roadweary

I'll be doing a week long supported bike tour in France next month. I plan to buy a Sim card so I can use my phone as a GPS and to log rides--probably Cyclemeter or Strava. Do you know if 30 to 40 mile rides use much data?

Aubergine 

jefnvk

The app itself does not use data while running, unless it needs to download maps. You should be able to download and save those those ahead of time, while on wifi or at home.

The actual uploading of the Strava ride data shouldn't be more than a MB or two, certainly less than uploading a single picture.

gauvins

1. GPS doesn't require phone connectivity.
2. I travel frequently to France. You may want to make sure that you can easily purchase a French SIM. I have one, but had to provide a French address and proof of a French bank account. Not sure it this is still required, but if connectivity is essential for you, take the time to make sure you'll be able to get what you want. Much easier to purchase a roaming SIM.

[EDIT]

Things have changed. Yesterday I've purchased a new Orange (French operator) SIM. Only had to show my passport.

Best deal is probably their Holiday pass. Unlimited calls + 5G of data valid for 2 weeks. Recharges are said to be available at "tabac" (small convenience stores where people buy cigarettes, lottery tickets and ... phone recharges.)

European roaming regulations mean that these passes are valid across the European Union.

[Edit 2]

Wanted to add that "apparently" Orange's Holiday is now priced at 40 euros for 2 weeks including 10G of data.

I am also, as usual..., unable to top up online. Always ends on error.

Doug64

You might contact your current provider, and see what type of plan they have for international travel. My provider offers international service at a reasonable cost.

pjsingh

I was in France last year. A friend bought a SIM card from Orange, only requirements where a passport and money.
As others have said you don't need data for your GPS to work.
Download all of France before you leave home and you should be good.

Tourist in MSN

In my phone or tablet I have Maps.me app (Androud version).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...s.pro&hl=en_US

I always download the maps on wifi of where I am going before I leave home, no data plan needed. That app now also have bicycle routing, but the few times I tried it it gave me a rather odd routing so I would not recommend their routing.

I can't advise on creating a track on your phone, I use a conventional GPS for that sort of thing. But I like to have a bigger map on my phone or tablet for planning purposes on the larger screen. That is why I use Maps.me.

JohnJ80

You an also turn your cell phone into a hotspot and use that for the data connection to and from your bike computer.

As far as plans go, here in the US AT&T offers a $10 roaming per day plan to pretty much every country on the planet. The $10 per day gets you your normal plan in the foreign country. So, I have an unlimited data plan and that means I have unlimited data in the country. We used it in Iceland last year, the British Virgin Islands just a few weeks ago and we'll use it in Norway this summer.

J.

axolotl

I got a Lycamobile SIM card for my Android phone last year in France. It was extremely tedious to set up the account online, and the waiting time on their helpline was exceedingly long. I think I had to give it a French address and my passport number (I used a friend's address). I was not asked for a French bank account number. My French is fluent, but a French friend couldn't make any more sense of their webpage for setting up my account than I could. I eventually got it working, but I wouldn't use Lycamobile again. The data amount was insufficient, IMO, on those rare occasions I needed it. I tried to get an SFR SIM card first, but the prepaid "Welcome" plans they claim to have on their website were not available in their stores. They hadn't even heard of them. The friends I was biking with have their account in the US with T-mobile which I believe gave them free data, and calls at 20 cents/minute. I made calls with Skype on wifi, which we had every night, or WhatsApp for reaching friends. I downloaded maps.me mapping info for France before I left home, and it was useful for navigational purposes. I used the outstanding IGN & Michelin paper maps for route planning, however, and my friends were extremely happy with my routes.

gauvins

If money is no object, a roaming package from your domestic operator is by far the easiest. Second best is a probably a global roaming card. Mailed to your house prior to departure, a France plan is something like $30/G, valid for 2 weeks. You're connected on the tarmac.

Something similar happened to me, with Orange. In my experience, purchasing a local SIM is worth it for longer stays (say, more than a month). But maybe things have changed for the best. For now, I travel with a French SIM that I refill iff I spend more than 2 weeks in France. I use a global roaming card for my short trips so I can avoid bureaucratic nightmares (such as topping my account with my credit card, which never works).

djb

Thanks Axo for this, we will be in France and a bit of Switzerland this summer, and would like to look into the sim card option. I will ask my French friends to look into prices and options and will post details if I get some reliable answers, but hearing of how the Lycamobile experience was not good even with speaking French is something I will remember and avoid.

jefnvk

Hmm, is it that much more difficult to get a SIM in France than elsewhere? In Iceland, UK, and Czech it was as easy as popping into a convenience store and buying one off the shelf, Spain they had a kiosk set up right at the airport selling them.

I'd like to know for this summer as well.

axolotl

It's easy to buy a SIM card in France, but getting it working can be a different matter. Also, the SFR "Welcome Carte" visitor's SIM package which their website said needed to be purchased in one of their stores, somehow didn't exist in their stores. I tried at least 3 of their stores.

4 years ago, I purchased a package from a different provider, Lebara. A friend & I had independently researched plans before our respective trips and came to the conclusion that Lebara had the best deal at the time. I went to a bunch of shops in Paris before finding a guy in one shop who knew the package I was looking for and had it available. He set me up in 3 minutes. At that time, I don't think I had to give him much personal info at all. At my American friend's request, I bought a 2nd Lebara SIM card for him (he was going to leave for France after I returned home). We both had Android phones, but he could never get his package to work, and I had given him the address of the shop when the guy quickly set me up. Probably a different guy was there when he went there. We both found that Lebara's customer service (which was NOT free) was atrocious. Anyway, he ultimately ended up going with a more expensive package from SFR, and used his phone sparingly. That was 4 years ago and things change rapidly in the cell phone world.

jefnvk

Ok, good to know! I had the same issue in Iceland, finally figured that my phone turned data off by default for new SIM cards

I generally just stick with whomever the biggest company is, so if I have issues I can pop into a store. The price isn't generally that different, and I'm still way ahead of $10 a day roaming fees from American carriers.

fantom1 

Huh, good to know. Like Jefnvk, Spain was super easy. Maybe stick with the big guys like Orange, Vodafone, etc.?

JohnJ80

Tandem Tom

We will be starting in the uk and riding across fraFra, Germany and Denmark. I have been asking and the suggestion is EE or giffgaff. Both have been highly recommended by folks on the Cycle Uk forum.

autonomy

Ugh, try buying, registering, and then refilling a SIM in Germany! Bought 2 with the help of German-speaking friends - one worked but quickly drained all the money; thankfully they were able to figure out how to refill it. Second one was never registered properly, driving back to the store would have eaten too much time (rural Germany). By the time I figured out how to try and register it online we were in Spain and guess what - the registration site won't let you do it from another country. Sent an email to tech support who responded after 3 days saying yeah, go see your dealer.

Last time I tried to get a SIM in France it was from La Poste (a mistake). The initial registration SMS never came and then trying to call the hotline didn't get me anywhere - the automated system was in French only. Another 10 euro wasted.
Next time I'll get one of those prepaid global hotspots, will probably cost as much money and less headaches.

Fritzov

https://beta.telia.no/dekning?utm_ex...Kwmav9cQ7pZQ.1

raria

$10 to buy SIM card and $19 per month gets your 100GB (that's right GB), unlimited calls/MSM in france, free calls to USA/Australia land lines.

Available from online vending machines everywhere see their online vending machine site.

axolotl

It would have been helpful if you had provided a precise link. I found the following page (in French only): https://mobile.free.fr/subscribea/index.php

If this is what you were referring to, I don't think the average non-European can get this deal. I selected an offer and typed in some information to see what it requires. I believe you have to have a credit card issued by a bank in one of 13 EU countries in western Europe, as well as an address in France. And if you meet those requirements, your credit card will be automatically charged each month.

JohnJ80

travelinhobo

You should be more worried that you're wasting your money on an organized tour!

Fritzov

It's just the coverage for one operator Telia, i'm pretty sure it's close to as accurate it get's.