Travelling to Middle East

[marilores]

I will be travelling to Middle East then to Europe.I will be needing a cellphone to call in the area locally and some to Canada/US and Southeast Asia. Does anybody know the best way for this to happen ? I appreciate any help, I haven't done this before.

[marilores]

Its my wish to travel to Middle East on my own time,no restrictions, hence I need a good cellphone coverage,cheaper but reliable. I'll lte you know guys which is the best solutions

[darlicious]

@mariloresWow....how exciting and brave to be traveling solo. Hostelling can be a great way to be around like minded people and perhaps meet short term or longer term travel partners.

[marilores]

Travelling alone,trying to find a travelling companion 

[darlicious]

@mariloresIf you are travelling in a group nother option is renting a WiFi cube especially if having a dedicated internet connection is desired. Expensive for one but up to 5 people can share it and it eliminates the need for changing SIM cards. Google WiFi cube.com for more info.

[marilores]

I looked it up and Gigsky is expensive, I think Surfoam can do all those messaging and receiving SMS,plus a +70xxxxxx number

[marilores]

Surfoam work like skype, use  messenger, not a typical voice call. but it is ideal for global  tracel and cheap too. Maybe I'll order for my tablet

[darlicious]

@marilores  Not a lot of oil there so I imagine there's not a lot of government freebies. You may want to watch the Egypt episode of Anthony Bourdain's (RIP) No Reservations for some great foodie tips.

[marilores]

Thanks, prepaid sim card will be cheaper option.

[darlicious]

@marilores  Assuming that's me.....youre welcome. Enjoy your travels. I've been to europe a few times but never the middle East. Very exciting.

[marilores]

Too bad, not going to Dubai, but I'll be in Egypt, any free stuff there ?

[marilores]

wow, this link you sent is a wealth of information not just cellphones but covers tours etc. Thank you very much.I may have to do some changes to my travel plans    Folks this link includes worldwide travel info I may have some questions though but Customer Service info is also available.

[gblackma]

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@darlicious wrote:

@gblackma  Public mobile only has roaming add ons for the US. Pm SIM cards will not work anywhere else. The 400min international add on is for calling from Canada only.

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Thanks.  Didn't know that.

[Staliger · Accepted solution]

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@marilores wrote:

I will be travelling to Middle East then to Europe.I will be needing a cellphone to call in the area locally and some to Canada/US and Southeast Asia. Does anybody know the best way for this to happen ? I appreciate any help, I haven't done this before.

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Better have a local or roaming sim for that. PM works only in Canada/US. Also, take advantage of internet apps like What's App, Wechat, Telegram, and etc.

[sweden06]

Either obtain a local sim card or use a raoming sim card. 

I travel extensively and usually use either Surfraom (https://surfroam.com/) or MTX Connect (https://www.mtxc.eu/en/). Both have very competitive rates and offer an esim as well.

[Triguy]

You could purchase a local sim or Gigsky.  If you have access to wifi then you could use apps like WhatsApp, Skype, Fongo,  Textnow.

[darlicious]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://toomanyadapters.com/buying-local-sim-ca...

   @marilores  A little more info...

The Orange Prepaid SIM is one of the best roaming SIMs for Europe as the plan allows you to use your minutes allowance to call anywhere worldwide. It comes with 2 hours and 1000 texts that can be used to call any number as well as 20GB of data that works across the UK and many European countries.Mar 8, 2019

And a link to middle east SIM cards and plans is above...lol...working on my copy and paste skills.

[darlicious]

@gblackma  Public mobile only has roaming add ons for the US. Pm SIM cards will not work anywhere else. The 400min international add on is for calling from Canada only.

[darlicious]

@marilores  Ideally you purchase a dual sim phone will make things much easier. Depending where you travel will depend what kind of SIM card. Peruse amazon.ca for the different cards. Also try travel daves blog for lots of travel sim card info. If your entry to europe is the UK they have the cheapest deals to buy once there...for all of Europe. All euro countries are not "roaming" it's treated like across Canada as one "country". And I found the following info for the middle east:

Dubai: Tourists in Dubai can enjoy a free Sim card, complete with complimentary talk time and data, on their arrival at the airport, officials said on Sunday. Tourists above 18 years can get the free du Sim card, thanks to a new initiative by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai.Jun 16, 2019

[gblackma]

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@marilores wrote:

I will be travelling to Middle East then to Europe.I will be needing a cellphone to call in the area locally and some to Canada/US and Southeast Asia. Does anybody know the best way for this to happen ? I appreciate any help, I haven't done this before.

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Congratulations on your trip.  If you are visiting family you could ask them to obtain a prepaid local Sim card and minutes. And just swop yours when you arrive for local calls.  For the international calls just purchase a 400 international minute add on for $15 ( You can also go this route alone by purchasing more than onw of these). They don't seem to expire.