With Vodafone Passport, you pay 75p for each call and then the same rate per minute as you would back home. You need to register for it before you go. It works on both contract and PAYT and on contract you can even use your inclusive minutes if you have any remaining. Seems to be the best deal of any network to me!. I've just changed to them after having my orange one nicked.!

Thats really interesting Taggy,

I was thinking of leaving Vodafone altogether because their normal rates for calling from Turkey are so expensive - £1.69 per minute or part of a minute.
Is the Vodafone Passport a bolt-on? Do you have to have a certain tariff to get this?

Elaine

If you check out the vodafone web site you will see that the passport is only valid for certain countries - I recieved a leaflet about this along with this months bill

Elaine - looks like you're out of luck with Turkey its only available in the following countries at moment:- France,Spain,Italy,Ireland,Greece,Holland,Switzerland,Hungary,Albania,Australia,New Zealand,Japan. You dont need to be on a specific tarrif just dial 5555 from your mobile and it works for both contract and PAYT. For any of the countries above if you're only going for a holiday once a year it will probably work out cheaper than buying a local sim card.

Drat,

Thanks anyway - looks like I'll be moving to another network then.

Elaine

Cheapest network for abroad texts I have found is Orange.
30p/35p for texts all other networks are 45p-50p even 55! terrible.

Be careful with vodafone, this is my network and i telephoned them to say i was going to Turkey and could i have the passport bolt on for the duration - they told me i was on the wrong tarrif for this and would have to change tarriffs. I told them where to go (politely) because as it stands i'm paying £30 a month already.

Dont change to vodafone without checking this out first.

My contract is due up for renewal in October and i'm going to change networks because Vodafone arent as reasonable as they previously were.

As I mentioned in my last post Vodafone will only work out cheaper in the countries where you can use their Passport service. They are listed on my last post or on their website. Unfortunately Turkey is'nt one of them, and i'm not sure of the situation with Turkish sim cards because its a few years since i've been there.

Taggy, what I am saying is you are able to use Vodafone in Turkey - it would have cost me 75p for the Passport for each call but I had to completley change my monthly tarriff for them to offer this to me - so it does work in Turkey but obviously you have to be on some ridiculous tarriff to get it.

I checked this out for Turkey because that is where we are going to.

Seems strange that because on their site it says that passport isnt available in Turkey, perhaps they hav'nt updated the site or something. I know in Spain that you have to make sure that you are using Vodafone Spain to get the cheaper Passport rates so if your phone does not automatically log in to that you need to do it manually. Maybe in Turkey although you will obviously be able to use your phone, if vodafone does'nt have their own network it will work out more expensive going via an independent Turkish network. Seems unfair that they would try to make you take out a more expensive monthly package, because they make a great play of the fact that you can take your own rate abroad plus the 75p per call. I dont even need to be on contract, my phone is PAYT and i have got passport with that. I got fed up with contracts a long while ago, i dont really think you gain anything these days, and it certainly does not pay to show loyalty to any of the networks.

I totally agree with you Taggy, my contract is up in October and I am certainly going to look at other alternatives, I feel that it is a right rip of at the moment.

If I use my phone in Turkey now it will cost me I think they said £1.69 per minute and approx 50p per text because I wont change my tarriff. I am also unable to use the bolt on text's that I pay extra for every month!!!

I've decided that I am taking my daughters Virgin Pay as you Go phone and I'm just going to top her phone up with £20 so I can use it abroad.

Anyone going to get a Vodafone ..... think again! (but I presume all the networks are the same!)

No Tink,

I'm changing my contract away from Vodafone when its due for renewal too, specifically because its double (yes, double ) the price for calls while I'm in Turkey compared to O2. Vodafone is £1.69 per minute or part of a minute, O2 is 81p per minute or part of a minute. Because I don't use my mobile an awful lot here in the UK anyway, my monthly rate on similar tariffs would be the same, but the difference in price while I'm in Turkey swings it for me.

Elaine

Elaine like you say Vodafone is a complete rip off at the moment - i've looked at other networks and I'm being ripped off big style with my current contract - i think I may change to 3.

I thought I would be able to use my inclusive texts whilst abroad and they even said no to that one! I can't understand that at all - I know i would have to pay another network charge whilst abroad but thought I could still use the texts that i've already paid for.

Dont make sense to me at all.

Why not get a local SIM card?

I have a Cyprus one. Cost C£15 with C£3 of credit on it.
Texts cost 1.1 cents (about 1.5 pence) and calls are dead cheap too.
International calls (back to UK) cost pennies too

Ady

Its not worth my while getting a Turkish sim card - I don't use my phone that much in Turkey, but this year my call charges would have been about £15 with O2. They were double that with Vodafone. With Turkish sim cards (except the Aria network) you have to top them up every 90 days, otherwise they become obsolete. As I'm not in Turkey every 90 days, I'd be shelling out for a new sim card every time I went on holiday.

Elaine

As I mention i really dont think being on contract is worth it anymore. I have just come back from Spain. I have a Vodfone PAYT phone and I registered for passport before i went out there. I restricted my calls to evenings and the rate i was charged was 75p per connection then just 5p per minute. It also cost me a flat rate of 75p if someone rang me. Texts were dear at 49p but did'nt need to send many.

I have a friend in Turkey at the moment we are texting each other a fair amount.

I am with 02 and have 100 free texted a month. Will my text messages to turkey be free ??????

Lesley Jane

I would check with o2, I have to pay extra when I text my friend in the Lebanon
HTH
Biff

bit late now

Well it can't cost that much can it

Think I will go on the 02 website and see if I can find out

Thanks Biff