Can't buy a local sim

toddcharles

My daughter is going to Egypt with her UK mobile, she can't buy a local sim what is the cheapest way to text her from the uk.

benjus

Receiving texts while abroad is free. So you will pay the same that you normally pay, and she will pay nothing to receive the text. However, if she wants to reply she will have to pay roaming rates.

By the way, why can't she get a local SIM?

Thunderbird_2

Hi

When I went to Egypt two years ago, I bought a local sim card from a newsagent. How long in she going to stay? If it is a week or so, then, it is not worth it. I stayed 10 days and used it to keep in touch with the family here and to call the tour guids and I had lots of credit when I came back, but it was definitely cheaper than my UK sim.

If she keeps her UK simcard, then it would cost her anything from 25 pence upto 60 pence to text you, but she will receive texts for free, however, if you call her, she will be charged something silly, like 80 pence/min or more for recieving your call.

I remember something to do with Vodafone. If you take a UK Vodafone sim to Egypt, you will benefit from them having a local Vodafone, I think it was something like 20% cheaper to call then others. You need to check your network provider to see which is best to connect to when in Egypt as sometimes it is cheaper to connect to certain local network than others as they might have some sort of agrement with your UK provider.

Why don't you call her on her hotels landline? Let's say, she texts you the landline number for the hotel she is staying in, and you call her when she is back to the hotel by letting you know by a missed call from her mobile or agree a certain time to call.

If she wants to call you, let her to buy a local telephone card and use the the phone box in the street, it is almost half the price per minute to call after 22:00 till early morning local time. This is a very useful tip I learnt while there.

Have a look here at Martin's article to get more details, clicky

I wish her a safe enjoyable journey, lucky her! Is she going to do the Nile cruise down south?

herecomesthesun

Hi she can get an Egyptian sim card from Vodafone or Mobinal in Egypt but her phone needs to be unblocked and she needs to ask for a tourist sim. These are cheaper to make texts an calls to whoever she wants to keep in contact with in Egypt and are handy to call the hotel if she is using their cab service.

toddcharles

She is going to Marsa Alam and the hotel is in the middle of no where and there is just no shop apart from the hotel one, I think is will be hard to get hold of her if i phone as she will never be in. she got a sim4 travel sim card that does not cost to receive text or calls, but i thought there might be a site that was cheap here in the uk that i can use to send texts through to her.

Thunderbird_2

If she has got that special sim card that let her recieve texts and calls for free, then, what is the problem?

O2 charge 10 pence/text for international numbers, if you subscribe to its international bundle for £5 one off payment