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The Holland prepaid SIM card for The Netherlands with a cell phone is the most
convenient and economical solution for staying in touch while in Holland. All incoming calls, while your travel Holland are
FREE, regardless of where they originate. Pay the local rate for local calls and use your Holland cellular phone like you
do at home. And, unlike home, your Netherlands SIM card is prepaid so there is no need for a contract.
What's
included?
The O2 Holland prepaid SIM card (Network Access Card) for your cell phone
Eur 10 (US $10.00) worth of airtime
FREE incoming calls
Voicemail
SMS text messaging
Data capable
No yearly contract, monthly charges or credit check
note: Your Holland SIM card will require a SIM-unlocked compatible international cellular phone. If you do not already own
an international cell phone, then there a wide variety of models available for your review to purchase by clicking here.
For your consideration we also have:
Your Holland SIM card will provide you with a Holland cellular phone number that
is printed on under the last bar code, on the reverse side of the O2 packaging and begins 064. The Holland cell phone
number may also be found printed on the envelope containing your SIM card as well as below the actual SIM card in the section
titled ‘Het mobiele nummer is:”.
To start using your O2 service simply:
Insert the O2 Holland SIM card into the mobile phone*
Turn on your phone
Enter the default Pin “0000” (4 zeroes)^
Start calling**
Customer service for your Holland prepaid SIM card is available 24 hr./day by dialing
1244 at any time from your Holland cellular phone.
*You will need to snap out the thumbnail sized Holland SIM card along the perforated
edge of its holder and then insert the Holland SIM card into your international cell phone with the gold contacts of the
Holland SIM card facing the metal contacts of your international cellular phone.
**When calling overseas from the United States to your Holland cellular phone number callers will need to dial 011 followed
by the country code 31 and then your Holland cell phone number. To call abroad from your Holland cell phone simply dial 00
followed by the country code and phone number.
^ Your phone may or may not prompt you for a PIN code. The PUK is only required to unblock you phone if you enter in
a PIN code incorrectly 3x. Follow your cell phone manual instructions to correctly use the PUK to unblock your phone
along with PIN2.
From time to time, your prepaid Holland SIM card may need to be recharged
with airtime credit. The mechanism for adding airtime is through the purchase of recharge cards (also called airtime
vouchers), which are available at most convenience stores, tabac shops and petrol stations throughout Holland. They
may be purchased in denominations of 10 Euro or 20 Euro and you receive the equivalent in airtime.
To charge the Netherlands SIM with a recharge card proceed as follows:
Open up the packaging of the recharge card.
Rub off the gray protective layer.
A 14-digit number will be revealed.
Dial 1224
Follow the instructions to load your voucher code.
Remember: Do not purchase another Holland SIM chip when your airtime
is depleted!!!
Domestic rates are per minute for outgoing calls within Holland while
you are in Holland. All incoming calls regardless of where they originate and the tariff plan you choose are free with
the O2 Holland SIM card.
The default plan is call the “Piek & Dal”, however this may changed, for free, once/month. More frequent changes will incur
a €5/change.
Piek & Dal Plan (Default)
Peak
Off-peak
Landline
Cell phone
Landline
Cell phone
0.45 Euro ($0.50)
0.45 Euro ($0.50)
0.10 Euro ($0.11)
0.20 Euro ($0.22)
Vast (fixed line) & Mobiel
Call Any time
Any Domestic number
24 / 7
€ 0,35 ($0.39)
International rates are per minute for international outgoing calls within Holland from your Holland SIM card while you are in Holland. All incoming calls, regardless of where they originate, are free with your O2 Holland SIM card.
North America
Western Europe
Europe
Rest of world
€ 0.80 / $0.88*
€ 1.00 / $1.10
€ 0.75 / $0.82
€ 1.75 / $1.90
Currently you can use your O2 Holland service in 38 countries around Europe and the rest of the world. The 38 countries are split into 2 zones and each zone has its own set of calling restrictions so please read this section carefully.
O2 recharge vouchers are not available outside of Holland. Consequently you may want to consider bringing along some spare airtime recharge vouchers while roaming.
1) You can receive calls regardless of where they originate while
in zone 1 or 2.
2) You can make domestic calls while in zone 1 or 2
3) You can ONLY call internationally to Zone 1, Zone 2 and Holland.
Calling within zone or to Holland*
Calls from one Zone to the Other.
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 1 to 2
Zone 2 to 1
€ 1.25 ($1.37)
€ 1.90 ($2.09)
€ 1.50 ($1.65)
€ 2.45 ($2.68)
Zone 1: Andorra, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Malta, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Austria, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, UK, Sweden and Switzerland
Zone 2: Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Lithuania, Morocco, Ukraine, Turkey, South-Africa, and the US**
* Includes cost of ALL all incoming calls.
** The US networks do not always connect outgoing calls.
International roaming with a Netherlands SIM card is not the cheapest but it can be convenient if say you cross into France or Germany for a weekend. This way you don’t have to buy a new SIM card for just 2 days in a new country.
Each recharge extends the validity of the SIM card for 12 months from the date of the recharge. If you do not recharge your SIM card within that period, the SIM card and accompanying phone number will expire.
Keeping in touch while in Holland can be very frustrating and expensive experience without an international
cell phone and Holland SIM card.
Sometimes a payphone takes coins (But how many is anybody’s guess!!!), other times a proprietary calling card and still others only a
credit card will do with accompanying instructions that would take a week to understand.
A Holland cell phone rental can significantly cut down on the frustration of calling home while abroad but the airtime rates
would bankrupt all but the thickest of wallets. Airtime rates for a cellular phone rental in the Netherlands can typically start
at $1.50 and may be as high as $2+/minute.
A Holland prepaid SIM chip is a quick and easy way to convert your existing world cell phone into a prepaid Holland cell phone
and is more economical then a Netherlands cell phone rental.
Think you go a deal on your world phone and plan on doing some international roaming? With international roaming charges the
airtime rate you will pay is out of this world.
Why pay $1.99/minute for the same call that you can have for FREE with a Holland SIM card? Get your phone number before you leave
and be available for pennies/minute and not dollars. And with the money you save you’ll be able to upgrade to a better cell
phone
We offer a growing selection of prepaid sim cards for other international destinations as well as a wide variety of GSM international cell phones.
Dutch Flyer
When trains from Britain to mainland Europe are mentioned, most people think of the Eurostar or Le Shuttle trains, through the Channel Tunnel . But, long before the tunnel came into existence, trains still connected, depending on tides, weather, etc. with ferries across the English Channel.
But, you can’t only cross to France on such a service. Ferries also operate from ports on England’s east coast, across the North Sea, to Belgium and Holland, and some of these, also, have connecting trains. One of them is the Dutch Flyer, which isn’t so much a train as a one-stop-shop for tickets anywhere within the ‘One’ network. This operates trains from London’s Liverpool Street Station throughout East Anglia … roughly, that’s an area east of a line bounded by London, Cambridge and The Wash … the Stena ferry company and NS, the Dutch national railway company.
Through them, you can buy tickets which cover your trip from any ‘One’ station to Harwich, your ferry crossing to the Hook of Holland, and your train to any Dutch station. Normally, such a ticket will cost £85 return … but, if you book early enough, you may qualify for an APEX fare of only £50 return.
The time given in the leaflet is only the time of the latest train you must catch in order to catch the boat. I was at Liverpool Street early, and was able to catch an earlier train to Harwich International, because, if I have to wait, I’d rather wait there than in London.
On arrival at Harwich International, I walked across the platform, straight into the Stena ferry terminal.
Compared with airports, check-in is a breeze. My e-ticket and passport were checked, my suitcase taken from me and tagged and my boarding card issued with a minimum of queuing and fuss.
The boat was the high-speed catamaran Stena Discovery, which, with a top speed of 40 knots, can cover the 130 miles to the Hook of Holland in 3 hours 40 minutes.
There are facilities on board to while away this time; films and play areas for children and adults and, of course, a selection of bars and restaurants. I went to Maxime’s, and had a delicious chicken teruyaki. That was infinitely better than crouching in a foetal position on an aeroplane, eating reheated, preservative-stenched stew with plastic cutlery! However, these days, they don’t feed you on the Amsterdam flight … there isn’t enough time
At the Hook of Holland, again, it’s just a short walk across the platform to the Amsterdam train, which stops at Rotterdam, Schiedam, Delft and The Hague … I should think you can change at Rotterdam if you want to go somewhere further afield, such as Groningen or Maastricht.
I was bound for The Hague, which I reached only eight hours after the last possible train left London. And, I arrived just in time to see the last tram to Scheveningen, my ultimate destination, disappearing down the road!
But, I can’t be too hard on NS for this. I was warned, and advised to get off at Holland’s Spoor station, and I’d be in plenty of time for a tram from there. But, although we stood at the platform at Holland’s Spoor for a good ten minutes, they wouldn’t let anyone off, because the train didn’t ‘officially’ stop there.
One thing I did note, though … when converting from Euros into pounds, the taxi fare into Scheveningen was almost exactly a half of a single boat-and-train fare from London!
For more information, and bookings, visit www.dutchflyer.co.uk
The Hill from Hell and the Sugar Loaf
If you disembark at Ouistreham from the ferry from Portsmouth, and drive south for only two hours ...... you’re in Switzerland! But, this isn’t the Switzerland of Alps, cuckoo clocks and fondue. It’s much cheaper, for one thing !
Someone once decided that the low rolling hills and the cliffs in the valley of the River Orne, about twenty miles south of Caen, looked vaguely Alpine. Many of the houses are built from the rough, locally-quarried Pont de la Mousse slate. This, in spite of the relatively modest height of the area, gives something of the air of mountain villages. So, to attract the visitors, they called the area Suisse Normande, or Norman Switzerland.
If you didn’t bring a car, buses are frequent, and not too expensive. Or, you could step straight off the ferry on to the GR36 long-distance footpath, and walk there in a couple of days ... if you’re feeling energetic.
Centres upon which to base an exploration of the area are Thury-Harcourt (The Gateway to Suisse Normande) and Clécy (The Heart of Suisse Normande), where accommodation to suit all pockets is available. Through it all winds the peaceful River Orne. It’s said to be the cleanest river in France, and offers fishing and boating. But, it does show an occasional fit of bad temper, to accommodate the more intrepid canoeists.
The château gardens are an attraction in Thury-Harcourt, although the château itself was reduced to a roofless façade by Allied shelling in World War II. Veterans of that conflict will, however, find the citizens of Thury-Harcourt quite willing to forgive them!
Many short walks, or petites randonnées start from Thury-Harcourt and Clécy. These easy routes, which are also available to cyclists and horse-riders, are marked by balises, or way-marks peculiar to each. From Thury-Harcourt, the best routes lead up the Colline d’Enfer ....... which translates as ‘The Hill from Hell’.
Goodness knows why it’s so called. The summit, just 300 ft above valley level, is just a gently-sloping upland pasture, although it’s highly recommended for the views of Thury-Harcourt and the Orne valley.
Every farm-house seems to be surrounded by an apple orchard. These apples aren’t for eating. The best ones go to make cider, and the best of the cider is distilled to make Calvados. And, to ensure the apples aren’t eaten by passing randonneurs, the orchards containing the most tempting apples are grazed by the biggest, ugliest and meanest-looking bulls.
The walking routes from Clécy will either lead along the placid banks of the Orne, or up Pain de Sucre, ‘Sugar Loaf’ in English, which is another long, low hill on the eastern side of the Orne, overlooking Clécy.
Some routes up this wooded hill are fairly strenuous, but even the easy ones will reward walkers with an occasional peep through the trees to the Orne, with Clécy beyond.
On a list of "things to do" anywhere in France, eating usually comes near the top. That’s especially true in Normandy. I learnt of something called the trou normand, or the Norman Hole. Apparently, when you’re "full to busting", you take a slug of Calvados, which they say burns out a cavity for more food!
Even for your lunch-time sandwich, there’s a tempting choice. Pont l’Eveque and Boursin are the better-known Norman cheeses, or you should be able to buy the local pâté de campagne at the charcuterie. And, while in the charcuterie, you might try le Boudin Noir,
It’s known in other parts of the world as blood sausage, blutwurst or black pudding. Where I come from, in the North of England, we regard a "full English breakfast" without black pudding as a breach of the Trades Descriptions Act. You can also get white pudding, made with milk and/or cream, but I have to admit I found it a bit of an acquired taste.
I got lucky for my sandwiches. I came in early October, when the slopes of the Hill from Hell were covered in blackberries. At the campsite where I stayed, I met a nice French couple, who had come for blackberries. They thought their jam was better, because they made it right there in their tent immediately the berries had been picked. And, they had a tent full of it, which they were quite willing to share!
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