I am travelling from UK to Australia and my UK cell-phone provider (giff-gaff) doesn't support roaming. I will be quarantined in a hotel for two weeks and need to have a sim-card during the quarantine. Can someone suggest a solution I can buy in the UK to use in those two weeks?
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8Consider whether you really need a SIM card. The hotel will almost certainly have Wifi.– Greg HewgillNov 5, 2020 at 23:48
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1A big question is what exactly you want this sim card for. If it's primerally for data use and/or for local communication in australia then an australian sim card probably does make sense. On the other hand if it's for voice calls to/from your friends in the UK then you may be better off looking for a UK sim with a good roaming deal.– Peter GreenNov 6, 2020 at 17:41
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@PeterGreen it is the former– user3639557Nov 7, 2020 at 10:07
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1I know from personal experience delivering to the Managed Isolation Facilities in New Zealand that the door staff are happy to accept deliveries on behalf of residents. If you have a local contact in Australia maybe they can help you.– CatchAsCatchCanNov 8, 2020 at 0:52
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3 Answers
You can prepurchase SIMs for most countries including Australia and get them delivered to your home at https://datago.co/.
Full disclosure: The site is run by a friend, but I have no financial interest except as a satisfied customer.
answered Nov 6, 2020 at 1:09
I've successfully purchased a SIM card for Australia previously on eBay. I bought an Optus Prepaid SIM, which arrived to Czech Republic within 2 weeks of purchase in regular mail. You could probably get it even faster if you pay for premium shipping. I was able to activate and top it up with extra cash in Czech Republic and it worked immediately upon arrival to Australia.
The same strategy works for almost every country in the world and personally I'd be more comfortable knowing I have one before arriving to Australia.
answered Nov 9, 2020 at 18:51
Using a Pay As You Go SIM from your own country (UK), when there is a network offering a good roaming deal in the country you are visiting (Australia), is usually much easier from a logistics point of view.
Australia seems to be a good example of this, as Three offers inclusive roaming there on its UK plans (including Pay As You Go):
http://www.three.co.uk/support/roaming/australia#payg
You can use up to 12GB of data from your UK allowance in Australia per month.
They appear to currently offer a £15 pack which includes 15GB of data (up to 12GB can be used in Australia):
https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order
The SIM itself is free, and you can also use it to make calls/texts to/from the UK.
The only downside of this approach may be that 12GB isn't enough data for you.
