Optus and TravelSIM Australia have launched a new mobile service designed for international travellers and students visiting Australia. Called gotravelsim, the plans are offered at affordable prices with generous data allowances and international calling credit.
The gotravelsim choice of plans includes month-to-month as well as 12-month contract options (for long-term travellers). The plans also offer a choice between a plan with talk, text and data, or just data. Here are the options in detail:
Month to month, with talk and text:
- For AUD$30 per month get 6GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $50 international calling credit
- For AUD$40 per month get 10GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $300 international calling credit
- For AUD$50 per month get 16GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $500 international calling credit
Month to month, data-only:
- For AUD$35 per month get 8GB of data
- For AUD$45 per month get 15GB of data
- For AUD$65 per month get 20GB of data
12-month contract, with talk and text:
- For AUD$30 per month get 10GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $50 international calling credit
- For AUD$40 per month get 18GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $300 international calling credit
- For AUD$50 per month get 23GB, unlimited Australian talk and text, unlimited international text and $500 international calling credit
The advantage of getting a plan with gotravelsim is that you can order in advance and find out what your Australian phone number will be before you leave home. Your SIM card will be delivered to your accommodation for when you arrive.
Travellers will need to make sure their mobile phone handset is unlocked before using gotravelsim.
More about gotravelsim international calling credit
It's important to note that gotravelsim talk and text plans come with a set dollar value of international calling credit per month, and international calling rates vary considerably from country to country. For example, it's only AUD$0.26 per minute to call the USA, but it costs AUD$12.94 per minute to call East Timor. That being said, most popular destinations seem to average between $0.50 to $2 per minute to call with gotravelsim.
Is gotravelsim a good deal?
Honestly, there are better value options out there. But it depends how long you'll be visiting Australia and, if you want international calls, which countries you'll be calling.
While gotravelsim's national talk, text and data inclusions are very reasonable in comparison to what we usually see included on SIM plans for travellers, you can still usually get better value by choosing a plan from a small Australian operator like Jeenee Mobile which, same as gotravelsim, offers plans on the Optus 4G network.
Meanwhile, gotravelsim offers set amounts of international calling credit, but there are plenty of local Australian plans that come with unlimited international calls to selected countries. The comparison is particularly stark when looking at plans with lower data amounts.
For example, the $30 gotravelsim plan comes with $50 of international calling credit and 6GB of data. But for the same price you can get unlimited international calls to selected countries with 5-7GB of included data from Lebara, Lycamobile, Belong or amaysim. All these providers offer their plans on month-to-month, which means you only need to pay for as many months as you plan to be in Australia.
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#1
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amaysim
7-day UNLIMITED 10GB Plan
$10
Per 7 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
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#2
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Lebara Mobile
$19.90 Extra Small Plan
$19.90
Per 30 Day Renewal
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#3
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Lyca Mobile
Unlimited Plan XS
$25
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
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#4
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Telstra
$39 Pre-Paid Mobile
$39
Per 28 Day Renewal
Link not supplied
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Of course, whether or not these plans are right for you will depend on which country you want to call. And if having an Australian number before you leave home is important to you, gotravelsim could definitely take some of the hassle out of your trip.
All in all, gotravelsim plans do offer reasonable value. But if you're going to be in Australia for several months or more, we'd recommend checking out all the options before making a commitment.
See our complete round-up of Australian phone plans with international call inclusions here.
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