Best nano-SIM card for iPhone 5s deal for phone/text/data in Europe?

Bob,

Depending on how many calls you're planning to make, the simplest method would simply be to roam with Verizon. I believe they offer "travel packs" which will reduce the cost of calls, texts and data. Check with their customer service rep's for details.

Cheers!

Thanks, Ken. Unfortunately the only "deal" that Verizon offers at this time is the following: I pay $30 per each month billing period (I would be in Europe during two cycles for the 30 days I am there); that reduces my per minute charge in Croatia from almost $2.00/min to $1.69/min (a little less in Slovenia and Germany), and it gives me just 250 MB of data. Thus, to get to even 2 GB I would be looking at $260 plus the price of calls for the thirty days. A German friend in Mainz says that local SIMS will give me much better rates, but suggested that I post here. He said that just like rental cars, he has found that people coming from the US can often get much better rates on the SIM by pre-purchasing online for delivery to a German address. However, he is not familiar with any particular company or package, since they are not marketed in Germany.

BTW, I have received a "private message" from one respondent who thought that I was asking people to accurately predict what the market will offer months from now. That of course is not my purpose. I am looking for prior experiences which might steer me to a particular company that specializes in this type of service. Thanks.

Bob,

I agree, the Verizon roaming prices don't sound too good. A couple of other options you could look at.....

• Purchase a SIM when you arrive in Germany - this would be the cheapest option, as it would offer the lowest prices for use within Germany. However, I don't know whether networks there provide PAYG SIM cards that include data. Your friend in Germany may be able to provide more information on that. Two minor issues with that approach are that calls in other countries will be charged at a higher rate, since you would then be "roaming". The E.U. has been mandating the prices that networks charge for roaming, so they're not much higher. The other issue is that there could be some problems topping-up the card in the other countries you'll be visiting.
• Use a travel SIM - Check the websites for the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, Mobal, One SIM, EuroBuzz or keepgo. At least some of them offer plans which include data and consistent rates across many countries in Europe. I've found that these are often quite cost effective for only voice and text, but the costs increase considerably if data is added. Many of them use U.K.-based numbers, and have post-paid billing (calls charged to a credit card) so topping-up is not an issue.

The plans offered by these firms seem to be changing a bit lately, and given the new roaming prices offered by T-Mobile, I suspect these firms will need to become more competitive if they're going to stay in business. I've been using a travel SIM for the past few years, and it's worked well for the most part but the costs have been higher than expected. I'll be doing more "fine tuning" on this before my next trip.

I'm sure one of the others will have some thoughts to offer also.

Cheers!

The best source of information about your question that I have found is Prepaid GSM dot net. Here is their page of German mobile providers, with links to each one's current offer: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/germany.html

And here is their Germany Forum. Be aware that answers here can get VERY technical, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=34