I set my kids up with two of those SIMs when I took them to Aussie in October.

Yes it worked well.  The large data allowance for the first month was very helpful for the week that we spent there.  Roaming charges for them would have been very high, as Kogan Mobile roaming is very expensive for data if you want more than a bare minimum.  I wanted my kids to be able to video call their Mum and other family members any time they liked and the $18 I spent per kid was well worth it in my opinion.  I picked up the SIM cards at Coles in a previous trip and just waited to activate them.

It was a real pain in the backside.  Had to upload passport photos for ID verification, which tool 1-2 hours.  Had to turn off auto-renew of the plan TWICE before it stuck.

My recommendation: If using your NZ plan with $10-ish per day roaming charges is practical, then do this.  If you want lots of local data and are prepared to put up with some hassle, then Amaysim works well.  Just be prepared for a little hassle and check the auto-renew is turned off more than once.

dylanp: I’m currently using an esim in nz instead of paying one for data overage, which is cheap and good, but amusingly gives me a Polish IP address so I can’t access trademe or geekzone on mobile data - both seem to block that ip.

So - cheap esims are awesome, but if something is being weird and not working, heads up there’s a couple extra variables in the mix.

@dylanp if you don't mind me asking, which eSIM company are you using? Also heading overseas shortly and keen to give a few different options a go. 

I would just use daily roaming for 3 days

Linux:

 

I would just use daily roaming for 3 days

 

Having used sims in Aus a couple of times I would too. In the times I have used sims I was there for a week (or more). Its a bit of a hassle getting them as you have to register them and provide ID and an address (I've used the hotels I was at) - not a total nightmare or anything but not a plug and play solution either. And given my last experience with Optus I'd avoid them like the plague now (but that's another story entirely).

For 3 days - I'd honestly just use roaming. More than 3 days I'd consider a sim given the cost difference. I'm not cheap but to me $8/day is actually too much since 5 days is approximately the same as monthly subscription in a lot of countries.

taneb1:

@dylanp if you don't mind me asking, which eSIM company are you using? Also heading overseas shortly and keen to give a few different options a go. 

Honestly, For 3 days just roam on your NZ sim. Most providers either do daily roaming or have a 7 day bundle which will be more than enough and will cost pretty much the same as a sim & plan.

Just a thought I was in Aus over Wellington Anniversary weekend and used daily roaming but here's a trap that may make me get a SIM in the future.

Alot of restaurants in Aus now use an app called "skip" to order food at the table (one cafe we were at they have gone completely registerless and it is the only way to order)

This app is locked down to Australian IP addresses, when you roam mobile data is originated from an NZ IP address on your home network. Unless there is Wi-Fi available the app doesn't work, additionally they have blocked ASNs for well-known VPNs (at least NORD VPN is in this category)  

Ha! forgot about the esim thing Ive got a trip to the uk end of year I could do a esim (there for a month) anyone got any suggestions for the uk?

jackyleunght2002:

 

Hello 

 

 

 

Going to Sydney for 3 days 2 night next week

 

 

 

anyone use this one before?

 

 

 

https://www.amaysim.com.au/sim-plans/deals

 

 

 

sounds like I can buy it now and activate right now.

 

Jacky 

 

To address your original question, my wife used amaysim when in Aus for a week last year to avoid roaming charges or prepay, was easy enough to activate it and had way more data than we get in NZ for $10-15. I don't know if we would bother for a couple of days though. 

gnfb:

 

Ha! forgot about the esim thing Ive got a trip to the uk end of year I could do a esim (there for a month) anyone got any suggestions for the uk?

 

Have a couple of friends who did separate trips around the UK and EU last year and used this one - https://nz.simcorner.com/products/esim-europe-esim-card-15days (There is also a 30GB 30 day plan) and had no issues. 

Believe it gives you a SIM for a french telco, but said they didn't have any issues - Otherwise believe most of the carriers there do eSIM / can just pick one up when you land. 

cokemaster: You can, however Australian mobile connections must be ID verified.
What this means for you is that you might be able to purchase the sim/esim however you won’t be able to activate it until you’ve passed ID verification.

For NZ passport holders, you can use your NZ passport, once you have cleared immigration.

I had a problem with this, the verification system didn't accept my passport, so I wasted my money. Thanks Australia.