Before our departure, we purchased an 8 GB SIM card for Europe for $35 from Amazon. It's valid for 2 weeks from the time you insert the card in your phone. 8 GB of data is a lot for two weeks. We put it in Nick's phone, and used it mostly for navigation when out about. He would turn on his hot spot for me to tether when needed. It worked out well.
For a permanent solution, we went to a Free mobile boutique at Bordeaux city centre. They're one of the big mobile companies in France. Orange is another one. After talking to one of the sales people, we were led to this machine. Pretty cool, eh?!
We got a plan with unlimited talk and text and 110GB data for a grand total of 15 Euro per month. That's equivalent to $22!!! The entire process of getting a new SIM and a new plan only took 10 mins. Why do Canadians pay 3x or even 4x a month on cellphone plans?
Now, we have a French number, and the coverage is all over Europe. The plan is valid for one year, but we can cancel anytime. Just call the number provided in the contract.
I did read somewhere on FB that Free's coverage can be a bit spotty in certain areas, but we don't live in remote villages so it shouldn't be a problem for us. I've had this SIM for about 2 weeks now, and haven't had any issues at all.
After Evania and Noah's unplanned adventure, we decided that it was important for Evania to have a SIM so she could call us in case of an emergency. We went to the same boutique, and got a plan without data but with unlimited text and 2 hr talk time for 2 Euro ($3) a month. 😆 I'm now wondering how French telecom companies make money at all.
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