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FinnMacCool


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... and Emerald Isle, HERE I COME! 

 

... what am i forgetting? 

... still haven't figured out the phone situation. I have a low budget phone in the states. No internet, just dial and text and from what i understood, i won't be able

to make calls in Ireland. So I bought one of those unlocked phones suggested on here from amazon. Where do I go from here? Do you just buy a sims card in

Ireland, plug it in and that's it? How much? Should I buy long distance card over here before I leave? I really just want to stay in touch with friend watching my

cat and house over here. But I want to be able to call my Dad and B&B's in advance for reservation confirmations and directions. I have the cheap unlocked phone. 

What's my best synopsis. PLEASE help. Can do the research myself, have even tried a little, but just been so busy with everything else. Figured if i don't get 

airtime, I'll just have to wing it. But would really serve for peace of mind for reasons already mentioned and emergency and also to call rental car company if

I had to. Thanks!! 



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Finn
Itallian Chauffeur


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Since you are wanting to call the US as well as make local calls -- Go to the nearest Tesco and tell them you want a Pay-As-You-Go SIM card and 10 Euro of Call Credit.  That will cost between 10 and 14 Euro Depending on if they are still giving the SIM card Free, when you buy a 10 Euro 'Top Up'.  Unless you talk an inordinately long time or make MANY, many calls, you should end up with Credit Left over.  Calls to the US are about 2 cents per minute.

Unless you have a sealed phone, the SIM card is usually located under the battery.  You pop off the rear cover and remove the battery install / remove the SIM card.  Most of the Tesco clerks are quite helpful and pretty knowledgable.

 

 



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Bob

Help Us to Help You.  The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
FinnMacCool


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Thanks Bob. What about roaming fees? How does that work? And is texting US same as a call?

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Finn
Itallian Chauffeur


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No roaming charges in Ireland or Northern Ireland.

From:   http://www.tescomobile.ie/eu-roaming-regulation   

As of 30th April 2016, the new EU Roaming Regulation EU Directive 2015/2120/EC will apply to customers roaming in Europe for voice, text and data. Customers will now be charged their domestic rate or their domestic rate + surcharge while roaming within the EU.

To align with this, we have made changes to our Prepay rates for EU roaming.

Prepay Regulated Roaming charges

Prepay Regulated
Roaming charges		Current Prepay Roaming Rate
(before 30th April 2016)		New Prepay Roaming Rate
Outgoing voice calls
(per minute)		23c30c
Incoming voice calls
(per minute)		6c1.4c
Outgoing texts
(per SMS message)		7c14c
Online
(data download, per MB)		25c8.15c
 
 
Have a Great Trip!  biggrin


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Bob

Help Us to Help You.  The more you tell us about your plans (dates, interests, budget), the better we can tailor our advice to suit!
Michele Erdvig


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Have a wonderful trip. We would love to hear how it goes when you get back. Bon voyage!

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"Ireland Expert"  Michele Erdvig

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FinnMacCool


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Thank you all for your help! Made it through customs in Chicago but I'm six hours early! Then on to New Jersey and a 3 hr layover. Should be flying over the big drink sometime around 8pm and arrive sometime tomorrow around 7am. Pick up the rental car and head north to belfast and beyond. Will be in touch!

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Finn
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