Scotland travel

Posted by: jmwking

Scotland travel - 28/04/2019 19:49

I'm headed to Scotland in July, and hiring a car. While I've driven in the UK several times, I haven't traveled overseas recently.

I have an iPhone XR; my kid has a 6s. (The one uses an eSIM, the other a physical one.)

Can any of you direct me to a reputable source on how to get reasonably priced data there?

thanks!

-jk
Posted by: mlord

Re: Scotland travel - 29/04/2019 18:27

Per my earlier post in the party thread: https://www.giffgaff.com/freesim-international

Posted by: mlord

Re: Scotland travel - 30/04/2019 19:03

Note that eSIM appears to be a no-go on the O2/GiffGaff network (and possibly others as well). But you could perhaps work out some kind of family arrangement for the XR to simply leech WiFi from (mobile hotspot, iPhones have those too, right?) one of the other SIM-capable phones. smile

Posted by: andy

Re: Scotland travel - 30/04/2019 20:35

Yeah, I think the only network in the UK that supports eSIM is EE.

And yes, iPhones have mobile hotspots too. Though some carriers restrict what you can do via your hotspot (separate data charges etc).
Posted by: robricc

Re: Scotland travel - 01/05/2019 14:02

You should check out Three HK's unlimited roaming eSIM.

$138 HKD is about $17.50 USD at the moment. That will get you 10 days of unlimited data roaming in any of the supported countries (UK is one of them). 500MB per day is at full LTE speeds and then throttled until the next day if you go over. The 10 days don't have to be used consecutively. So, you can buy this and set it up at home to test before buying more than one eSIM account. You will blow one of your 10 days, however.

Here is a first-hand account of someone using this eSIM plan on a Google Pixel 3.
Posted by: jmwking

Re: Scotland travel - 02/05/2019 00:54

Thanks!, everyone. If I'm successful, I'll post results...

-jk
Posted by: frog51

Re: Scotland travel - 07/06/2019 18:52

EE is far and away the best in Scotland, and we even have 5G in some areas. You can pick up a sim at any phone shop.

But I do like Rob R's way :-)

More importantly, when you are going to be near Edinburgh or West Lothian, let me know. Drinks, food, chat - even accommodation if you are desperate
Posted by: mlord

Re: Scotland travel - 07/06/2019 19:46

Hey Rory,

Are you coming to Cambridge this weekend?
I just finished a mostly soggy week in Edinburgh and vicinity!

Cheers!
Posted by: jmwking

Re: Scotland travel - 04/09/2019 20:57

I got the GiffGaff SIM and stuck it in an otherwise retired iphone 6, and we all used it as a hotspot. It worked most places we went; there were just a few odd spots between hills in the Highlands that weren't covered. Fortunately, I had google maps loaded offline.

Thanks, everyone!

-jk