Great job with the forum guys. I especially like the cordial attitude.
What frequency are the cell phones in Lima? I have a couple of cheap ones(meaning ones I wouldn't mind losing) I bought for Bangkok trips and I'm wondering if they will work there. Also, where in Miraflores can sim cards be purchased?
I'll be at the Maria Louisa.
You can buy Sim Cards in Movistar CAV Miraflores at the corner of Larco Avenue with 28 de Julio Avenue - Miraflores Monday to Friday since 9:00 hrs. to 18:00 / Saturday since 9:00 hrs. to 13:00 or in CLARO CAC LARCO Larco Avenue 878 corner with 28 de Julio avenue - Miraflores 09:00 - 20:00 10:00 - 20:00.
Also you can check in these places if you can use your cell phones here in Peru. As you can see those are the 2 most popular companies here and also the only ones who use sim cards i guess. I hope this info can help you.
It looks as though Claro is 1900mhz and Movistar is 850mhz. I think I should be able to get by with what I have and put the phone money to better use.
And the address info helps a lot.
Thanks Alucard.
I'm not in Lima a lot, and I have a locked phone from back home. What I wound up doing was buying the cheapest phone with a prepaid plan at one of the Telphonica (Movistar) kiosks in a supermarket.
I got a SIM-lees phone that I wouldn't want to use every day, but it works, and it only set me back about US$40. I found it to be a good investment.
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You also can check the offers in cell phones they have at [Solo usuarios registrados pueden ver
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Good Luck
Alucard
P.D: I guess for now you can check the offers that the both of them have only going to the companies.
Well, over here you could use GSM technology. TIM (now CLARO) and recently TELEFONICA are the solely companies providing mobile phone services. In Peru CLARO uses GSM technology, same as in Thailand. TELEFONICA recently decided to offer also GSM technology since CDMA, which was previously used, is a crap.
Thus, if you have a tri-band phone (1.900 Mhz included) with a SIM CARD slot you can easliy purchase a sim card here from TIM (now CLARO). The damage should be around US $15. Add US $10 for some additional credit and there you go.
On the other hand, RT also has a good suggestion which is related to buy a pre-paid mobile phone for around US $40 from either TELEFONICA or CLARO companies and enjoy the credit included with the purchase. If you are in a short-stay this purchase will do the job.
Have fun!
TONY
__________________ EX-MODERADOR.... [Solo usuarios registrados pueden ver
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Arrived in Lima a few days ago. Walking down Larco towards the places Alucard mentioned I spotted a little hole in the wall with Cell phones and cheap watches on display. I plopped down my phones and chica behind the counter got one to work. s/35 for one of those Tim cards plus s/30 for credit. Maybe 30 yards north of Julia.
Worked fine with Lima numbers but Im having trouble with Cusco numbers.
Yep, you will get a problem if the prefix is not considered....
within Lima just dial the phone number: 973-XXXXX
from Lima to any province: 0 + (2 digits PROVINCE CODE) + phone number
from any province to Lima: 01-973-XXXXX
have fun!!!!
TONY
__________________ EX-MODERADOR.... [Solo usuarios registrados pueden ver
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As as was leaving baggage claim at Jorge Chavez airport a young lady from Rent a Cell approached me with a cell rental offer for $9.99. locals call at $0.69, international calls at $1.49 and free incoming calls. I took the offer with visa and was given a brand new Nokia cell phone with charger. When I left Peru i returned the phone and equipment and my total call charges were only 11 soles. I will rent it again next time i visit Lima.
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Cita:
Cita:
Originally Posted by reemo "I Hi West.
About the cell phone, was the $9.99 the rental fee for the whole 11 days? Do I understand then that the other $62 was for the actual calls?
Thanks.
Yes! $9.99 was for the whole trip. If you stay for 2 weeks and keep the phone only for emergencies but don't use it at all, I understand the total charge would be $9.99.
This a very well developed phone service. When you arrive at international baggage pickup after landing and you are waiting for your bags, there are 2 very convenient services. One is a working ATM that dispensed soles or dollars at a reasonable exchange rate and fee, the other is the cell phone rental stand. In my case I arrived at 11PM and the phone stand was staffed by two chicas. They were helpful. I understand that this stand is staffed 24 hours.
Again I used the phone liberally for calls within Lima and to Panama, US and CR. My spanish is limited and it was very helpful to have a phone for directions and the sort. If the cab didn't know direction to my destination I'd call the destination and hand the driver the phone. In fact when I was traveling alone, I did this also as a sort of security blanket even if the driver seemed to know the directions. I'd ask the driver his name (all drivers were hombres) and then call the destination and hello this is Sam and her is my taxi driver Juan please give him directions. Also if you have a date, the phones are very helpful in synching up for arrival times and locations.
When you arrive at the airport to return to the states, you go to the 2nd floor and as you get off the escalator there is a booth to turn in your rental phone. I exchanged phone numbers liberally throughout the trip, at times simply entering the number in my rental phone. When I paid the bill they handed me a printed phone log with each call made. This was handy because I now have a list of all numbers called. I am now selling these numbers to recoup the cost of the rental phone.
Seriously, if there are others who know of the other option where you buy the phone and own it and then use prepaid cards. I would like to learn about this as I might try this on my next trip. Personally I will always buy or rent a phone when I visit Peru.
RT here. I think that this is a very important discussion -- having a means of communication while you're away is crucial. For mongering purposes (and giving family back home some way to get in touch), a local phone works best for me.
I don't like using my US phone for a few reasons:
1. Cost - I got killed the one time I did that.
2. You can't give the number to locals and expect anyone to call you back.
Aside from Westwind's reasons above (directions, meeting up with dates), I find that having a local phone offers an impression of 'permanence' that scores very high with the girls -- much more so than any 'game' that ever came out of my mouth. They are just happy when you have a local number.
For a one-time visit, renting a phone at the airport is easy, foolproof, and pretty cost effective. For multiple trips, buying a prepaid phone works better for me.
Just last week, Claro (the largest provider in Lima) had a perfectly good phone (with a SIM card) for 99 Soles ($31). It comes with a few minutes pre-loaded, but nothing to speak of. I managed to get through 10 days in Lima on two 30 Sol phone cards (about $10 each) and had some time left over, for a total cost of $50. That's about the same as a rental will cost you, but next trip, all I will need is the phone cards -- I already have the phone.
There are Claro stores all throught Miraflores and San Isidro (and I presume, everywhere), and all the malls, supermarkets and department stores had kiosks as well.
The other large provider is Telephonica. They have the same deals more or less, so it could just boil down to who has the better phone deal the day that you're shopping.
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Yes using a US domestic phone can be done but it is expensive. I think Sprint quoted $1.68 a minute.
The phone purchase seems like a good option becuase you ended up with about the same phone cost that I had over or similar time frame and you still have the phone for your next trip.
I haven't used the prepaid cards. Do you enter an access number? This seems like an excellent way to go because you would just keep a card ahead and that way you would know how much you are spending on phone costs and worst you would be out is the 30s $10 card.
Do you maintain the same number across trips?? If so this seems like a real plus because of the impression of permenance issue that you mentioned.
Also, I lost my rental phone while I was there and I think the replacement costs was a bloated $100. Fortunately it was returned by an honest person. Did I mention my experience with the local Limanites was good?
About what does it cost with these prepaid phone to call back to the states or other places outside of Peru?
I haven't used the prepaid cards. Do you enter an access number? This seems like an excellent way to go because you would just keep a card ahead and that way you would know how much you are spending on phone costs and worst you would be out is the 30s $10 card.
Yup -- there's a scratch-off number on the back of the card. All the instructions are there: You dial the access code, enter the 12 numbers (and I think the # sign), and then it confirms that your credits are there. Worst case, you get the front desk at the hotel to help you the first time. They're very used to the whole thing.
My second refill was done at the supermarket. You just tell them your phone number, and the girl types stuff into the cash register, and magically, you have the credits. Pretty damn foolproof.
Cita:
Do you maintain the same number across trips?? If so this seems like a real plus because of the impression of permenance issue that you mentioned.
Usually, yes. I had a 'situation' involving a civilian stalker this time, so I bought a new phone. But usually, I keep the same one.
Cita:
About what does it cost with these prepaid phone to call back to the states or other places outside of Peru?
I think that it was somewhere in the 3 Soles per minute range to the US (I only made one call). I didn't call anywhere else except Lima, so I don't know, but I'm sure that one of our local readers can help out there.
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Great thread, I am going to get a pay-as-you-go phone this time round. The rental option is good, but like the earlier poster said, if you lose the phone you pay through the nose. I had that happen in Rio and the cost was $100. Also you have to put up with the minor hassle of returning the phone at the airport when you leave.
One question: Are incoming calls from the US free on pay-as-you-go phones?
Great thread, I am going to get a pay-as-you-go phone this time round.....
Three weeks ago I got a Motorola basic phone for S/.79 at a hole in the wall on Schell (the road Ripley's Miraflores is on) 25 yds from Larco. The phone comes with S/.79 credit for Claro to Claro calls!!!
Little trick - if you want to remain anonymous, make up a name, a nationality, a passport number and date of birth and write it down for the chica behind the counter. Pretend (if needed) that your Spanish is very limited. You never have to show your papers.
and you know what....I was pussy-fied! You were what?....I was pussy-fied! 
