Phones and money

13 Nov 2006 Burgo17 said

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• 13 Nov 2006 RUAAlien2 said

  

  For optionals, it’s credit card or cash. For food that you buy on your own, ti depends where you go, but some places do have a min for credit cards/EFTPOS.
  
  Hope htat helped a bit!

  For optionals, it's credit card or cash. For food that you buy on your own, ti depends where you go, but some places do have a min for credit cards/EFTPOS.<BR><BR>Hope htat helped a bit! or Cancel
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• 28 Nov 2006 Charltz said

  

  Just thought i would add that optus PRE-PAID mobile Auto Roam does not work in NZ. So you cannot send/receive messages or make/receive calls in NZ if you hav optus pre paid mobile. I suggest maybe buying a Vodafone sim.

  Just thought i would add that optus PRE-PAID mobile Auto Roam does not work in NZ. So you cannot send/receive messages or make/receive calls in NZ if you hav optus pre paid mobile. I suggest maybe buying a Vodafone sim. or Cancel
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• 28 Nov 2006 Charltz said

  

  and if ure card has the maestro label you can use eftpos overseas, if it has the cirrus logo u can use ANY bank atm. I dont reccommend Bank of NZ atms as they only dispense $20 notes. <!--graemlin::confused:-->

  and if ure card has the maestro label you can use eftpos overseas, if it has the cirrus logo u can use ANY bank atm. I dont reccommend Bank of NZ atms as they only dispense $20 notes. <img src="http://connect.contiki.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif" alt="Confused" width="15" height="22"><!--graemlin::confused:--> or Cancel
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• 29 Nov 2006 Burgo17 said

  

  Hey Cat,
  
  Thanks for all your help and advice.
  So what your pretty much saying is that I can just buy a $10 phone card from a newsagent and use this on my mobile or a public phone to make a call to Australia. If I was to make only a 2 or 3 minute call would this be fairly cheap?
  
  Just another quick question. are there plenty of internet cafes in NZ where the onctiki tour goes for emails.
  
  Thanks again.
  Aaron

  Hey Cat,<BR><BR>Thanks for all your help and advice.<BR>So what your pretty much saying is that I can just buy a $10 phone card from a newsagent and use this on my mobile or a public phone to make a call to Australia. If I was to make only a 2 or 3 minute call would this be fairly cheap? <BR><BR>Just another quick question. are there plenty of internet cafes in NZ where the onctiki tour goes for emails.<BR><BR>Thanks again.<BR>Aaron or Cancel
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• 29 Dec 2006 Sharon13 said

  

  Hi there,
  
  I am in New Zealand right now about to start the Contiki Bay of islands tour and I thought I’d let everyone know Optus prepaid DOESN’T work in New Zealand. I bought the sim specifically because the guy in the store said it would work but he clearly had no clue! Hopefully this will stop anyone making the same mistake I did. I’ve ended up buying a vodaphone sim over here which seems ok.

  Hi there, <BR><BR>I am in New Zealand right now about to start the Contiki Bay of islands tour and I thought I'd let everyone know Optus prepaid DOESN'T work in New Zealand. I bought the sim specifically because the guy in the store said it would work but he clearly had no clue! Hopefully this will stop anyone making the same mistake I did. I've ended up buying a vodaphone sim over here which seems ok. or Cancel
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• 7 Jan 2007 Charltz said

  

  i hav optus pre paid and it DOES NOT work in NZ. i know it sucks.

  i hav optus pre paid and it DOES NOT work in NZ. i know it sucks. or Cancel
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• 7 Jan 2007 retronym said

  

  New Zealand only has Vodafone or Telecom.

  New Zealand only has Vodafone or Telecom. or Cancel
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• 9 Jan 2007 Bron85 said

  

  Hey Cat
  So when you used your telstra mobile in NZ… did you set it up with telstra before you went?And did you get phonecard for just phonecalls and mobile for mainly text.
  
  Thanks Bron
  
  
  
  
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  Burgo17 Posted 13 November 2006 02:46 AM
  Hey,
  
  I’m going on the grand adventurer New Zeland tour on Jan 18 from Auckland to Christchurch asnd can’t wait. Just had a few queries regarding phones and spending money. Firstly, I’m on an Optus pre-paid mobile and was told by the travel gent you can get ‘international roaming’. What exactly is the bets way to make calls or SMS’s from overseas (not that I’ll be making many).
  Secondly, I’m thinking that ATM’s are the best way to go, and as told by the travel agent that as long as the ‘Maestro’ logo I think was on the ATM then you casn just withdraw cash in NZ dollars. More importnantly, from people ho have done the tour before, what sor of payment is accepted for the optional activities, food etc. Are you able to use EFTPOS (not credit card) or is cash the best way.
  
  Thanks for any help. Hope to meet anybody who’s going on this tour.
  
  Aaron
  Posts: 5 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 13 November 2006
  
  RUAAlien2
  Posted 13 November 2006 11:00 AM Hide Post
  For optionals, it’s credit card or cash. For food that you buy on your own, ti depends where you go, but some places do have a min for credit cards/EFTPOS.
  
  Hope htat helped a bit!
  Posts: 32 | Location: New York | Registered: 15 August 2006
  
  Ignored post by RUAAlien2 posted 13 November 2006 11:00 AM Show Post
  
  Cat D
  Posted 24 November 2006 06:45 AM Hide Post
  Hey Aaron
  
  I went on the tour Aug/Sep and had a ball.
  To answer your questions, I have a telstra mobile on a plan, so my phone situation was a little different, but i reccommend you give optus a call, I wasnt sure before I left, so I gave telstra a call and was able to make a receive calls and sms’s. It cost me extra to make and receive calls, but the difference was minimal to send sms’s and didnt cost any extra to receive sms’s. It also didnt cost me anything to turn international roaming on either. If you plan on making lots of phone calls home, I suggest waiting til you get to NZ and going to a newsagent and getting an international phone card. It works on a prepaid basis and you can get some that are as cheap as 3cents per/min home to aus. I got a $10 card (NZ$) and had 300 mins talk time! You just key in a few numbers before the number you want to ring, so you are able to use it from your mobile, hotel phone or payphones etc.
  
  For all of the optionals I’m pretty sure its cash or credit card only. I found it easier to pay credit for all of my optionals and cash for everything else. I withdrew and exchanged about $1,000 cash before leaving Aus and withdrew a little more cash again along the way. Your tour manager will be able to tell you places you can exchange money etc at any stops along the way as well. All of your breakfasts are included and some dinners, but any souvenirs, lunches, alcohol and any optionals etc are at your own cost. Sometimes lunch stops might be one cafe in the middle of nowhere and they may only take cash, so its best to have cash on you all time. Also watch out when you actually do any optionals, often you get photos, dvds, merchandise etc offered to you at the end, which can cost a fair bit too, so dont forget to budget for that!
  
  I’m pretty sure as long as you have the maestro symbol on your eftpos card, you will be able to use any atms that have that symbol (which I think is as common as mastercard or visa). I dont have a card that has that on it, but your bank should be able to tell you that too. Alternately, if you bank with ANZ, you can just use one of their atm’s! hahaha
  
  I hope that has answered your questions!! If you have any more q’s, I’m more than happy to answer, I wanted to know everything before I went, so glad to help!
  
  Cheers, Cat
  Posts: 19 | Location: AUSTRALIA | Registered: 16 October 2005
  
  Ignored post by Cat D posted 24 November 2006 06:45 AM Show Post
  
  Charltz
  Posted 28 November 2006 01:04 AM Hide Post
  Just thought i would add that optus PRE-PAID mobile Auto Roam does not work in NZ. So you cannot send/receive messages or make/receive calls in NZ if you hav optus pre paid mobile. I suggest maybe buying a Vodafone sim.[/quote]

  Hey Cat <BR>So when you used your telstra mobile in NZ... did you set it up with telstra before you went?And did you get phonecard for just phonecalls and mobile for mainly text. <BR><BR>Thanks Bron<BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR> Contiki Community Trip Advice New Zealand Advice Phones and money<BR>Go New Find Notify Tools Reply Admin New PM! <BR>Personal Zone»<BR>Member Directory<BR>Contiki Community»<BR>Profile<BR>Buddies<BR>Ignore List<BR>Groups<BR>Permissions<BR>Private Messaging<BR>Notifications<BR>Karma<BR>Preferences<BR>Favorites<BR>More...<BR>Discussion<BR>Poll<BR>Private Message<BR>Keyword Search <BR> <BR>Search current forum only <BR>Advanced Search<BR>New Since your Last Visit<BR>Today's Active Topics in this Category<BR>Add to My Favorites<BR>Printer Friendly Format<BR>Email a Friend<BR>Help<BR>Manage Topic<BR>Manage Content in This Topic<BR>Manage Members<BR>Online Now<BR>Control Panel<BR> Rate It! Login/JoinWelcome, Bron85 [Logout] <BR><BR>Burgo17 Posted 13 November 2006 02:46 AM <BR>Hey,<BR><BR>I'm going on the grand adventurer New Zeland tour on Jan 18 from Auckland to Christchurch asnd can't wait. Just had a few queries regarding phones and spending money. Firstly, I'm on an Optus pre-paid mobile and was told by the travel gent you can get 'international roaming'. What exactly is the bets way to make calls or SMS's from overseas (not that I'll be making many).<BR>Secondly, I'm thinking that ATM's are the best way to go, and as told by the travel agent that as long as the 'Maestro' logo I think was on the ATM then you casn just withdraw cash in NZ dollars. More importnantly, from people ho have done the tour before, what sor of payment is accepted for the optional activities, food etc. Are you able to use EFTPOS (not credit card) or is cash the best way.<BR><BR>Thanks for any help. Hope to meet anybody who's going on this tour.<BR><BR>Aaron<BR> Posts: 5 | Location: Melbourne | Registered: 13 November 2006<BR><BR>RUAAlien2 <BR>Posted 13 November 2006 11:00 AM Hide Post<BR>For optionals, it's credit card or cash. For food that you buy on your own, ti depends where you go, but some places do have a min for credit cards/EFTPOS.<BR><BR>Hope htat helped a bit!<BR> Posts: 32 | Location: New York | Registered: 15 August 2006<BR><BR>Ignored post by RUAAlien2 posted 13 November 2006 11:00 AM Show Post<BR><BR>Cat D <BR>Posted 24 November 2006 06:45 AM Hide Post<BR>Hey Aaron <BR><BR>I went on the tour Aug/Sep and had a ball. <BR>To answer your questions, I have a telstra mobile on a plan, so my phone situation was a little different, but i reccommend you give optus a call, I wasnt sure before I left, so I gave telstra a call and was able to make a receive calls and sms's. It cost me extra to make and receive calls, but the difference was minimal to send sms's and didnt cost any extra to receive sms's. It also didnt cost me anything to turn international roaming on either. If you plan on making lots of phone calls home, I suggest waiting til you get to NZ and going to a newsagent and getting an international phone card. It works on a prepaid basis and you can get some that are as cheap as 3cents per/min home to aus. I got a $10 card (NZ$) and had 300 mins talk time! You just key in a few numbers before the number you want to ring, so you are able to use it from your mobile, hotel phone or payphones etc.<BR><BR>For all of the optionals I'm pretty sure its cash or credit card only. I found it easier to pay credit for all of my optionals and cash for everything else. I withdrew and exchanged about $1,000 cash before leaving Aus and withdrew a little more cash again along the way. Your tour manager will be able to tell you places you can exchange money etc at any stops along the way as well. All of your breakfasts are included and some dinners, but any souvenirs, lunches, alcohol and any optionals etc are at your own cost. Sometimes lunch stops might be one cafe in the middle of nowhere and they may only take cash, so its best to have cash on you all time. Also watch out when you actually do any optionals, often you get photos, dvds, merchandise etc offered to you at the end, which can cost a fair bit too, so dont forget to budget for that! <BR><BR>I'm pretty sure as long as you have the maestro symbol on your eftpos card, you will be able to use any atms that have that symbol (which I think is as common as mastercard or visa). I dont have a card that has that on it, but your bank should be able to tell you that too. Alternately, if you bank with ANZ, you can just use one of their atm's! hahaha <BR><BR>I hope that has answered your questions!! If you have any more q's, I'm more than happy to answer, I wanted to know everything before I went, so glad to help! <BR><BR>Cheers, Cat <BR> Posts: 19 | Location: AUSTRALIA | Registered: 16 October 2005<BR><BR>Ignored post by Cat D posted 24 November 2006 06:45 AM Show Post<BR><BR>Charltz <BR>Posted 28 November 2006 01:04 AM Hide Post<BR>Just thought i would add that optus PRE-PAID mobile Auto Roam does not work in NZ. So you cannot send/receive messages or make/receive calls in NZ if you hav optus pre paid mobile. I suggest maybe buying a Vodafone sim.[/quote] or Cancel
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