Travelling around France with a smart phone.

[tonytype25]

What's the cheapest and best way to get pay as You go credit/apps etc to use while travelling around
France this summer with a smartphone without being screwed for roaming charges by my home network?

[oorwullie]

buy a french sim card.

or try taking a holiday and switch the phone off, that really is the very cheapest solution.

[Titus A Duxass]

Have a look at Lebara sim cards.

[tonytype25]

Thanks for the replies.I like the one about leaving the phone switched off/ at home.How did the human race survive before mobile phones were invented?

[Bowton Lad]

Take a look at http://www.lefrenchmobile.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AdrianC]

PAYG mobiles in France are _hideously_ expensive. It would have been cheaper for me to use my UK Voda PAYG roaming than to buy the SFR PAYG SIM... But don't even _ask_ about the costs of roaming data! <wince>

Most larger campsites have wireless, but rarely cheap.

[ghost123uk]

A tale =

I am with Vodafone. I arrived in France and my HTC / Vodafone announced the fact and gave me a breakdown of the rates = pretty reasonable actually. Then I found that many places have a free WiFi service provided by Vodafone France called "SFC". I clicked on "connect" (to the SFC unsecured WiFi network) it connected fine. Then I tried to get to my Yahoo email (via a "bookmark" I have set). A page from "SFC" came up asking for a user name and password. I entered my Vodafone ones = no go I then clicked on "register" (by the way, this was all in French and my French is pretty basic) and I filled in 2 pages of the usual info (took ages) then clicked "soumettre" (submit). I then expected to get a text or email confirmation, but nothing. I tried entering the credentials I had submitted but nothing.

I then decided to forget the "SFC" network and went back to the mobile phone network. However, now everytime I tried to get anywhere on the net this "SFC" login page appeared I could not get passed it At this point I was getting very annoyed with all this gave up and turned the phone off for the rest of the 2 weeks

Then, at a filling station near the home bound ferry port my Debit card was not accepted by the non manned automated fuel pump I knew I had lots of ££s in the account so I was worried that I had been scammed by a cafe or summat. I could not get to my RBS account to check because of this "SFC" issue. (I used my CC to get some fuel). We got to the ferry port, worried to hell. I tried to get to my bank page on the net again. I cleared all "cookies" and other internet related files but no change. Another youngish trendy Android expert type of guy in the lounge also tried for ages to clear this "SFC" page from my phone = no go. This "SFC" page was like a virus, stuck there (it is NOT a virus). I was literally about to hurl my phone at the wall when Gill snatched it from my hand (it is £400 worth of HTC = CRAP !!) Then Gill reminded me that my RBS has a direct branch phone number (you cannot use call centre phone numbers whilst in France so if you are with most banks, you cannot phone them from abroad ) I phoned them = all was ok with the account [phew]

When I got back to the UK my phone went back to normal

Our trip to France was not good on about 40 counts, the above issues with fuel pumps and phones were just 2 of them.

I am sure (and hope) you fair better

[AdrianC]

Then, at a filling station near the home bound ferry port my Debit card was not accepted by the non manned automated fuel pump

Yeh, they always used to dislike non-French cards... Before now, we've had to hang around waiting for another punter to turn up, so we can give them cash and they can use their card... But I think they're a bit better behaved now - certainly, we've not had a problem over the last few years.

[ghost123uk]

Then, at a filling station near the home bound ferry port my Debit card was not accepted by the non manned automated fuel pump

Yeh, they always used to dislike non-French cards... Before now, we've had to hang around waiting for another punter to turn up, so we can give them cash and they can use their card... But I think they're a bit better behaved now - certainly, we've not had a problem over the last few years.

The card (RBS) had worked fine at numerous other filling stations. It was just this last one on the way home. We were stressed anyway (holiday had been not as expected) and just wanted to get home asap, plus I was VERY low on fuel. Murphey's law and all that

Actually the port we went to had closed early (not re-opened after the strike) and so we had to drive another 120 miles to Cairn to get a ferry home. Then they charged as aprox double the cost of the ferry to get to France from the same terminals

[oorwullie]

Then, at a filling station near the home bound ferry port my Debit card was not accepted by the non manned automated fuel pump

Yeh, they always used to dislike non-French cards... Before now, we've had to hang around waiting for another punter to turn up, so we can give them cash and they can use their card... But I think they're a bit better behaved now - certainly, we've not had a problem over the last few years.

swiss ones work fine.

[Bowton Lad]

Then, at a filling station near the home bound ferry port my Debit card was not accepted by the non manned automated fuel pump

Yeh, they always used to dislike non-French cards... Before now, we've had to hang around waiting for another punter to turn up, so we can give them cash and they can use their card... But I think they're a bit better behaved now - certainly, we've not had a problem over the last few years.

The reason French fuel pumps wouldn't accept UK credit/debit cards in years gone by is well known. France introduced chip & pin cards in 1992 but the UK didn't even trial them until 2003. Chip & pin cards were gradually introduced in the UK from 2004 enabling us to use our cards in French fuel pumps for the first time.

[Brendon]

I found when refuelling in France use the Carrefour supermarkets for fuel they seem to accept English cards even the 24 hour unmanned ones. I did however find that the super plus fuel is better than the regular as when using regular my van started miss firing. As for mobile phones only use it sparingly and turn off data roaming to stop unwanted charges. It's nice not to hear it ring and you'll forget you have one after 2weeks.

[ghost123uk]

As for mobile phones... It's nice not to hear it ring and you'll forget you have one after 2weeks.

Hear bliddy hear

And that's from a techno nerd