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Australia has two main carriers for its mobile network. The larger and more widely known is Telstra. This used to be government-owned and run. The other major carrier is Optus, it’s slightly smaller in coverage. Vodafone is also present in Australia, but there is limited coverage outside the main cities. Telstra tends to be a little more expensive, but it should give you better coverage in less populated regions.
There are numerous other providers that you can buy sims for, but they use either the Telstra or Optus networks. A few may use Vodafone and if so, I’d avoid those unless you’re staying in Sydney. Holiday destinations such as Cairns and Port Douglas have limited Vodaphone coverage, according to Vodafone’s own website. (their map is here.)
Security is a big issue now, so if you buy a SIM (a cheap prepaid SIM plan) from a shop you may struggle to activate it without a proper form of ID and local address. You are required to have an Australian or foreign passport and a local address. (these rules are here, please check). Obviously, your phone will need to be unlocked to do this.
Pre-buying a sim card online before your trip to Australia will negate this risk of not being able to activate a pre-paid card, and save you valuable time. You don’t need to be hunting around the shops when you arrive. Order your SIM here, this is how we normally buy our SIM cards for travel.
Buy Your SIM Online
How to buy a SIM online for Australia, or any travel around the world? The company we use often is SIM Corner.
If you would prefer an international phone card, covering 200+ countries, check out Drimsim, here. It’s about 10 Euros for the card, you then pay for what you use. This would be a great backup card if you are visiting multiple countries.
Similarly, Yesim (a virtual card) can sell you a SIM for Australia at about $50 US for 15 days, $64 for 30 days (This one uses Vodaphone). Take a look here.
Best Coverage For Port Douglas and Cairns
Telstra has the best coverage for our region. Optus should be fine too, but north of Port Douglas the coverage dwindles out. You can check this on the map link we gave you above. There are plenty of remote areas in Australia where there is no coverage at all. You can get some Telstra and Optus coverage on parts of The Great Barrier Reef, but this tends to be 3G currently. As 3G is being phased out this year we may lose this.
Some reef operators do have wifi on the boats.
ESIMs (Embedded Subscriber Identity Module)
There is now the option of an eSIM for travel, if you have a new or recently released phone. This is a virtual sim, a code, normally bought online, It works without being physically put into your phone. These are very handy if you’re mid-travel and don’t have a postal address for a physical delivery.
3G, 4G, 5G
Australia has begun to phase out the 3G network (Telstra, Optus, and Vodaphone). This should be completed by the end of September 2024. (source)
If you have a SIM or phone that only uses 3G, you’ll likely not get any service.
Most phones that are less than 5 years old will have both 4G and quite likely 5G capabilities. Just make sure that the SIM has also been upgraded, if it is old it simply won’t work, even if the phone can.
Multi-Country Travel SIMs
While you can get some SIMs today that will cover multiple countries, the reality is that for each multicountry region of the world (for instance Europe or Southeast Asia) you’ll need a new SIM to have a local number.
Drimsim is a global SIM card and free app for travellers. It covers some 229 countries, seamlessly switching to a local operator when you arrive in a new country. Drimsim is a physical world-wide SIM card, it needs to be inserted into your phone. Order one here. This could be very useful alongside a local SIM if you have a dual SIM phone for travel. This method serves us well!
The EU is probably the biggest and easiest region for which you can buy these, covering the largest amount of countries.
Having a local number for taxis, Uber, Grab etc is often important, as a lot of those services won’t engage with you if you have a foreign number.
Internet in Port Douglas
The internet is pretty good in Port Douglas, not as fast as in some countries, but it’s OK. We have Starlink at home, and that’s much faster. If you normally log into a cafe or restaurant’s own wifi as you travel, don’t expect to do that in this part of the world. It’s not a common thing to do here.
Most hotels should have free wifi, do check when you book, don’t assume everywhere will have this feature.
