Using mobile phones in Ireland.....

[Karen Scannell]

Hi everyone. If you have traveled to Ireland in the past, have you any tips on your experiences with mobile phones, call credit ect ?? There has been a couple of inquiries so I would be interested to know how you managed. Any thoughts would be helpful, thanks Karen Scannell

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Marc Delassio kindly offered the following advice :

"I got a sim card at the airport. I think it was 5 euros. The guy was really helpful with all the options and I never used up the money on the sim (international guests can receive calls for free).Some Americans can't change their sim cards though."

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When I'm overseas, I usually buy a local throw away phone and a local sim card for about $20.  That way if the locals call me or I call them, it's a local call.  I haven't done it in Ireland yet.  US cellphones are usually locked to the carrier and you can't use a foreign sim card, but many overseas phones aren't.  If you already have an unlocked phone, you can get a local sim card which has a local phone number and a certain number of minutes.  Just plug it in your unlocked phone and go.

Charlie McCarthy

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I have skype on my iphone. If I happen to be on wi-fi, the calls are free. If I am not, the calls are still dirt cheap.  I've been in Europe for months and never gone over about $10. using it.  I do use it more sparingly than I do at home though. A local toss phone isn't the best option for me personally since most of my calls are back to the U.S.

Lori Putnam

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For anyone thinking of buying an Irish sim card , here's a useful link :

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-g186591-i88-k4793989-Where_to_p...

Karen Scannell

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[Plein Eire Administrator]

LATEST: To assist overseas visitors, a number of basic Irish network mobiles (cell phones) will be available from AITO festival on payment of a deposit. They will be pre-loaded with phone credit which you can top up as needed. These phones will allow you to be kept updated of any last minute change, and to enable you to keep in contact with our on-site team at all times.

[Dot Courson]

When in Ireland for a month last year I bought a Viber app for calls back home to the U.S. Also a toss phone for local use. It was a cheap way to go . Didn't use it much: It's good to be "off the grid" sometimes! 

Dot Courson