There are two stores selling SIM Cards in Providencia. Both recommended that I get the ‘Movistar SIM Card’. It cost 10,000 Colombian Pesos (COP) for a SIM card. The setup is simple. A couple of setup problems might be because (1) it is in Spanish and (2) there is no printed list of special code. Regardless, the sales people in the stores are happy to assist the setup.
I use my Sony Xperia smartphone for internet use as a tether hot spot for my laptop. The Movistar connection speed was the best in my experiences in the Caribbean. Because of it, I spend good time for research and John ordered a lot of boat parts online. When I need to recharge my balance, I go to a grocery store (Hamilton Store) and pay them the amount to add to my phone number. The monthly plan costs about 40,000 COP (US$13 for 2GB) and the weekly plan is about 14,000 COP (US$4.50 for 700MB). I stayed with 3 day data plan (4500 COP = US$1.50 for 400 MB) and kept renewing when the data ran out. One thing, I had to be careful was, to renew my plan immediately right after or before I consume all the data from the previous plan because if not, it calculates the data use with a higher rate. Overall, ‘Movistar’ in Providencia island was my ‘Five star’ SIM card experience in my sailing life!
Useful Special Codes:
*611#: Renew Selection
*226#: Amount Balance Check (Only for money not for data balance)
Note: The ‘tiGO SIM Card’ I used in Santa Marta, Colombia, was not useful in Providencia because ‘tiGO’ connection speed was not good.