| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
sim cardCountry forums / South-East Asia Islands & Peninsula / Philippines | ||
well, this will be a bit hard as this is the first time i have traveled with a phone….will be in palawan feb/march. am wondering if i can get a sim card in puerto princess… what kind should i use and about how much do you think the cost is…i know i sound uninformed (and i am)…but when it is set up will i be able to make international calls…text etc along with local calls. will the international calls (if i can make them) cost the person i am calling…. yes, am an old landline person…thanks for ANY help | ||
I've been using this as a resource while we travel and it's proved helpful in each country we visit: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Indonesia Best of luck! ben | 1 | |
Hello, @sauna12! There are two leading network service providers – Globe and Smart. Both are good and offer special promotions for travelers. The SIM cards are cheap, ranging from ₱20 - ₱40 (but may vary depending on several factors). Normally if you buy SIM cards from the airports the network staff could already assist you setting it up. You could choose either Prepaid or Postpaid plans. Prepaid Plans: Postpaid Plans: They also offer free traveler SIM Cards: Other networks are TM (a subsidiary of Globe) and Sun Cellular which offers cheaper promos. You could check them out. The speed of connection is location dependent, so expect a weakening of signals in some areas especially in the Visayas region. As far as I know the usual cost of an international long-distance call is $0.40 per minute and local calls range from ₱6.50 per minute and above for prepaid calls. Let me know what else I could help. Cheers! | 2 | |
they haven't said anything about whether they want to use a phone for internet. SUN is the cheapest network with which to send international texts, they are 10 pesos each and sometimes they can be as low as 5 pesos each. With SMART and GLOBE, they are 15 pesos each. It doesn't cost the receiver anything when they get them. SUN have cheaper international calls too, I use a SUN SIM exclusively to text and to call overseas. | 3 | |
Philippines prepaid sim cards are quite expensive for international calls when compared to neighbouring countries. So, if you have a smartphone you should use free 'messaging' apps like WhatsApp wherever you can access wifi etc. assuming both parties are set up for it. | 4 | |
wow! thank you all…. i need to digest all this information and may have more questions | 5 | |
This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines. | 6 | |
at airports, SIM's cost 100. In normal stores they are between 30-50. And staff at 7/11s will help buyers insert SIM's into their phones if they need help that way and show them how to load up with credit and so on. if you want to set up internet data service for your phone and get on a GLOBE SUPERSURF type promo straight away, staff at the airports will come in handy there, but for a 'normal' phone service which is what it sounds like this guy wants, he might as well go to any 7/11 type convenience store. | 7 | |
Agree with the comment above! Maybe your next step would be asking someone who's in PP right now so he can give you more accurate advice upon choosing the right network in that area. Also, expect a huge volume of tourists when you reach PP that time. Do update us on your trip so we could help you. Cheers! @rohitgarg4411 I think I have already said the same, exact words. | 8 | |
yes, i probably want internet data service….i really do not know what i want…. i want to be able to contact or be able to be contacted by my kids in the states, and make guesthouse reservations possibly (tho i have always just "found" them before) it would be nice to have internet, yes….seems from what i have read Globe is mentioned often on Palawan…. | 9 | |
I don't know which is the best kind of service on Palawan, whether it's SMART or GLOBE. In other parts of the Philippines, it is difficult to choose between them. Possibly GLOBE just shade it. I have all three types of SIM card Smart, Globe and Sun so I am in quite a good position to compare them, it seems to me GLOBE might do just a tad better with connectivity, sometimes SMART seems to fall short at seafront locations where there is a sharp drop down to the shore down a mountain. A few times I've found there to be no SMART signal, but OK GLOBE. More often than the times when there has been no GLOBE, but OK SMART. what you want to do is as soon as you get to a mall, go to a decent phone shop and ask for GLOBE Pocket Wifi. THere is two kinds, a 888 peso one and a 1500 odd peso one that is supposed to be faster than the 888 peso one. However I found the cheaper one to be really rather good, good enough to watch YouTube videos more or less anywhere whenever I wanted. if you only have one device, you'll need a dual SIM phone for this as the pocket WiFi has a data-only SIM. It's for internet only. It is not for making calls and text messages as well. load for so-called unlimited service (and the pocket WiFi can operate up to 10 devices) costs 50 pesos per day, 85 pesos for 2 days, 200 for 5 days, or 1000 a month. I've never had any problems with it. Just get talking to them in any decent city phone shop about it. | 10 | |
callipo…i will have 1 devise…an older iPhone and i am not quite sure what a dual sim phone is….i am sorry, i am really clueless i thank you for all your help…it sounds like i should go to a phone shop when there and get it all sorted... i thank you for all your help | 11 | |
oops sorry - ignore what I said about a dual SIM device you don't need that for the pocket WiFi to work and you can use the phone for calls and texts as well. just bring your phone to a mall and ask them to get you started with GLOBE pocket WiFi, it's only 888 peso and the service is much better than the 'normal' GLOBE SUPERSURF service is. | 12 | |
great !! thank you | 13 | |
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