What is the best method of renting or buying a phone and getting a SIM card in Paris? What is the best and cheapest way to call back to the US from Paris?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
The cheapest way to call home is to buy a 5€ phone card at a tobacconist, newsstand, or convenience store. Get one with a PIN so you can use it from any phone, including the one in your hotel room.
Posted by
OP
Sugar Land, Texas, USA
5 posts
Is it easy to rent a phone there, or should I buy or rent one from the US prior to my trip? Thanks for the tip on SIM card!
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
My suggestion was to buy an international calling card which you would use in conjunction with any landline phone. It's not a SIM card.
Posted by
Davidson, NC, USA
82 posts
Gaynor,
I don't know if you have a "student" travelling with you, but we recently got an ISIC card for our 16-yr old son and one perk is a $29.00 cell phone that will work in Europe. It is basic, but has good rates per minute and a special deal where family from home can call you for free in France! Go to myISIC.com and check out the deals. I think you can get a card if you are a teacher as well.
Lisa
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
To use a phone in Paris you will need to purchase an "unlocked GSM" phone. Do a search and you will get many options. I have purchased 3 different phones on eBay over the past few years and have used them in various countries. I now use them with "TIM," an Italian phone network. In each case I purchased a SIM card.
I found it MORE difficult after the bombings in London to purchase SIM cards in countries of my destinations. With the new anti-terrorist laws, and cell phone's being a key element in terrorist tactics (Madrid), legal officials have cracked down on the way we used to "purchase" SIMS, especially in the UK - not sure about France. But you can still PURCHASE them from various US vendors (or on eBay) before you leave.
In some countries you must have an "address" before they will sell you a SIM. Read up on Paris, as I'm sure it's different than here! Good Luck!
Ciao,
Ron