I am traveling to France, Switzerland, and Italy . I have an iPhone with Verizon. What is the best thing I can do for using a phone in these countries? My last trip to Ireland, I got a Vodafone chip when I arrived. I want to be able to make calls and use data while in Europe. Thanks in advance
Posted by
8 posts
Verizon has an option to add intl voice and data to your plan for $10 a day (it only applies on days that you actually use voice or data). We used this in Italy and it worked well because we only turned on cellular when we needed it. Otherwise, we used local wifi connections. Obviously not a great option if you are taking an extended trip and expect/need to use cellular daily as it does add up quickly.
Also, check out Rick's tech tips for phones here: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13946 posts
How long is your trip? Do you expect to use the phone every day when you are not in your hotel covered by WIFI?
I, too, used the Verizon $10/day plan my last 2 trips. The trip last fall I came in with only about 8 days of usage over a month. This last one, also for a month I had 20 days usage so it would have been better to go with the $100/month plan. I did goof several times and accidentally clicked off Airplane mode when I should not have and got dinged for a charge on days when I did not need it for navigation or to access data when I was out and around. Learning experience for me!
I also wound up using it in Paris and Amsterdam a lot more than I thought for navigation on CityMapper.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4412 posts
Verizon works fine in France, it does get a bit costly. If you get a new chip you'll lose your home phone number while you're there, so you might want to use Whatsapp instead for local calling. Apparently this is the preferred method for contacting the locals. Or get a cheap unlocked burner phone on Amazon or Best Buy and buy SIM cards as you go. Or perhaps get a Europe-wide SIM card like Carte Orange?