[KiwiSurfer]

Heya all,

I'm from New Zealand, and I will be going to the UK and Spain during June-July next year. My current itenary has me in Spain during 12th to 23rd July (i.e. 11 days). I'm a customer of Vodafone NZ.

I'm deaf, so I all I will use is SMS. I'll most likely not use Video Calling or GPRS as I will probally leave my 3G phone home and use my old Nokia 8210 (GSM 900/1800) phone instead. I'll most likely make a lot of international SMS -- back home, to the UK and to other kiwis roaming there.

From what I have found on this website and from Vodafone's website, I have concluded that it is, suprisely, cheaper for me to roam instead of getting a local sim card! Even worse, despite being a Vodafone NZ customer -- Vodafone Spain is the most expensive roaming partner!

Prices for SMS between Spain and NZ are as follows:-
- Telecom France/Orange (roam) - NZD $0.50
- Telefornica/Movistar (roam) - NZD $0.60
- Vodafone (roam) - NZD $1.05
- Telefornica/Movistar (local) - NZD $1.15 (EUR 0.60)
- Telecom France/Orange (local) - NZD $1.15 (EUR 0.60)
- Vodafone (local) - NZD $1.15 (EUR 0.60)

This is a bit of a suprise, as generally its cheaper to get a local sim card than it is to roam. Does anyone here know of any good deals, or should I just roam on Orange -- as that seems to be the best deal as well we being the easiest option.

Regards,
James