French Sim Cards for Le Puy Route

[Solar Paul]

Hi, we are planning our first Camino, from Le Puy to SJPP. Can't see any discussion on the best French SIM cards since mid 2011. We would appreciate any thoughts on what is the best way to go at present. We have an unlocked smartphone and are most interested in good network coverage for local calls (to book ahead) and data bundles for use when Wifi not available. We expect to be on the road for around 6 weeks from mid September.

 

[jmcorrigan]

Hi Solar Paul,
I live in France and have an unlicked iPhone that I originally bought in the States. Most of the big carriers here offer 20 € monthly subscriptions without a contract. The SIM card is a couple of euros in addition, as a one time charge. I have used Free and now SFR. I hated Free because the

 

[jmcorrigan]

Sorry, hit the send button by accident. Free's coverage was horrible. Especially in the countryside. SFR I find much better. For my 20 euros, I get unlimited free international calling, unlimited calls in France, unlimited messaging, 3Gb data per month, and personal hotspot ability so my laptop can use the data connection via Wifi.

Check out the carriers websites for their coverage maps.

Buen Camino

 

[newfydog]

jm----

Does the mobile hotspot function on the iphone work with those sim cards?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I had excellent voice and data coverage from Orange. The AT&T iPhone will use any available mobile signal by getting international coverage for about $30 per month. For the other carriers, you will need another SIM because Verizon and Sprint are not GSM. The iPhone 4gs and 5 will take the required SIM. Service is about 20E for two weeks.

 

[newfydog]

. For the other carriers, you will need another SIM because Verizon and Sprint are not GSM. .

Depends on the phone. The International plan with Verizon worked fine in France with our iphone 5 and Samsumg S3. For some reason, I have to turn the iPhone on and off when I move a long way for it to find a 3g signal. For a short trip, I find it is nice to have it working right away and not have to go to a phone store, which can take forever. 100 mb of data is $25, so it is better for email and trip advisor than streaming movies. We find so much wifi these days that we never needed more.

 

[jmcorrigan]

@newfydog, yes the hotspot function on the iPhone works with the French SIM cards, and I find it to be very handy.

BTW, my phone is a Verizon 4S, and they will unlock the phone for you so that you can use a foreign (i.e. not AT&T) gsm SIM card in it. You can do a google search for the number to call.

 

[newfydog]

Thanks jm....and thanks for not pointing out that you said that that in your first post, and I was too stupid to read the entire thing!

The mobile hotspot is handy for us because with one card in a phone you can get other phones or tablets online. Some carriers seem to block the use.

 

[Paul D.]

Hi there,

I use lefrenchmobile when I travel to France / Italy / Spain. They have cheap calling rates and data bundles in Europe. For the network it's orange and it works good (I often use it in the alps whether I'm in France or Italy and no problem).
Enjoy your trip!

 

[Solar Paul]

Thanks everyone. We checked out the French SIM cards but they are more expensive for foreign tourists than they are for French locals. We ended up going with Paul D's recommendation - lefrenchmobile. It was the best deal we could find
Cheers

 

[Desota]

So where is a good place to shop for these SIM cards? I'm flying into Paris but would rather not have to negotiate that city in search of phone accessories.
What about Lyon or Le Puy? Does anyone have first hand experience buying SIMs for Orange or SFR or ??
Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

What about Lyon or Le Puy? Does anyone have first hand experience buying SIMs for Orange or SFR or ??

I have purchased Orange SIM cards both places. Watch out for Saturday afternoon and Sunday store closings.

 

[TMcA]

There is an Orange store in the shopping center right next to the Lyon Part-Dieu train station. If you travel via Lyon from Paris and have an hour plus layover, they can help you. Here's a link with address.

http://www.123horaire.com/p/boutique-orange-lyon-03,101949

Here's a link to the store in Le Puy.

http://www.les-horaires.fr/43000/Le...uy-Saint-Gilles-5-RUE-SAINT-GILLES,19412.html

We did not have our phone unlocked by our U.S. carrier before arriving at the Lyon store and as a result the Orange Sim card wouldn't work.

 

[Solar Paul]

So where is a good place to shop for these SIM cards? I'm flying into Paris but would rather not have to negotiate that city in search of phone accessories.
What about Lyon or Le Puy? Does anyone have first hand experience buying SIMs for Orange or SFR or ??
Thanks!

Hi Desota
We ordered our SIM card from Lefrenchmobile online and had it delivered to our hotel. It was there ready and waiting when we arrived in Paris. It worked a treat and we had coverage all the way from Le Puy to SJPDP. We could top it up with a voucher from just about any newsagent/cafe etc. Costs seemed to be the most reasonable last September/October
Enjoy your walk
Paul

 

[CharlieChu]

Thanks for the link to the Orange store in LePuy. I plan to start walking from there on Sept 4. My family members have been recently walking country roads in France. They say that Orange is good but they like the coverage (signal strength) and the price found at the Leclerc department stores. You have to go to a bigger one that has a tech dept, 20 euros/month with 3GB data. I believe that every big city (Lyon) has a big Leclerc; I'd like to know if LePuy has one.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I believe that every big city (Lyon) has a big Leclerc; I'd like to know if LePuy has one.

No.