Prepaid SIM Card for South Africa

*) Compared to receiving calls on your UK number roaming with a British operator. Retaining your UK number abroad is a unique feature of HolidayPhone, not available for SIM cards sold elsewhere.

All tariffs in South Africa

Exchange Rate 1 GBP = 12,70 South African Rand used above.

Flat Rate Mobile Internet in South Africa

Flat rate mobile Internet packages are available. 500MB costs just 75 Rand (£5.90) and is activated through a quick text from your phone. Just make sure you have call balance available as the Internet package cost is deducted from your call balance.

If you need more than 500MB, you can choose a 2GB option for 310 Rand.

The data packages are valid for 30 days.

New top up bonus: For each 150 Rand voucher you top up, you also get 400MB/15 days free of charge Internet usage.

The South African SIM Card can be used as a data SIM card in a dongle, ipad/tablet, MIFI-router or used for tethering with laptop.

Say goodbye to arbitrary per MB fees while travelling and no more worrying about your phone bill when you return home after using mobile internet abroad.

How long does 1GB data last?

This is a tough question to answer because it depends on how you use it, but for most of our customers, 1GB data is more than enough.

Typically 1GB data lasts for:
4000 emails (no attachments), plus 500 emails with attachments, plus 3000 web pages, plus 200 photos to social media sites, plus 250 hours of Google Navigation usage.

Calls between two travellers in South Africa using HolidayPhone

The rate for calls between two travellers using our South African simcards equals that of local calls as stated above. If you are travelling in a party, we recommend that you order HolidayPhone simcards for all travellers, so that you can make cheap calls between each other on your trip. To achieve this, just dial the local South African mobile phone number provided with the South Africa SIM Card you receive from us.

As a comparison, it could cost you up to £5/minute to make calls between two foreign mobile phones if you don't use a local SIM card in South Africa. The international roaming charges at both ends mean that the caller and receiver both end up paying astronomical charges for the call. It only takes a couple of minutes to regain the cost of your HolidayPhone kits if you're both using South African sim cards, paying just 8p/minute!

Make calls within South Africa and topping up call balance

There is no initial call balance on the prepaid SIM card for South Africa, but you decide yourself what amount you'd like to top up when ordering from us. The call credit is used for outgoing calls, text and internet packages.

If you during your trip need additional top up, you can buy top-up vouchers in kiosks, newsstands and supermarkets across South Africa, or on our website for digital delivery by email.

The South African SIM Card is valid 30 days from the last top up, so it can last forever as long as you top up at least once every 30 days.

Calling the UK from South Africa

When calling home using your HolidayPhone South Africa SIM card, just dial +44 and the number without the leading zero of the area code. For example: 07511 223344 becomes +44 7511 223344.

Receive calls in South Africa

You receive inbound calls dialled to your British mobile phone number just as usual as all calls are seamlessly forwarded from the UK to your South African prepaid SIM card without any international roaming charges.

A South African mobile phone number is included, that can be used when people within South Africa or travel companions using HolidayPhone, want to call you. There is no cost for receiving unlimited calls dialled directly to your South African number.

What if the call forwarding time runs out?

The HolidayPhone package includes 1 hour of free diverted calls from the UK, but you can easily add more forwarding time at a low cost when ordering your HolidayPhone package.

In case all your call forwarding time is consumed, the call forwarding feature will stop working, so you don't have to worry about us charging you any fees in arrears.

In comparision, it often costs £0.50-£3.00 per minute to receive calls roaming using a UK operator abroad, so by using HolidayPhone, you save £30-£180 for receiving 1 hour of calls on your British mobile phone number abroad.

We take care of SIM Card registration for you

According to country specific regulations the operator requires that a photo copy of your passport is attached in order for them to activate your SIM card. An image upload URL is attached in your order confirmation e-mail.

Once received, we will pass it on to the operator. We will not use it for any other purpose. As soon as your SIM card is activated, the passport image is removed from our system.

We take care of, and process the SIM Card registration for you, so that the SIM card you receive from us is registered and ready to use when you arrive.

Why do you need this?

According to regulations in South Africa, the operator is required to know the identity of prepaid SIM card holders. These regulations apply for all South African SIM Cards, both for citizens of South Africa as well as foreigners.

South Africa coverage map

Choose between Micro, Nano or Standard sized SIM

When ordering, you can choose to get a Micro, Nano or Standard sized SIM card.
- Standard size is used in most phones.
- Micro SIM cards are used in iPhone 4/4S and a few newer phone models.
- Nano SIM cards are so far only used by iPhone 5.

If you are unsure on what size you'll need, measure your current sim card.

No obligations. No hassle. Direct dial local SIMs.

All HolidayPhone SIM cards (regardless of destination) are direct dial local prepaid SIM cards meaning NO callback and much lower tariffs than using an "international SIM card".

There are no obligations, no contract and no subscription. We never charge any fees retrospectively.

If the destination country requires SIM card registration, we process the registration at the operator on your behalf ahead of your arrival, so you don't have to worry about it. All HolidayPhone SIM cards are ready to use when you arrive.

Compare our offer with competitors

HolidayPhone offers a service that is cheap and easy to use without any hassle to you. If you compare our offer with other providers, make sure to check:

Do you get your UK calls forwarded for free, or will you be unreachable on your ordinary UK number while abroad?

Is mobile Internet / data included in the price, or available at low cost?

Is the SIM card activated and registered when you arrive, or will you have to go through that hassle yourself upon arrival?

And at last - compare the call tariffs.