Travelling to UK, France and Greece (Crete) Plan options

[mrfx]

Hi,

I'm travelling to the UK, France and Greece (Crete) in May for one month and am wondering if Public has any add ons for this?  Can't see any.

If not, I'm open to suggestions on what to do please.  I used to be with Virgin and would just buy their add on, and have bought sims in other countries.

Suggestions please.

Thanks very much.

[darlicious]

@mrfx 

No problem....another thing to consider at least in the UK and depending on your next destination if it offers cheaper service is free wifi is everywhere in the cities. My last trip even though I purposely bought a dual SIM phone to use a local sim it was not needed in Dublin and London so I didn't bother getting one but I made the mistake that although it's plentiful on the continent if you don't speak, read or under stand the language beyond a few key words figuring out how to sign into free wifi or the code to enter could be exceptionally frustrating so from that experience get one at your leisure before you leave the UK or plan to get one at the train station or airport upon arrival on the continent if you dont speak the language....its $20 well spent.

My last trip to Dublin, London, Paris and Barcelona for just under a month in 2018 on Air France and KLM and AirRyan between cities, accommodation and all expenses for two was under $6000. But I made a few mistakes that had I known I could have saved a few hundred....so if you want a few do's and don't's send me a private message!

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[mrfx]

Wow, that's a very thorough response, I will check into those options, thanks so much for taking the time to help.

[mrfx]

Thanks very much, I'll check into it.

[mrfx]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into that, easier is always better, thank you.

[mrfx]

Thanks for the voip app suggestion, I had thought of that but wasn't sure which ones to use, thank you.

[mrfx]

Thank you.

[mrfx]

Thank you

[darlicious]

@mrfx

Here are your options for your pm service while you are travelling in Europe.

Spoiler

1. You can turn off autopay and allow the account to suspend at the of your current 30 day cycle but this is your least advantageous option. Pay and reactivate by day 85 or so.
2. If you have an account balance that exceeds your plan amount then you need to suspend via the lost/stolen feature in your account before midnight eastern on the evening of your renewal. Then on day 85 or so resume your service to pay and reactivate.
3. Suspending via lost/stolen before midnight eastern will keep your voicemail active allowing you retrieve voicemail and any verification sent by phone calls. However your rewards will not be applied to your account. Moderator/CSA contact after paying and reactivating is necessary to have the rewards applied manually.
4. Voicemail can be accessed by calling your pm number from a different phone by calling your phone # and pressing * once connected and entering your 4 digit voicemail pin #.
5. If you don't have an account balance or enough balance to cover your plan amount you can suspend via lost/stolen after midnight but before 2 am eastern on the day of your renewal. Once your rewards have been applied (usually by 12:15 am et) then suspend your account. Voicemail access will be lost.
6. Switching to the $15 plan with rewards helping to cover a partial or full amount of your plan allows you to call forward your pm number to your fongo number  before you leave Canada.. Now any incoming calling to your pm number will ring thru to your fongo number while on wifi or mobile data (w/a local or global sim card) You can access your fongo voicemail for all voicemail messages.

Most important mark on your calendar day 85 of your suspension and day 90. Do not forget when you must unsuspend your account via lost/stolen and/or pay and reactivate your service so you don't lose your phone number and account. Happy travels and Stay--Safe!

If your arrival country is the UK they offer some of the cheapest local sim card options averaging £10/10gb with a various amounts of minutes and texts but check the small print as they may or may not include EU roaming for free now that the UK has left the EU. So you may have to purchase a second local sim card once you hit the continent. Here is some info on UK sim cards...

https://toomanyadapters.com/buying-sim-card-united-kingdom/

You may want to private message @Luddite as he has info on getting an Orange sim card ahead of your trip sent to you here in Canada and he can answer many of your questions on that provider and if they offer the free European roaming as well.

Otherwise here is some info on sim cards in continental Europe....just choose the country you travel to after the UK but check out all of the countries you plan to visit as some offer better deals than others but all of them will include free roaming to the other 30 European member countries.

https://toomanyadapters.com/buying-local-sim-cards/

Lastly....if you will be in the UK for more than a couple of days you can bring in duty free. Imported liquor for example is often higher priced than here such as vodka, rum or even their own whiskeys(750ml starting at $32 to $45) but wine and beer can be a pretty good deal at the local Tesco (their sim cards and plans are cheap too!) Or the local corner shop and cigarettes are outrageously expensive in the UK and Ireland at around $20/pack, France $14 but Greece is cheap at less than $7. Any kind of alcohol on the continent is very cheap comparitively to here or the UK and Ireland and wine and beer are cheaper than buying bottled water in many cases. You can then purchase more duty free when exiting the UK to Europe.

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[BKNS27]

@mrfx 

Virgin Plus offers $80 Travel Pass for 100 incoming/outgoing minutes, 200 texts and 1gb for 30 days…you might consider getting a local SIM and download ViOP app via WiFi as noted by others.

[Yummy]

Only country where PM works with add-ons is USA.

For your countries either buy local SIM or get voip app to use with free WiFi.

[hTideGnow]

HI @mrfx   You can also try something like this

https://www.amazon.ca/PrePaid-destinations-including-European-countries/dp/B01FI1JW72

$36.35

Countries where you can use:
Azores,Australia,Austria,Balearic islands, Belgium,Brazil,Bulgaria,Canary Islands,Channel Islands,Chile,Colombia,Costa Rica,Croatia,Cyprus,CzechRepublic,Denmark,El Salvador,Estonia,Finland,France,French Guiana,French West Indies,Germany,Gibraltar,Greece,Guadeloupe,Guatemala,Guernsey,Hungary,Hong Kong,Iceland,Indonesia,Isle of Man,Israel,Italy,Jersey,Latvia,Liechtenstein,Lithuania,Luxembourg,Macau,Madeira,Malta,Martinique,Netherlands,New Zealand,Nicaragua,Norway,Panama,Peru,Poland,Portugal,Puerto Rico,Republic of Ireland,Reunion,Romania,Saint Barthelemy,Saint Martin,SanMarino,Singapore,Slovakia,Slovenia,Spain,Sri Lanka,Sweden,Switzerland,Uruguay,USA,US Virgin Islands,Vatican City,Vietnam, UK

[whyveeare]

@mrfx 

Depending if your phone has eSIM capability or not, I would recommend Airalo

https://www.airalo.com/europe-esim

I have used them in the past and it works great.  They have 30 day packages for 3/5/10GB for 13/20/37USD respectively.  Good all over Europe.  You don't get a local number, just data.  But who makes calls nowadays?  Everything is data (Skype, Whatsapp, Textnow, Fongo, etc.)

It's more expensive than getting a local SIM, but then you save the hassle of having to get a local SIM in 3 different countries, especially if you are only there for 30 days.

Something to consider.

[hTideGnow · Accepted solution]

HI @mrfx   

NO, PM does not have roaming other than in USA.   PM is tier 3 provider while Virgin is Tier 2.  Tier 2 providers have more roaming choices

I believe your best option is to get local SIM.  They give you more data at better price (compare with roaming with any provider).  I used "Three" network before.  They have data sim that works in multiple countries in Europe.  In fact, you can either buy it ahead in Canada so you can use it when you arrive

and get a VoIP app, TextNow or Fongo.  You get a Canadian number and you can call your friends an receive phone calls on the app for free

[computergeek541]

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@mrfx wrote:

Hi,

I'm travelling to the UK, France and Greece (Crete) in May for one month and am wondering if Public has any add ons for this?  Can't see any.

If not, I'm open to suggestions on what to do please.  I used to be with Virgin and would just buy their add on, and have bought sims in other countries.

Suggestions please.

Thanks very much.

---

Sorry, but Public Mobile does not offer service outside of Canada and the U.S., service in the U.S. requring a roaming add-on (for most plans). You'll need to consider getting a SIM card from a carrier in the region that you're travelling n.