We are taking the 21 Day Best of Europe Tour beginning June 16th. Since we start in The Netherlands, we were planning to purchase a couple cell phones at Schiphol Airport in Amersterdam..has anyone done this? We are actually flying into London Heathrow a couple days prior, but thought the phones would be cheaper in Amsterdam...also, will the phones/SIM cards we buy there work in all the countries on the tour? If anyone has done so, can you tell us what we might expect to pay? Thanks!!!
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
Tammy, it is hard to beat the U.K. for inexpensive prepaid cell phones. I haven't bought one at Heathrow but I assume you're not going to be stuck at the airport for two days so you can find a cheap cell phone shop. Before leaving the U.K., load enough credit on the phone to cover your roaming use. Don't be scared by roaming - costs are capped in the E.U. by law. You can rent a cell phone that works in Amsterdam. I see online that you can even have a phone delivered before you leave or get one at the airport. Renting, however, is not the cheapest way to go. Simple prepaid phones are practically given away by the cell companies, or at least they are in the U.K. To see prices, check out Carphone Warehouse. Prices elsewhere will be similar. Finally, copy and paste this link to a Yahoo Answers message about the Amsterdam airport (the question mark in the link prevents me from making this a live link): http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110330124506AAUGmYV
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32221 posts
Tammy, If you buy a phone in either the U.K. or Amsterdam, it will work in the other countries you'll be visiting on the tour, however the rates will be higher outside the country of purchase as you'll be "roaming". Roaming rates have been capped by the E.U. so the cost difference shouldn't be excessive. You could also look at a travel phone (or SIM card) from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial, Mobal, EuroBuzz or others. Many of them provide SIM's with U.K. numbers, and have consistent rates through most countries of western Europe. Some have post-paid billing (calls charged to a credit card) so no worries about topping-up when your bucket of minutes is depleted. Check their respective websites for costs and other details. Your tour is going to be an amazing experience! Happy travels!
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I think stopping at a kiosk in the airport is the easiest and cheapest way to go. I usually travel in one country per vacation but the SIM card you get at Schipol will work in other countries at a higher roaming rate (but not like US international rates). I'd probably use up that SIM then get a new one from a local kiosk when you run out of minutes (when you start hearing warnings, you have a good 15 minutes left).
Posted by
Texan in CA
4408 posts
FWIW, we're used EuroBuzz phones and they worked great for us - both to call/text within Europe and to call the USA. They are 'post-paid' phones, meaning you pay for your usage after using them. You get charged on your credit card. The billing worked well, too. You don't have to 'top them off' every so often, like a prepaid phone, meaning you won't need to keep buying minutes. Read the fineprint closely, and know exactly what you're getting! They arrived within a few days of ordering, and were charged before we left home. Absolutely no problems to report. Cheap, too ;-) No SIM cards to buy in each country, etc. Just pack 'em and have fun on your trip!