Hi all,
I have ATT and they told me I'd pay $10 per day while in France ad Germany to use it with the same data and calling as I have here. However, this will get expensive with 16 days gone. In your experience is it cheaper and possible to get a SIM card for the iphone or is the international plan better? Thank you for your experience.
Dani
I did the $10/day plan with Verizon. For Verizon, you are only charged the $10 if you use it. When you use it, you get the next 24 hours. We figured when we needed it, it was there. Turned out with wifi in hotels, airports, coffee, etc., we never used it! I use maps.me for navigation and download the maps when we have wifi and then it works without wifi or data, just like GPS. I decided to not get the SIM card for fear that I'd lose my U.S. one. Also, if you haven't already, check your details on your plan. I was still able to send and receive texts without a data plan.
What I run into it is sometimes needing it for Lyft and Uber and not being by a wifi connection.
My girlfriend and I were just in Ireland. I purchased a 3 Mobile SIM, unlimited data/calls/text for 28 days for 20 euros. She went with her $10 a day plan, anticipating not using it most days. Unfortunately, texts and calls still come in to your regular number. Receiving any random call or text means you "used" your plan that day. She found it nearly impossible not to use her phone even though she tried not to. Maybe her bill won't reflect those?
In France the best deals I found on SIMs were about 50 to 60 euros for my vacation. Orange "holiday" card costs 50 euro for a decent data plan. After 14 days you have to add more but 10 euro is usually plenty. I've used SFR before (once good, once bad). Last time they aren't selling SIMs at their boutique stores. I prefer to have the SIM installed and working before I pay them so buying a SIM at a Tabac isn't a good idea.
Brad, I can see how that would be problematic. This is how I handled it, not saying its good for all situations and people. Even at home, I never answer a phone number that doesn't show up on caller ID. If I get a call, I don't answer, and if its someone I want to answer to, I email or text them to find out what they need/want. Also, typically anyone that I give my cell number to, would know I'm on vacation. I thought I'd have to pay for texts, but I've received them and there's not a charge (Verizon). If a person is interested in the $10/day, I would get clarifications from the carrier. My son and his wife were the ones that recommended this to me, and they find that in a 2 week trip, they used it a couple times and when they made the initial text/call, they really made use of the 24 hour period.
If you use Verizon or AT&T, you need to set your phone on airplane mode if you don't want to get dinged for incoming calls (set to airplane mode and then turn on WiFi). Or, as an alternative, forward all calls to voicemail so they never hit your phone.
That's the approach I had to use in the "old days" of using a phone overseas. I'd get a notice that I had a voicemail, which didn't start the clock running on charges (but I'm not sure if that's true for Verizon ot AT&T). I'd then use a telephone calling card and a pay phone to check messages. Or, I'd pop in a SIM card from a local phone company. These days, I'd use WiFi.
I don't do any of that any more, however, because T-Mobile doesn't punish me for using my phone when out of the country. It costs, but not at the rates changed by the other cell companies. It is such a luxury to use my phone basically like I do it at home and simply not worry about the cost, which is negligible.
Thanks for these replies. Is it easy to change your SIM card in an iphone, and can they be bought over here?
Dani, you can buy an Orange Holiday SIM (French) on Amazon for about $50 USD I think. Good for two weeks. If you are flying to France first, you'll have better luck buying a local SIM there than in Germany, where I understand it's now harder for travelers to buy a SIM without a local address, etc. But a French SIM will probably roam in Germany with no added cost (the Orange SIM will). If you buy a SIM in France, ask about this to confirm.
I've been using my Dutch Vodafone SIM for the last few trips to Europe. I bought it on Ebay in 2017 and have used it in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Slovenia (but never in the Netherlands). Should work in Germany too. You can buy one (search eBay for "vodafone YOU SIM") for $11 USD shipped. It comes with no credit on it - you have to set it up, add credit to it. You can get 6GB of data for 20 euros, good for 30 days. (Activate a "bundle" right before your trip starts, the bundle expires 30 days after that.) That would be plenty for me for 16 days, based on my recent trips.
My write-up from 2017 is mostly still valid:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/dutch-vodafone-sim-card-for-use-in-europe
Thank you Andrew! I'll check it out.
There are two of us so we get Vetizon international plan for one phone and a DIM card for local calls and GPS on the other. I put my Verizon SIM card in with my jewelry. Safe.
Our last trip in 2017, he used his Sprint plan (best of the major providers for international plans) and I used my Verizon phone on airplane mode & on wifi only. He could use his phone anywhere & I couldn't...but it was enough to FB Messenger video call with my daughter a few times from our AirB&B apartment, check emails, etc. We didn't need to make calls & his data rate was very good so it worked for us.
This trip, I'll be using an Orange SIM card in my Verizon phone -- much cheaper than the $10/day plan. We'll be en provins (in the countryside) and largely away from wifi so I don't want to risk the ridiculous international rates I'd be charged.
(side note: if I wasn't so chicken, I'd get a French "FREE MOBILE" account for the month then cancel...soooo cheap & service seemed really good!)
