Traveling to France

[macher]

Hi we are traveling to France in August for 3 weeks with 3 unlocked iPhone 6's and 1 unlocked Samsung S5.

Which is the best carrier to use for 3 weeks in France? Would need to call back to US not often but would need possibly unlimited texting and unlimited data packages. I'm assuming we can use Google Hangouts for text.

 

[rican]

I would say Orange or Sfr. Depends on what part of France you're in.

 

[macher]

I would say Orange or Sfr. Depends on what part of France you're in.

Marseille

 

[determined09]

What about while in Paris ?

 

[Paco II]

Orange has some decent 'roamer' plans with good rates to call the U.S.

 

[determined09]

Orange has some decent 'roamer' plans with good rates to call the U.S.

Thanks. I may go in sept or oct.

 

[iOSUser7]

Best carrier in France is definetely Orange but it's also the most expansive one.

 

[soniasim]

I had asked the same thing last year and a friend of mine eho lives there, suggested Bouygues Telecom. It was by far the cheapest one and to the places we've been (Normandy and Paris) the signal was great! If money is no issue though, Orange is the most popular carrier...

 

[macher]

I had asked the same thing last year and a friend of mine eho lives there, suggested Bouygues Telecom. It was by far the cheapest one and to the places we've been (Normandy and Paris) the signal was great! If money is no issue though, Orange is the most popular carrier...

Yea I hear France's cellular network puts USA cellular network to shame. I also hear that Europe's cellular networks are very solid in general compared to USA.

 

[Paco II]

One thing I do want to share from my experience in Paris this past April: I used both a Lebara and Orange prepaid SIM. Prepaid sims only get 3G, none offer 4G. Lebara was the better deal, but the 3G data speed with the Orange SIM was significantly faster than Lebara's.

 

[jetlife2]

If you are going to be mostly together with your 4 devices on your trip, you could save a lot by buying one sim and one plan, then using it with a MiFi or similar hotspot, or using one of your existing devices as a hotspot. So all your cell traffic goes through one sim and all your devices use wifi from the hotspot. This can work very well for a group if you are going to be together most of the time. Make sure the plan permits tethering. If you have to all have separate connectivity all the time then you will need a sim plus plan each. Also free wifi is very common so your need for an actual cell connection may be relatively low, unless of course you are in out of the way places. Have a great trip.

 

[joneill55]

Best carrier in France is definetely Orange but it's also the most expansive one.

Careful ordering your Uber.....those French cabbies can be real nasty!

 

[ikl]

If you are going to be mostly together with your 4 devices on your trip, you could save a lot by buying one sim and one plan, then using it with a MiFi or similar hotspot, or using one of your existing devices as a hotspot. So all your cell traffic goes through one sim and all your devices use wifi from the hotspot. This can work very well for a group if you are going to be together most of the time. Make sure the plan permits tethering. If you have to all have separate connectivity all the time then you will need a sim plus plan each. Also free wifi is very common so your need for an actual cell connection may be relatively low, unless of course you are in out of the way places. Have a great trip.

I would also warmly recommend the use of a mifi for all travelers. Switching sim's to the phone every time traveling to a new place is not very convenient. A mifi with a local prepaid data sim is very good solution, if you have iPad/Laptop in addition to the iPhone, because you can get all your devices online.

 

[Paco II]

Really depends on the needs of the traveler. Data is important, but I find having a local number and being able to easily make local calls also incredibly useful.

I would also warmly recommend the use of a mifi for all travelers. Switching sim's to the phone every time traveling to a new place is not very convenient. A mifi with a local prepaid data sim is very good solution, if you have iPad/Laptop in addition to the iPhone, because you can get all your devices online.