Think I have it figured out for Italy/France/UK trip

[tmb]

I've done a lot of reading and think I've got it figured out, but wanted to double-check.

Next month we're spending time first in Rome, followed by France and a day or two in London. When I'm at home I can't live without my Google maps - let alone on vacation... Not only do we have a bunch of things pinned on our map but it's great to be able to "get lost" and then check the GPS on the map and be found again.

It seems like Wind has the better data plans, and it seems like I'd want the Wind9 (Super Senza Scatto if they don't have it) along with the Mega No Limit data plan.

Instead of having to get another sim in France, it seems like I can roam on Wind there and in the UK as well.

For data roaming I'd want the Roaming No Limit as I then pay the usual Italian data rates.

For voice is Easy Roaming only for calling numbers in Italy? If that's the case then it looks like calls in any EU country to any EU country are just 51c without any sort of option.

Finally, since the Call Your Country option is free for the first 6 months it sounds like a good deal for calling Australia and USA.

Do I have them activate all these plans when I buy the sim as well?

If so then I tell the shop I'd like a Wind9 sim (Super Senza Scatto if they don't have any Wind9 sims) activated with:
Mega No Limit (20€/month)
Roaming No Limit (3€/month)
Call Your Country (free for 6 months)

Since the sim is 10€ (with 5€ credit) if I pay 40€ I should end up with 40-20-3-5= 12€ of credit and a huge data allowance, right?

Thanks for helping me - hope this topic becomes helpful for someone else as well!

[tmb]

Was hoping someone could help me with this and answer the few questions I had and let me know if I'm on the right track. Effendi, perhaps? Thanks!

[petkow]

I only have one small comment to make which is with regard to Wind's 'Easy roaming' add-on. The 5 Euros that you will need to spend on this will be completely wasted for the Euro destinations that you are going to (UK and France) as voice rates within the EU are now capped to a sensible level as it is.

[tmb]

Yes that's what I thought - Easy Roaming just gets cheaper calls to Italy from outside of Italy but I shouldn't really need that.

Roaming No Limit is the important one for the data!

Does everything I said make sense and sound correct?

Cheers.

[Motel75]

Sounds like a good plan. I'd get a UK SIM too, if it were any longer than a day or two, but I think you're fine if you're really not there for long.

[tmb]

Originally Posted by Motel75

Sounds like a good plan. I'd get a UK SIM too, if it were any longer than a day or two, but I think you're fine if you're really not there for long.

Just wondering why you're suggesting that? Can't I use the Wind sim in the UK with the included data for no fee (after the 3€ for Roaming No Limit) and 51c/min for voice calls? We're planning on being in the UK for 4 days now - what does that change? Seems like it would be easier to use that one sim for the whole 12 day trip as opposed to getting multiple sims.

Thanks for your response though - tell me if I'm missing something!

[Bossman]

May be because UK sims a very cheap, and in most cases can be had for free. On most of them you can call the USA for about 5p - 7p/min.

Originally Posted by tmb

Just wondering why you're suggesting that? Can't I use the Wind sim in the UK with the included data for no fee (after the 3€ for Roaming No Limit) and 51c/min for voice calls? We're planning on being in the UK for 4 days now - what does that change? Seems like it would be easier to use that one sim for the whole 12 day trip as opposed to getting multiple sims.

Thanks for your response though - tell me if I'm missing something!

[tmb]

Originally Posted by Bossman

May be because UK sims a very cheap, and in most cases can be had for free. On most of them you can call the USA for about 5p - 7p/min.

I'm going to be using more data than voice and it seems like the Wind data is way cheaper both in Italy and outside, at least compared to the UK providers - or am I missing something?

Otherwise I'd consider getting a UK sim to use elsewhere as opposed to the Wind one.

I think that 40€ should get me pretty far as I'm not planning to talk that much.

[Motel75]

Originally Posted by Bossman

May be because UK sims a very cheap, and in most cases can be had for free. On most of them you can call the USA for about 5p - 7p/min.

That's exactly what I meant. If you want to call the USA, it will cost quite a bit on your Italian SIM (the 51 cents only applies to the EU), and adding 5 GBP to the free UK SIM would be a much better way of calling home. Another reason, probably unimportant in your case, is if you need to give anyone a local number. OTOH, while data is generally pretty cheap in the UK, if you've already paid for a bunch of it in Italy, you might as well use it.

One more thing, if you're planning on coming back at some point, you might want to look at some of the other threads here about the best way to keep the SIM active (ie, in Italy, buy several small top-up codes before you go and apply them once a year; in the UK, send an SMS to someone every six months).

[tmb]

Is it correct that for data it would cost more to get a UK sim and use it in Italy/France as well, compared to getting only a Italian sim and using it in France/UK?

I looked at the sites for the UK carriers and i didn't see a big data bundle package with inexpensive EU roaming from a UK provider similar to the one from Wind. Or did I miss it?

Thanks to all for the responses so far



EDIT: Looked at UK carriers sites