthwhile getting a global sim card which works all around the world

slv

Dear AngelB,

I'm Australian and I think the best thing to do is to take her UK mobile with her and buy a simcard pack when she gets there, you can probably get them from any mobile shop, but I got mine from Vodafone - it was $30 (about £14) a few years ago, so probably around $40 now. Before she goes though make sure she arranges with her operator here to 'unlock' her phone, so she can then put any sim card in it. She buys the Australian sim puts it in and there you go. The text messages won't be dirt cheap but much cheaper than using a UK phone and much cheaper than buying a new phone out there.

If she wants to make calls to cheap landline phones then she can get a pre-paid voucher at any newsagent that will give really cheap rates to the UK.

Hope this helps! :money:

curlylou_2

Pretty much exactly what i just said then...
it still is $29, it says so on the vodaphone website

custardy

as said i wouldnt worry
he will have a great time
when i went i used to upload photos to a photobucket account for everyone to see andi emailed loads of peeps

this was before facebook so i suggest you register on facebook and she can upload pictures and you can message each other on facebook easily
coupled with the above phone solutions.

its a great place so dont worry,she will have a great time and soon be hoe