Today we will talk about mobile SIM Card and data in Georgia that suits best for hiking experience in the mountains. In this article, you will find comprehensive answers to all the main questions: which operator to choose while you are traveling in Georgia, how to connect, how much it costs, how to top up the balance, and many others.
Now it is quite difficult to imagine life without mobile data. Vacation time is no exception. There are so many amazing places and activities in Georgia that you will definitely want to share your impressions with your friends right at that moment, and not when you can find Wi-Fi while trekking in Georgia. The good news is connection quality in Georgia is excellent almost throughout the country. 3G is available almost everywhere, except for very remote mountainous areas like Tusheti or Khevsureti, where civilization in the face of mobile operators has not yet reached, but this is more an exception than a rule.
In large and medium-sized cities, as well as in all beach and ski resorts with a local SIM card, you will always be in touch. As for the signal quality, all operators have already switched to 4G, but so far in Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi. Since roaming is quite costly in Georgia, more than 5 Eur per Mb, we’d recommend you get a local SIM Card, you can read about the options below.
Mobile Operators in Georgia
There are several mobile operators in the country: Geocell, Cellfie (rebranded Beeline), and Magti. People living in Tbilisi as well as in mountainous regions will recommend the latter option for the best coverage. Possible to get it already in the airports. I can recommend Magti as the fastest and best - this provider will never let you down and has great packages for tourists. Magti operator has one of the largest coverages, it operates in 98% of the country. Phones catch the network even in some of the mountainous areas while hiking in Georgia.
Modern mobile communication implies the possibility of using both voice calls and mobile data. But you can save money by connecting one thing. I always have only the data, because I can call for a long time through the same WhatsApp, Viber, etc.
Connecting a Magti SIM card is the most reasonable solution. The most popular tariffs (sim card + data package):
3 GB for 9 GEL,
5 GB for 12 GEL,
20 GB for 30 GEL,
Unlimited for 60 GEL.
My SIM card cost me 15 GEL for 5 GB of data. The SIM card is prepaid, so when the money runs out, it simply stops working and all packages are valid for 30 days - that’s convenient. You can download the app MyMagti for both iOS and Android. You will be able to check the available balance and (-or) top up an empty SIM card that you managed to get at the airport.
Possible to activate eSIM as well from the application. Activation costs 10 GEL. But better to double-check in the office whether your phone supports it.
How to disable promotional SMS? The sender of advertising SMS can be both the mobile operator itself and its partners (who have already received the number from the operator and can use it as they like). However, you can send a message to 91521 with the text "magticom". Or dial *297# and select a category for unsubscribing. There are 7 categories in total. Each time you need to press the number "1", the word "off" is displayed the opposite. The categories have several more subcategories and voila— no advertisement anymore.
If you have a problem with your mobile data or it’s not working you better check APN settings but generally, it’s pretty easy to turn it on and enjoy a fast mobile connection while taking khinkali photos at the same time.
Mobile operators in Georgia provide a sufficient number of tariffs for tourists who decide to give preference to local companies to significantly save on mobile communication costs. Choose what is right for you, it is worth the combination of services that you use and of course, have an amazing time in Georgia.
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