Does anyone know if they have Phones to call stateside in Ports in Mexican Rivera

[Hbkb_94]

We are leaving on the Pride on the 29th . My childrens father and I are seperated and I was wondering if they had any stateside phones that you can call home that don't cost an arm and a leg.

[CCL]

We are leaving on the Pride on the 29th . My childrens father and I are seperated and I was wondering if they had any stateside phones that you can call home that don't cost an arm and a leg.

 

 

Since you are on the Pride, your first port-of-call is Puerto Vallarta. Across the street from where the ship docks, there are a Sam's Club and a Walmart, you just cannot miss them. Go to Walmart and purchase a $10 international calling card, it gives you 40 MINUTES of calling time to the US or Canada, that's 25c a minute. Any airtime left can also be used here in the US, it can be used as a Verizon calling card.

 

Best deal you'll find anywhere in Mexico!

[Hbkb_94]

Thank you so much for the info

Have a great day

[CCL]

Thank you so much for the info

Have a great day

 

No problem Hbkb, you are welcome.

[Cabana Girl]

Beware the calling card in Mexico. We were armed with three fully loaded international calling cards on a particularly long cruise that took us down Mexico and eventually through the Panama Canal. We could not find pay phones that would let us use our own calling card. You will find many phones that you need to buy a special phone card for, but you may not be able to find someone who can sell you that card. We were extremely frustrated.

 

One payphone even heisted the minutes off of our AT&T card somehow. About 90 minutes were suddenly gone, with no call completed.

 

If you really need to make calls, I would look into the possibility of making the calls on your cell phone or renting a cell phone for the trip. It might seem expensive, but if you really need to make calls it will save your sanity. Email is another option, but make sure the party at the other is willing to check the mail and respond.

[CCL]

Beware the calling card in Mexico. We were armed with three fully loaded international calling cards on a particularly long cruise that took us down Mexico and eventually through the Panama Canal. We could not find pay phones that would let us use our own calling card. You will find many phones that you need to buy a special phone card for, but you may not be able to find someone who can sell you that card. We were extremely frustrated.

 

One payphone even heisted the minutes off of our AT&T card somehow. About 90 minutes were suddenly gone, with no call completed.

 

If you really need to make calls, I would look into the possibility of making the calls on your cell phone or renting a cell phone for the trip. It might seem expensive, but if you really need to make calls it will save your sanity. Email is another option, but make sure the party at the other is willing to check the mail and respond.

 

 

I can only speak of the calling card we have purchased from Walmart in Puerto Vallarta. You can use that in any public phone in Mexico marked TELMEX, they are blue phone booths and readily available/abundant everywhere. We have NEVER had any problems using or finding any of these TELMEX phones. Some places I can think of that we have used them include Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Ensenada, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, Huatulco, Cozumel, Cancun.

And we have been using this particular brand since 2000, as I said in my previous post, this particular calling card sold by Walmart (at least in the PV location) will also work in the United States as a Verizon calling card.

[bunting]

Here´s another option buy your phone in Mexico..................

 

One company Movistar....sells phone for about 400 pesos around 38 USD then gives you about 350 pesos worth of call time.....you do not have to sign up with a calling plan. If you run out of time you buy a card from a Movistar shop, and just key in the PIN and get your credit......you then have the phone to keep with you for your next trips to Mexico, especially CCL since you seem to have been here a lot!!!!.....here´s their current rates on this type of pay as you use system....

 

To call USA: USD $1.10 for 30 minutes.

 

To call other Movistar phones and land lines within Mexico: USD $0.60 per call (no minutes limit).

To call other company's phones within Mexico (like Telcel, Unefon, Iusacell): USD $0.60 per minute

To receive USA calls: Free

 

To receive Mexican phone's calls: Free

To send txt messages: USD $0.10

To receive txt messages: Free

 

These rates are current as of last week, I would just suggest checking with them before you buy your phone.......

 

The phones of course are very basic no camera, no video etc etc but intended to keep you in touch at a good price

[hdawson]

Online printable phone cards from the Mexican dominate phone company.

 

http://www.telmexusa.com I use them regularily.

[CCL]

Here´s another option buy your phone in Mexico..................

 

One company Movistar....sells phone for about 400 pesos around 38 USD then gives you about 350 pesos worth of call time.....you do not have to sign up with a calling plan. If you run out of time you buy a card from a Movistar shop, and just key in the PIN and get your credit......you then have the phone to keep with you for your next trips to Mexico, especially CCL since you seem to have been here a lot!!!!.....here´s their current rates on this type of pay as you use system....

 

To call USA: USD $1.10 for 30 minutes.

 

To call other Movistar phones and land lines within Mexico: USD $0.60 per call (no minutes limit).

 

To call other company's phones within Mexico (like Telcel, Unefon, Iusacell): USD $0.60 per minute

 

To receive USA calls: Free

 

To receive Mexican phone's calls: Free

 

To send txt messages: USD $0.10

 

To receive txt messages: Free

 

These rates are current as of last week, I would just suggest checking with them before you buy your phone.......

 

The phones of course are very basic no camera, no video etc etc but intended to keep you in touch at a good price

 

Thanks Bunting, that's real cheap if it's $1.10 to call the US for 30 minutes! I will have to check that out next time we visit. Can you find Movistar refill cards easily from many places and are they also available from places like supermarkets etc????

thanks

[Cages2000]

I travel to Mexico often and the Telmex cards are the way to go. They are easy to use at all Mexico phones. They are easy to use, and you can bypass an operator. You can order them on-line and print your PIN from your computer.

[bunting]

Thanks Bunting, that's real cheap if it's $1.10 to call the US for 30 minutes! I will have to check that out next time we visit. Can you find Movistar refill cards easily from many places and are they also available from places like supermarkets etc????

thanks

 

HI CCL, My wife works for a company here that provides these phones to visiting US students and that was the last published rate....she´s out today working!! But, I´ll try and confirm the info again for you and post it up as soon as......

 

As you probably know, the main monopoly here use to be, and continues to be, Telmex (for callboxes, business and home phones) and Telcel (their cellular arm), but Movistar is keen to expand their part in the market...since the students are from the US and were more interested in keeping in touch cheaply with home, after research she opted for these phones.....I have heard no negative feedback from the her yet....(about the phones I mean, not my cooking!!!)

 

their company logo is a large green stretched M and wherever you see that you will be able to buy their cards. A lot of newsagents, stores sell the cards (though some might favor Telcel), as you probably know a lot of cellphone cards are sold here at the traffic lights but these tend to be for Telcel (the monopoly I suppose)......if you search the company name on the internet you should come up with their page and check out the logo....they also have a map showing regional and state coverage.....from what I see most of the ports you listed are covered...

 

I´ll get back to you once I confirm the rates and with any other feedback I get from her about coverage....but not my cooking!!!

[hdawson]

bunting. Since I'm visiting Merida for two weeks in Oct, I might be interested in one of those phones. However I've been real pleased with the Telmex cards. Website? Cost?

[bunting]

bunting. Since I'm visiting Merida for two weeks in Oct, I might be interested in one of those phones. However I've been real pleased with the Telmex cards. Website? Cost?

 

 

Hope its ok to post the link

 

http://www.movistar.com.mx

 

The site is Spanish Language only......

 

The good lady is out at the moment but will confirm how much she paid exactly for the BASIC phones later but I do know that they include so many minutes with the price so it works out that you pay next to nothing for the phone. We also have one of their places near by and I will try and check out their details (but being Saturday pm they´re likely closed!! until Monday)........but as soon as I get some more hard facts from the wife and will also check out the local place on Monday I will get something posted back to you and CCL.......................

[bunting]

Hope its ok to post the link

 

http://www.movistar.com.mx

 

The site is Spanish Language only......

 

The good lady is out at the moment but will confirm how much she paid exactly for the BASIC phones later but I do know that they include so many minutes with the price so it works out that you pay next to nothing for the phone. We also have one of their places near by and I will try and check out their details (but being Saturday pm they´re likely closed!! until Monday)........but as soon as I get some more hard facts from the wife and will also check out the local place on Monday I will get something posted back to you and CCL.......................

 

Hi spoke to the good lady, she told me that the last time she had to buy a unit it cost 459 MXN about 42 dollars (the students lose a few of them!!) this is a basic phone black and grey screen, no camera etc etc. the phone company gives you the ¨credit time¨ in batches of 100 so each time you key in a new credit you receive 100 upto a maximum of 300 so its 459 for the phone less the 300 (once you key in your card details) cards can be purchased in newsagents, stores, and within Movistar itself. The rate for calls to the USA she confirmed, but mentioned always best to check when you buy a phone........she has had no negative feedback from the students about the phones or the provider..........I think these are probably better for the person who frequently comes here or maybe like yourself, hdawson, if you are going to be here for a few weeks and ring home frequently.......

 

There is also a card that the university here sells to ther students (if they do not have a cell with them).... the card is made by a company called ekofon....I used it when I first came here and the rates were superior to Telmex. Just one thing to note that here in Mexico when you use a phonecard with a PIN they tend to have a number of different rates e.g. if you call from a street phone it is more expensive than if you use the same card to call from a home....this company has a website www.ekofon.com I also checked their rates and they look far superior to Telmex.Though I have never used them to buy from the internet but only here in person. Card costs 100 MXN currently about 9.32 US that gets me about 256 minutes from here to the US (Florida) I think that works out about 27 1/2 minutes for a dollar. They have an office in Boston ventas@ekofon.com. Maybe they can tell you if the cards are sold locally in your hometown etc

 

Hope that helps.................

[CCL]

Thanks Bunting, that was a goldmine of info.

Have a good one!