Many travelers have had the unfortunate experience of enormous international roaming fees when using a cell phone abroad. Mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, MajicJack, and Viber give travelers options for communicating over wifi. For a more detailed analysis on mobile applications useful while traveling, check out our blog post on the topic here.

While all of these options are great, they simply don’t provide the same amount of flexibility as having your phone available on a local carrier. In Jamaica there are two primary wireless voice and data providers, Digicel and Lime. Getting onto these networks can be as easy as inserting a sim card into your cell for about $10 which allows you to buy prepaid phone cards that are widely available at shops and roadside stands. Most U.S. cell phones use a nano sized SIM card; Jamaican cell carriers use a larger micro SIM card that needs to be modified to fit into the nano sized slot. Fortunately, it’s easy to modify following the directions in the video we found helpful below and the only tools needed are:
-scissors
-sharpie
-small piece of sand paper
-print out of this template

For guests staying at Camp Cabarita, we have a modified Digicel SIM card available for use during your stay that will work in an iPhone 4, 5, 5s, or 6 and all U.S. versions of the Samsung Galaxy.
Do you have any other tips on using your mobile device in Jamaica or modifying SIM cards? Let us know.