Ireland visit - internet & mobile phone connectivity

[maingate]

I would second the recommendation of marchie for Lebara. The carrier is vodaphone in the U.K. you can use up to 30gb per month in EU.

Look at U switch for deals, I got my 30gb package for £7 per month with the first 3 months at £3.50 ish. The added benefit is that it is a 30 day contract, so could be ditched on your return to GB.
Bear in mind you will also get up to 12gb on your existing sim to use.

Or call in to a phone shop or supermarket when you get to the Republic. NOT N. Ireland or you would end up with a U.K. sim.

P.s. just looked at Uswitch. You can get the 30gb for £7.95 with first 3 months at £2.39 per month.

Davy

The Money Saving Expert website is also a good place for cheaper deals. My Wife and I both got a saving with Lebara through it.

 

[trevskoda]

Switch the flamen mobile of and enjoy the holiday, problem solved.

 

[Geek]

Changing networks is dead easy.

Don't cancel the old contract. That's important.

Instead you send a text saying PAC to 65075
You will get a text back with a code, valid for 30 days.

Give that code to your new provider and the transfer will happen in a day or do.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

It really does come down to what you will be doing, Liz and I just stuck to the standard roaming allowance which is MUCH less than you get in the UK same in France etc, but we don't spend ANY dat on streaming, don't ignore Netflix as you can download loads before going or at the house sit, you can download YT but you have to subscribe and I think it expensive so I don't, Prime video can be downloaded too,

Our phone use was login in to WC etc which is minimal on data, a bit on Google Maps etc, some Whatsapp, texts and the odd call.

Your phone can be used as a hotspot to use your laptop or tablet, you just log onto that as you would at home more or less.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Changing networks is dead easy.

Don't cancel the old contract. That's important.

Instead you send a text saying PAC to 65075
You will get a text back with a code, valid for 30 days.

Give that code to your new provider and the transfer will happen in a day or do.

Yeah, I've done all that malarkey a few years ago, and I'm even more loath to do it in the current climate of experimental AI and the inability to talk to a real human to get stuff sorted when the chips go down and there's a cock up. I'm rapidly turning from a one-time tech lover into an old, irritated, p*ss*d off luddite these last few years!

My current phone set up works fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it - and I've had one too many bad experiences in the past with this sort of thing, especially when you enter into the ether and then have to rely on third parties to respond and actually do their jobs properly.

The e-sim route is sounding quite attractive...

TBF I probably won't need internet access all that much, but my ulterior motive is that I'm really wanting to go over to Europe this next winter/2026, so Ireland is more a kind of trial run? (for determining all sorts of longer-term camper living stuff, not just Internet)

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Forgot which part you're going to Euro pennies if going south.

I know it's silly but a large part for us wombling bears is getting our breakfast in their petrol stations, a breath of fresh air, I so wish they would come over here.

 

[alwaysared]

There shouldn't be any roaming charges or data caps in Northern Ireland because it's part of the UK. I'm with O2 and they don't have any restrictions in NI. When we crossed the border to ROI it was treated like any other EU country so we went into Tesco and got a 30 day sim with 100gb for £19.99 with 5G but they also did one for £14.99 with 100gb but 4G only, the coverage was great.

Regards,
Del

 

[mariesnowgoose]

I’ve checked my phone contract today.

No roaming restrictions for ROI and I’ve already got 160gb monthly data allowance, so reckon that might do me?

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Switch the flamen mobile of and enjoy the holiday, problem solved.

I intend to, Trev, but I’ll need it for navigation (no sat nav, just Google maps on phone - or I may even invest in a good old-fashioned map or two! ) and for the usual contact & communication stuff.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I intend to, Trev, but I’ll need it for navigation (no sat nav, just Google maps on phone - or I may even invest in a good old-fashioned map or two! ) and for the usual contact & communication stuff.

You can download Google maps Marie to save data, but you'll have more than enough.

Might help someone.

Download areas and navigate offline in Google Maps - Android - Google Maps Help

Important: You can’t download offline maps in some countries or regions because of contractual limitations, language support, address formats or other reasons. You can save an area from Google Maps

support.google.com