Lycamobile was much better, although HSPA+ speeds still weren’t particularly fast. Given the higher cost and poor data speeds, I just can’t recommend using this company in the Netherlands. Web pages would often timeout, or take minutes to load. I ran speed tests in Utrecht, Leiden, Amsterdam, Maastricht, and The Hague, and never got a download speed above 1Mbps, or an upload speed of half that. It would regularly switch between HSPA+, 3G, and EDGE while standing in the centre of a major town or city. Despite being on the KPN network which spans the entire country, I’d regularly see my phone struggling to maintain a data signal. When it came to data speeds, Lebara was a total disappointment. You'll need to click the button in that email to confirm your details. Please check your email for a message from us. Supermarkets, convenience stores, mobile phone stores, and many others sell them, or you can buy online (at least with Lycamobile) and save yourself the hassle. In the Netherlands, that seems to be about every hundred metres. You can buy top-ups almost anywhere you see a sign for Lycamobile or Lebara. Bundles change all the time, so check what’s on offer before you commit.īuying the SIM card online from either company is usually free, but you’ll need a Dutch address to get it sent out to. At the time of writing, you can get unlimited national calls and texts and 5GB of data for €10, valid for a month. The Lycamobile SIM cost five euros with the same amount of credit on it. You’ll pay extra for the SIM card when buying instore: mine cost €10, with €5 of credit preloaded. With Lebara, €15 gets you unlimited national calls, 1000 national texts, and 5GB of data valid for a month. No matter how you do it, you'll be connected with a minimum of fuss before you've left the airport. You can also get affordable eSIMs for recent iPhones and other supported devices. Other options are available if you're traveling for longer, need a portable hotspot, or want a different mix of calls, texts, and data. Use the code SIMOFF20 at checkout to get 20% off. The price includes US delivery, and it's valid for two weeks in 30 European countries. ![]() This Orange SIM includes 20GB of data, 1000 international texts, and two hours of international calls. ![]() Prefer to spend your vacation sightseeing instead of buying SIM cards? Grab one in advance to stay connected in the Netherlands and across Europe. There was no problem using an international debit card to do this, and took a lot less time than walking around the shops! In the end, buying credit online was the easiest option. For some reason, none of the three places I tried in Leiden (two phone stores and a major supermarket) had data top-up packs available. ![]() It wasn’t as easy with Lycamobile, however. I just asked the vendor to add credit to my SIM after he activated it, and then texted the code WEB1GB (found in the brochure he handed me) to a given number. Getting set up with a data package on Lebara was also straightforward. You don’t need to be in a major city to buy a card - I picked mine up in Leiden and Utrecht, for instance. In both cases, the vendor activated the SIM for me, but as instructions are in both English and Dutch, you could probably do it yourself if necessary. I just walked into the nearest mobile phone shop with a Lycamobile or Lebara sign in the window, and had a working connection within a few minutes. Purchasing either SIM card was extremely simple. How to Buy a Prepaid SIM Card in the Netherlands I tested with Lebara and Lycamobile SIMs, which both use the KPN network. KPN has the largest network, followed by Vodafone and T-Mobile, but its resellers offer better pricing for prepaid customers. There are three main cell networks in the Netherlands, operated by KPN, Vodafone, and T-Mobile.
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