Going to Provence for a week in May and had a couple of specific questions - thanks for your help.
In most big cities in Europe these days, you really don't need cash. But since we will be going to village outdoor markets I'm thinking we will need cash for purchases?
Also, I've heard that cell phone data is not great in this area. Was planning to use my T-Mobile international plan, but if anyone has any other data points or would recommend getting a SIM instead let me know!
Thanks so much.
We had no issues using a card, but didn't make market purchases. A bit of cash is never a bad idea.
We also had no problems with T-Mo, but if you are a heavy data user you can burn through your high-speed data allowance pretty quickly on this plan. After that it is still free, but speed is greatly reduced. My advice would be to connect to Wi-Fi whenever you are not on the go.
You can get by with cards, but make sure you have a debit function as well. Carrying small change is still recommended for toilets, small tips, and small purchases in the markets and shops.
If permitted and capable (e.g. unlocked), you can get a second eSIM from places like Airalo that provide data only. You must set your phone to use that SIM for data and the main one for calls and texts. You can compare that to your current add-on plans.
Another vote for Airalo. Fantastic and super cheap eSIM service - used it many times across Europe and other regions.
In 2023, I had no problem with service using T-Mobile in and near Provence. This included Uzes, Avignon, Marseille, Nimes, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and some smaller towns. I have the slow T-Mobile plan so I always pay the $50 upgrade for 30 days of high speed data when I travel.
Most of the market vendors took cards but I did encounter a few who had a minimum required purchase to use a card (e.g., cash required if purchase less than 10 EUR). I’d suggest taking out about 100 EUR so you have it on hand for small purchases.
Thanks so much! This is just the information I was looking for. Appreciate your replies.
We went to a great market yesterday in Eygalières, a delightful town near St. Remy. A clothing vendor would only take cash but there was a “safe” ATM nearby. Another clothing vendor wanted cash but did give in to credit card request. We were purchasing from him before going to the cash-only vendor. Food vendor purchases were small amounts so we didn’t even ask about credit card- just paid in cash.
No problems with cell coverage - Verizon and AT&T.
Enjoy!
We have been in Europe for a month now. Day 1 we bought SIM cards for both our iPhones. 150GB for Italy and 12 GB for EU outside of Italy. We always use WIFi at lodging. Our sims recharged today, and since we reset cellular statistics, we could tell how much data we used in a month. 3.5Gb for me and 7GB for Tom’s. We use Google maps when driving or walking or transportation directions a lot.
Phone data use is needed more than 5+ years ago - direction for walking and public transportation, buy tickets, show tickets, receive entry instructions for apartments day of, (or texting via WhatsApp to let host know you’ve arrived), QR code menus, looking up hours for places, etc.
Also seems that free public wifi is less available or less advertised. We were meeting Friends in Strasbourg and they spent 30 minutes looking for free wifi to text us on what’s app where to meet.
Spending an hour on day one getting SIM card is well worth it. Ours was 2 phones for 2 months -€80 including activation and Italian phone #.
