Vacation in Canada - Cell Phone, Calling Card, or...?

[trinchick]

DH and I have prepaid smart phones (Virgin Mobile and Straight Talk) and are planning a trip to Canada (PEI) in a couple of weeks. I'm guessing that they won't work in Canada, but does anyone know for sure?

Does anyone have a budget-friendly way to call home from Canada? I like to check in on my elderly mom every couple of days. The cottage we're renting does have a phone, so I'm guessing phone cards are best but not sure.

I would be grateful for any suggestions to make things easier/more cost-efficient.

Thanks!

 

[amie416]

None of the US pay-as-you-go phones my family has owned have ever been able to "roam" in Canada, even though they recognize the Canadian networks when powered on (presumably for 911 access only). I believe the roaming charges are just so excessive that the feature is disabled by default. Even if you got a cellphone here, the long distance charges to the US would add up pretty quick.

Calling cards are you best bet and are available in almost any gas station or convenience store. A $5 card should give you more than enough minutes for the length of your stay. A common card around here is called "CiCi", but there are many other brands. Make sure the one you buy has a toll-free access number if you'll be using it outside of a major town or city. You may end up using it for other calls too, since Canadians pay hefty long-distance charges for any calls outside of your "local calling area," so if you're in a cottage and make a call for a reservation at a restaurant just up the road, there's a chance it could be a long-distance call if they're outside the boundary determined by the phone company.

 

[fac]

If you have internet access, you may want to look into skype... Not the webcam to webcam, but you can use skype to call landline and cell. We set it up before going to Nassau, pick US as destination, and cal use skype to call to different places in US.

 

[tvguy]

The roaming rate is 69 cents on a cell phone in Canada. We always use the calling cards and a landline.
Amie416's experience with long distance is far different that mine, or my families between the U.S. and Canada. I find Canada's long distance rates to be dirt cheap. All my family in Canada have Rogers as a provider and it's about 5 cents a minute on a land line to the U.S. It's $1.15 a minute for me on a landline, and 50 cents per minute on my cell phone.

 

[amie416]

The roaming rate is 69 cents a minute in Canada so a $5 card would only buy you about 7 minutes of talk time.

Not a $5 cell phone card, but a $5 pre-paid long distance card that can be used from any phone by dialing a toll-free number and entering a PIN. A decent one should buy about 200 minutes of talk time to the USA.

Like this: http://www.ciciphonecard.com/rates

The roaming rate is 69 cents on a cell phone in Canada. We always use the calling cards and a landline.
Amie416's experience with long distance is far different that mine, or my families between the U.S. and Canada. I find Canada's long distance rates to be dirt cheap. All my family in Canada have Rogers as a provider and it's about 5 cents a minute on a land line to the U.S. It's $1.15 a minute for me on a landline, and 50 cents per minute on my cell phone.

It depends on the carrier. If the cottage has a Rogers phone (VOIP), then long distance is fairly inexpensive. However, most rural cottages would have a traditional copper phone line and pay rates similar to what I've posted unless the owner has bought a long-distance plan or has purchased their phone service through a reseller like TekSavvy.

 

[trinchick]

Thanks so much for the replies. We won't have internet (today's version of roughing it ), so Skype won't work. Looks like we'll definitely be getting a calling card.

Thanks a bunch for the info; great to have the info now, so I don't have to spend precious vacation time sorting it out!

 

[peigirl]

I always buy the President's Choice calling card from the Atlantic Superstore...it is about 4 cents a minute...you will find 2 Superstores on University Avenue which is the main street running thru Charlottetown, PE or if you are in Summerside, there is one on Granville St.

I hope you enjoy your stay. Bring a sweater as the nights are starting to cool down and the mosquitoes are bad in places.

Paula

 

[squirrel]

I always buy the President's Choice calling card from the Atlantic Superstore...it is about 4 cents a minute...you will find 2 Superstores on University Avenue which is the main street running thru Charlottetown, PE or if you are in Summerside, there is one on Granville St.

I hope you enjoy your stay. Bring a sweater as the nights are starting to cool down and the mosquitoes are bad in places.

Paula

I also buy the President's Choice Calling Cards. They work from the US to Canada too as I use them when I take my nieces on vacation to Disney.

Check the expiry on the back of the card. Not all are 6 months from use.

 

[trinchick]

I hope you enjoy your stay. Bring a sweater as the nights are starting to cool down and the mosquitoes are bad in places.

Paula

Thanks, I hadn't planned to pack sweatshirts or long pants, but now I will definitely add them to the list for our evening campfires! Bug spray and citronella candles were always part of the plan, sadly.

I haven't been to PEI since I was a kid; I'm so looking forward to this trip!

 

[tvguy]

Not a $5 cell phone card, but a $5 pre-paid long distance card that can be used from any phone by dialing a toll-free number and entering a PIN. A decent one should buy about 200 minutes of talk time to the USA.

Like this: http://www.ciciphonecard.com/rates



It depends on the carrier. If the cottage has a Rogers phone (VOIP), then long distance is fairly inexpensive. However, most rural cottages would have a traditional copper phone line and pay rates similar to what I've posted unless the owner has bought a long-distance plan or has purchased their phone service through a reseller like TekSavvy.

Copper wire with the lower rates. Area has no cell service.