Best phone plan for 90 days

Which 4 countries and what is the first one where she would likely make the purchase? We usually pay about €25 per month for service when traveling, and in the UK I have seen 40GB plans for £20.

So where does she start and is her phone unlocked?

You can read about the Vodafone UK SIM card that I used in several countries this fall. Assuming she is in 4 EU countries, the same could work for her:

For 30 days, I paid $16.84 for:
$4 Vodafone UK SIM from eBay (bought and activated while in the US)
£10 Big Value Bundle that lasts for 30 days

• Unlimited texts
• 250 calling minutes
• 3GB data (which they doubled, at the time, to 6GB)

Near the end of my 30 days, they gave me free an additional 0.5 GB. They will also rollover any unused data if you buy another bundle within the 30 day period.

Edit: so for 90 days, you'd pay £30 + $4 for the SIM. You can also buy additional bundles, if needed before the end of any 30 day period.

If she has access to wifi at her residence and school, she should be able to manage within the 3GB (or 6GB.) The plan wouldn't be good for calling home, but WhatsApp or wifi calling can fill in for that.

You'll find the details in my writeup:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/vodafone-uk-sim-card-for-use-in-europe

If she buys a SIM card in Europe, it's likely to work well in all four countries, since most carriers have partner agreements in the next country. The EU no longer allows extra charges for data roaming with EU SIMS but they can reduce the amount of free data use; see https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/internet-telecoms/mobile-roaming-costs/index_en.htm. If/when the UK exits the EU, UK carriers could change their rates.

A number of cities in Europe have free (unsecured) wi-fi in the streets, in addition to what's provided at her home base and at coffee shops and similar businesses.

While it is true that the UK carriers may change their rates post-Brexit, and UK law would (with certain limits and requirements) allow it, several carriers have publicly stated (BBC article from 16 Sept 2019) that they do not intend to do so, including Vodafone UK, Three, EE and O2.

And while we can't say it wouldn't happen, competitively, with their mainland competition continuing to offer full EU roaming, they would put themselves at an extreme disadvantage if they were to begin charging roaming rates for the EU countries.

Wirecutter Magazine has lots of articles on phone usage when traveling overseas. We have an unlocked phone on T-Mobile (which uses the GSM standard like all of Europe does). We stop at the first ALDI store we find and buy a local SIM card setup kit - it usually runs about 10 - 15 Euros for 30 days. You can add extra GB of data. New SIM = New Number. Whether she gets a new SIM or not, you can communicate through What'sApp too on any phone when she has a wifi internet connection.

Thanks!

She won't be in the UK (unless it's for a very short time on her way home). She will be in Italy, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic. I'm sure she will go to other countries such as Switzerland and the Netherlands since we have family there. That's part of why she'd like to get something that would work all over.

Also, she is getting a new iphone before she leaves. She said the AT&T ones are unlocked so she can use SIM cards in it.

I really appreciate everyone's help! I'm going to pass all of this info on to her.

She can certainly buy a SIM and service in Italy at a reasonable price. TIM for Tourists is a possibility but she would have to buy additional vouchers for each month as it is a 30-day plan. The site says "non-renewable" but on our experience, you can buy additional vouchers and enable them to renew the plan. The last time we got TIM cards we were going to Switzerland as well and had to buy an add-on for that. The confusing thing is you get texts from them ALL. THE. TIME. And they are in Italian and hard to decipher even if you have a grasp of the language.

Lately, I have been looking at GiffGaff thanks to someone on this forum and while I have not completed my assessment, it looks promising. At least the messaging will be in my native tongue! And the UK SIMs we have had in the past all worked in every EU country, including Switzerland.

Just looked at TIM’s current plan. Unlike a year ago, Switzerland is now included. .

My daughter did a study abroad this past summer in Spain. She bought an Orange card for around 20/25 euro per month with a ton of data. She also traveled to Krakow, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam & Morocco and was able to use it everywhere except Morocco.

edit: to add Budapest

Last time was the best deal I've had so far. I used 3Mobile. 20 euro for unlimited everything for a month. It starts on the first of each month but would have been a good deal, compared to the Orange card the previous two trips, even if my trip had spanned two calendar months.

I'm not sure how far the SIM works? It worked for Ireland and the UK. Not sure it will work on the continent?

I had no idea there was such a thing as a TIM card. She is also looking into the GiffGaff app and the other plans suggested. I think she forgot to take into account that she would mostly be on wifi so she wouldn't be using that much data on a daily basis.
Again, I really appreciate all of your suggestions!

I used GIFF GAFF, but that's because my main stay was in the UK. Giff Gaff requires that some use of their SIM cards to be in the UK, but having met that requirement, it worked just fine in the rest of the EU.

If she spending most of her time outside the UK, but in the EU, I would look at other SIM companies first.

Don't get the ATT International plan. That's $10 a day for 90 days or $900 . That's outrageous.

SIM card plans are cheaper. With Giff Gaff I paid £8 per month for 2 or 3 GB of data and that was sufficient . I think they had a plan for £20 a month for unlimited Data. so for 3 months with a SIM card, £60 or $900 for the ATT international plan. Your choice.

Have her shop around.

Couple things to point out based on your answers.

• Double check with ATT that the phone will be unlocked and have them explain to her how to change out the SIM card and any settings needing changing.
• While most of Europe is covered under EU roaming regulations, she may have to use some caution in Switzerland depending on the plan she gets. Switzerland is not part of the EU, so roaming rates may vary.
• When she has the SIM card in, you will not be able to call her US number, you will need the number of the European SIM card...and it will be an International call for you, as will her calls back to the US, so using WiFi for calls home would be best.