Sim card in the Gulf
 

Any advice on what Pay asU go Sim card is best for using in the Arabian Gulf and Oman. I am wondering whther it is possible and better to buy a local card or to buy one of the internation cards before leaving the UK. I am in the gulf for 3 weeks visiting Oman to Bahain and everthing in between, using the card locally and to the UK.

This is where the fun starts.

One "international" sim, Lycamobile can be cheap for international calls but the roaming prices, if you buy the card in the UK, are a good cure for constipation. That is one thing you must seriously look at if activating a card like Lyca in the UK.

A "local" sim card? that may also be an issue due to roaming charges from country to country. You could end up spending a hell of a lot more by buying a card for a network in Oman and using it in Bahrain.

I would look at the other "international" sims, and seriously check out the prices. Some others might have more info than me. A quick look points to the "One" sim card being a possibility 0.75USD per minute for a call to the UK and 0.15USD pm to receive any call. There must be others, but other people will have to help you there.

There are people who advocate buying a local sim for each country and changing it over as required.

And the cost of each card is something you also have to take into consideration, GG, as visiting 4 countries could prove expensive with that method, especially with unused credit on a sim

You are all identifying the issues that I thought would be a problem. I have noticed one card that is free on inbound calls in some countries and reasonable for outbound calls.
I did wonder someone had found a magic sim card that covered all the bases as I clearly can't buy 4 cards. It might be that I will have to bite the bullet and keep O2 :ugh:

It's not 'clearly' to me - why can't you buy 1 card per country? Roaming (and specifically DATA roaming) charges are a nightmare.

Unless it's on the expense account, data roaming is something you should not even contemplate doing full stop.

I have always used Oman Tel when over there. Good for wireless internet as well if you buy the adapter.