Forum Discussion

Vicrop's avatar
Vicrop
SMARTY Pioneer
03-02-2026

Botswana

Hi there, I’m off on a bucket list holiday and I don’t fully understand what’s going to happen to my phone. I buy pay as you go from here and it just kicks in when I’m out there? Sorry to be a pain but this is about making memories for my mum (I have stage 4 cancer) and I don’t want the extra stress of a phone that won’t work. Thanks 

2 Replies

  • Vicrop's avatar
    Vicrop
    SMARTY Pioneer
    03-02-2026

    Thanks so much for letting me know about this. I’ve decided to get an eSIM for Botswana, it should be cheaper. 

  • MSF's avatar
    MSF
    SMARTY Guru
    03-02-2026

    Vicrop​ What you normally buy from Smarty is a monthly plan and it becomes a rolling plan if you leave the auto-renew in your Account dashboard turned on.

    The Smarty plan will work in the UK and currently in EU countries for calls, texts and data.

    The only way to use your phone on Smarty outside those areas is to purchase an Add On (i.e. credit for your account) and this will be used to pay for those calls, texts or data.

    If you look at the smarty Price Guide - https://sundaecdn.blob.core.windows.net/files/SMARTY-Price-GuideV39.pdf  - p14 onwards describes the Add On while p19 onwards describes Roaming abroad.

    For Botswana, it seems that you can only make calls and send texts - no data. The price is eye-watering and so it may be preferable to look for alternatives. Hotel wifi, if available, may allow calls via something like WhatsApp (if the other person uses it too). You could consider buying a local sim if available. If you have a modernish phone, you can purchase an Esim which will give you data - still not that cheap (and thus allow WhatsApp usage - companies such as Airalo, Roamless and many others offer them.

    Personally, I would hope for a hotel with wifi and have an Esim as backup. Hope this helps a bit.