International Travel &Scotland Tips?

[basilosaurus]

Wait, people are paying $10 usd/day for roaming? What's the data amount? That seems so extreme when in many places you can get a sim at the airport and even with their jacked up prices you'll break even around day 3. I'm currently in one of the most expensive and heavily taxed cities in the world and paid just over 20 for a month and 100gb. I only need it for 10 days, and I certainly won't use it all, but it's still far cheaper than 10/day.

It was $15 less if I purchased outside the airport, but I know the city and transit well enough to manage on my own without a phone, and so I won't recommend that to someone new to that kind of travel and that location, but if we're on here we have a semblence of internet capability, and we can manage saying take this metro or airport counter to this shop to purchase this card. I'm not that person for Edinburgh since I was there in 1999, but surely there is an expert here.

FastHands, If you do need a power adapter, not converter as mentioned above, make sure it's uk compliant. Not all are as it's bulky and only used in like 3 countries. I'm hyperbolizing, because wherever brits have been they've scattered their power plug ashes, but it really is large, and I've definitely come acrosss "universal" adapters that do not have it.

Another option would be to get a small usb/power hub with g plug (that's the one uk uses). It's possibly smaller and cheaper than travelling with multiple plugs and adapters and buying new appliances. They don't convert, so you'd have to make sure your devices are 110/220 compliable. My only appliance is a laptop, so it's not an issue. If you have other devices beyond laptop and cell phone, I'd have no idea. Although I do remember a switch that one time I pretended owning a hair dryer would mean I'd use it.

And, yes, as someone said above, it's wild to think we used to travel by physically going to the train station and looking at their posted and wildly inaccurate times and had nothing to entertain ourselves while waiting on them. I always traveled with a book, and places I stayed had book exchange honor systems, so I was fine, and now I have my kindle app, so I'm still fine, but my sister who hated reading was apoplectic!

The most important thing for you to consider is if you'll be having haggis!

[basilosaurus]

Holy WOT I'm sorry

[womet]

We just got back from Edinburgh last weekend. I would not get cash out at the airport. We found that we didn't need it-- every place in Edinburgh took cards. Be sure to use a card that doesn't charge an international fee each time you use it. If you do need it, you can get some cash out from an ATM in the city. My guess is that ATMs in the airport charge higher fees.

I have a Verizon plan that gives me a international travel pass each month, so I used that. My H downloaded an eSIM before we left. We both have WhatsApp on our phones, so he could call me using that. That's what we have done whenever we travel to Europe, and it's worked perfectly.

Be sure to pack a good raincoat and umbrella.

Have a great time! We can't wait to go back and see all that we missed.

[frlcb]

Mar 31, 2024 23:39:58 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Wait, people are paying $10 usd/day for roaming? What's the data amount? That seems so extreme when in many places you can get a sim at the airport and even with their jacked up prices you'll break even around day 3. I'm currently in one of the most expensive and heavily taxed cities in the world and paid just over 20 for a month and 100gb. I only need it for 10 days, and I certainly won't use it all, but it's still far cheaper than 10/day.

It was $15 less if I purchased outside the airport, but I know the city and transit well enough to manage on my own without a phone, and so I won't recommend that to someone new to that kind of travel and that location, but if we're on here we have a semblence of internet capability, and we can manage saying take this metro or airport counter to this shop to purchase this card. I'm not that person for Edinburgh since I was there in 1999, but surely there is an expert here.

FastHands , If you do need a power adapter, not converter as mentioned above, make sure it's uk compliant. Not all are as it's bulky and only used in like 3 countries. I'm hyperbolizing, because wherever brits have been they've scattered their power plug ashes, but it really is large, and I've definitely come acrosss "universal" adapters that do not have it.

Another option would be to get a small usb/power hub with g plug (that's the one uk uses). It's possibly smaller and cheaper than travelling with multiple plugs and adapters and buying new appliances. They don't convert, so you'd have to make sure your devices are 110/220 compliable. My only appliance is a laptop, so it's not an issue. If you have other devices beyond laptop and cell phone, I'd have no idea. Although I do remember a switch that one time I pretended owning a hair dryer would mean I'd use it.

And, yes, as someone said above, it's wild to think we used to travel by physically going to the train station and looking at their posted and wildly inaccurate times and had nothing to entertain ourselves while waiting on them. I always traveled with a book, and places I stayed had book exchange honor systems, so I was fine, and now I have my kindle app, so I'm still fine, but my sister who hated reading was apoplectic!

The most important thing for you to consider is if you'll be having haggis!

It's the same data as whatever plan you have in the US. It caps out at $100 per billing cycle, so, for example, we spend a month in the UK every summer and we pay $100 total for my phone to have unlimited data. If we wanted to add an additional device that is on our account it would be $5. It is worth it for us.

For adaptors - we travel with this one, and it is perfect. Has the UK adaptor and has 4 USB ports. 

Train will be perfectly safe. My in laws live in the North of England, not far from Scotland, and at 9 it should still be light out for sure. There are a lot of hotels not far from the train station.

I would take out minimal cash. Tap and go is everywhere and is the preferred method. We rarely ever use cash.

[Aloe Vera]

For your phone, use a "virtual" sim card. Download the app Ubigi and see if your phone is compatible. Then just add funds to your account and use the virtual sim and you can call no problem. You get the same speed as the local phones and most importantly, you have data.

[basilosaurus]

I just had a minor thought. You might have to flip a switch to activate the outlet. Despite years of doing this and having it in my home, I sometimes still forget.

Writing this to you from my now charged laptop because yet again I forgot.

[FastHands]

Apr 3, 2024 3:43:52 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I just had a minor thought. You might have to flip a switch to activate the outlet. Despite years of doing this and having it in my home, I sometimes still forget.

Writing this to you from my now charged laptop because yet again I forgot.

Hah! This is honestly a perfect example of shit-I-didn't-know-I-didn't-know. Thank you!

[basilosaurus]

Apr 3, 2024 6:25:36 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Apr 3, 2024 3:43:52 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

I just had a minor thought. You might have to flip a switch to activate the outlet. Despite years of doing this and having it in my home, I sometimes still forget.

Writing this to you from my now charged laptop because yet again I forgot.

Hah! This is honestly a perfect example of shit-I-didn't-know-I-didn't-know. Thank you!

lol. Also the switch quite likely flips on by pressing it down. I haven't been to Scotland in ages, but that's been the case in the last 7 countries across 3 continents I've been to in the last year and change

[frlcb]

Apr 3, 2024 6:50:23 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Apr 3, 2024 6:25:36 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Hah! This is honestly a perfect example of shit-I-didn't-know-I-didn't-know. Thank you!

lol. Also the switch quite likely flips on by pressing it down. I haven't been to Scotland in ages, but that's been the case in the last 7 countries across 3 continents I've been to in the last year and change

And it is when you can see the red color at the top of the switch, that almost always (or always) means it is on

[Aloe Vera]

I'll develop a bit about the Ubigi app and virtual sim cards.

We have T-Mobile for our phones and T-Mobile supposedly gives you unlimited data in some countries. When we went to France, the speed was SO LOW. It was impossible to upload a webpage. You couldn't do anything. And now that you need your phone for everthing, we struggled HARD. Finding free Wifi was impossible unless we were at a restaurant.
I used Ubigi for our next trip abroad. You add funds in USD (so no exchange fee) and you can add what you want and need. We bought a plan for $40 and used it for 2 weeks. It was way more than we needed with 2 cell phones and 1 tablet for my kid and streaming Netflix, YoutubeKids and other apps while driving. Speed was super fast and I could use Google maps while we were walking and browse the internet to search for restaurants or things to do. This was the best. You set it up in the comfort of your own home before the trip.