Calling & Email

Calling from Mexico

If you’re traveling to Mexico but you have to stay connected at home, you can do it by using a landline, a cell phone, or a computer.

The easiest way to contact people outside Mexico is by using a regular landline. You can use prepaid phone cards on both public and private telephones. If you’re making a long-distance call internationally, dial 00, followed by the country code and the area code. International call rates are usually about $0.50 a minute. Prepaid phone cards are available in most convenience stores in the country, usually in denominations of 30, 50 or 100 pesos. A prepaid card typically comes with instructions.

You can also use your cell phone to call outside the country. One option is to use your own SIM card by subscribing to your provider’s roaming service. However, this can be quite costly. Another option is to have your cell phone unlocked and use a Mexican prepaid SIM card. You will then have to load your phone with cell phone credits, which you can also buy at local convenience stores. In Mexico, there are four major operators, namely Telcel, Nextel, Unefon and Movistar.

Lastly, you can also communicate using a computer. You can bring your own laptop and connect to the Internet using a dial-up connection with a prepaid card or find a Wi-Fi hotspot. Some coffee shops provide free Wi-Fi as long as you buy coffee. However, it is not advisable to bring your laptop around, especially at night. An alternative would be to drop by an internet café. Generally, there is an abundance of internet cafés in cities in Mexico; there are fewer ones in more rural areas. Prices vary, ranging from 7-20 pesos per hour.

An important number to remember is Mexico information. They can be reached through 5658-1111.