I f you have a contract phone, contact your network provider before you go and make sure the international roaming bar is lifted. This means you will be able to use your phone to make and receive calls and text messages.

You can also ask your network provider about the costs of phoning as different networks vary. It is usually about 30p to send a text message.

Also, remember that you will also have to pay for calls that you receive on holiday which can work out really expensive.

You will find that all the hotels have a payphone somewhere near the reception but try to avoid using this phone as it's a lot more expensive than the other public phones.

You will find public phones called 'taxiphones' every few minues away. They are usually just outside the hotels and these are the best ones to use. You can phone home for 5 minutes for 3 or 4 dinar (2 pound).

REDRUM many thanks for that info it will be a great help to me.and a reply within 20 minutes cant fault it cheers jonboy.

Hi,
I stayed in PEK last summer and found that i could call home to a land line from the public payphones for about 5 mins for 1 dinar...about 50p!! I found this so cheap i didn't even both turning my mobile on!
Katie.

Does anyone know if texts are charged are the usual rate or are they more expensive abroad too?

Dawn

Hi Dawn

Texts are also more expensive, eg 30p from Spain on Orange. You should be able to check how much you would be on the website of your mobile provider.

HTH

luci

OK, thanks Luci

hi all

i would advise you all not to take any mobile phones with you, i did is last year when i went to Spain and for the next 4 months after i got home my monthly bills were between £100 & £150 per month,

it worked out an expensive holiday, you also get charged if somebody else rings you while abroad, txt's cost about 30p.

Cheaper to use a pay phone over there

Ange

Can you get phonecards to use?

Maybe from UK before you go or in Tunisia.

I won't be using my mobile, used it in Florida last month and had a whopper of a bill when I got home!

you might want to check out this site where you buy a phone card to use abroad http://www.keygold.com/~keygold.com/public_html/itn/
you can use a mobile with it but, not quite sure how it works though

Cards can be bought in Tesco on the mobile phone stands

Thanks in advance
Dai

hi there,off to skanes on july17 could anybody tell me the phone home situation,can you buy phone cards or do you use coins,also what would the code from tunisia to england be.

There are plenty of phone booths over there that take dinar coins and the phone code to the uk is 0044
have a good holiday

use a mobile phone,the cost isn't that bad and text messaging is the same price i think

I agree, its really espensive to use your mobile in Tunisia.
We only recieved 2 or 3 short incoming calls from the UK, but mainly texts and short calls from our friends staying in the neighbouring resort and on our return found that our phone bill came in at £84.00....
Even to recieve a text from the Uk costs about £1.40
I would recommend using one of the many phone booths i got 4 or 5 mins chat back to the UK for a couple of dinar.

We tried to use the public phones in Hammamet recently without much luck!!
We called from the hotel instead. I think it cost around £15 - but that was for all the calls back home during the week for both me and my mum.

Try looking at a site called http://www.sim4travel.com
they are doing a sim card that calls sre about 48p a min and in a lot of countries to recieve a call it's free Tunisia was 15p a min to recieve a call

Hi everyone ive been many times to Tunisia and ive used 02 and Vodaphone dont know about other networks but

02 cost 49p to send a text...49p to receive a text. if you have credit on your fone if no credit its free to receive text but you cant send or receive calls. Calls cost 1.69 a min to send and receive.

Vodafone costs 49p to send a text free to receive......didnt use to make a call as you have to put to many codes in to get approval on a pasy as you go fone with credit on it hard work

May i suggest you buy a Tunisian sim card whilst there best present i had bought for me from a tunisian friend. but you must have a mobile that takes any sim back home.

it costs 15p to text home and free to receive will cost your english friend 20p to text you. its also very cheap to ring home 5 mins was about 75p to a 1.00

I went for a month at xmas i used it to text and call my tunisian friends everyday, and my 15year old niece text her boyfrind night and day for the whole month, and he rang her every night from England (no cost for us to receive) and we spent 40.00
Dread to think what the english sim cards would have cost us for a month.
Not sure where you buy a Tunisian sim card but my friend out there said you can ring him and he will get you one 20 dinars - #8.00 and show you how to use it and get you the top up instructions in english Top up cards can be bought in any supermarket.
He is called Amir telephone 98292155 thats his number once you are there you dont need a code. PLEASE try to ring him in daytime.

All the above is for you who just cant do without your mobys on holiday and YES will help my tunisian friend make a pound profit but will also benefit you if your moby mad like my niece.

If not i suggest you just use the taxi fones they are called they are so easy and so cheap to ring home from.

I've just called SIM4travel and was told that depending on whether you are normally a heavy user of your mobile phone it could cost 40p per minute to maka call to England and that it cost nothing to receive a call. The top up are: 30 euro, 50 euro, 80 euro and 120 euro. It cost £29.99 to register and you get a 5 euro top included. Has any one used SIM4travel? I guess another option would be to get a SIM card in Tunisia?

I look forward to any replies.

Thanks.

I've just spoken to go keygold site mentioned above and was told that the card does not work in Tunisia, however you can call Tunisia with this card.

Regarding my last post - I doubled checked the information and received a email from SIM4travel saying "Although we offer free to receive calls in over 60 countries Tunisia falls into our 'zone 2' and as it costs 15p / min to receive calls. This is still very competitive vs all UK mobile networks."

15p per minute was mentioned in a previous post.

Sorry for the mistake.