Cell phone in Europe

A local prepaid phone is likely cheaper. Whether it is better depends upon a number of factors. How many calls and texts do you plan to have? Will they be incoming or outgoing? Are they going to be local calls or calls to the U.S.? Do you want to have a number before you leave? What U.S. cell phone service do you have? (It may be cheapest to just use your home service if you don't make many calls or send or receive many texts.)

My cell phone will not work in Europe. I am going to use it only in Europe. I do not have a number or anything. I am going to germany,czech repub, beligum and france.
I am going to use it for communication with fellow travelers because we are not going to be together all the time.

Beverly, A phone from Mobal or a similar company such as Telestial (http://www.telestial.com/) would be a good solution for limited calling and texting. Your existing cell phone provider may rent you a global phone. Mine (Verizon) will rent one for free, shipping included- you just pay for the minutes used. You didn't mention the type of mobile phone you have, but if you have a phone that can connect to a Wifi hotspot (such as a smartphone), and can also use the Skype app, you can make very cheap calls anywhere as long as you're connected to a wifi spot- say, in your hotel. If your phone can both connect to a Wifi hotspot and use Skype, but you want to be able to call any time from anywhere, consider a portable Wifi unit from Tep Wireless : http://www.tepwireless.com/index.php It will work in all the countries you're visiting and may be a good choice for making many or long calls. But, you must use the 100 Mb per day plan to use Skype. An advantage of the Tep product is you can also connect a laptop, Ipad, etc. to the internet anywhere you can get a phone signal. Good luck and have a great trip.
Gary

I use Mobal because I want relatives to be able to reach me in any country at any time. I've had the same UK number for 2 years (5 trips). If my itinerary changes, I don't have to worry about letting people know where I'm going to be. But a local phone is cheaper.

My family and I are currently in Paris after spending a week in Europe. Before our trip, I purchased 2 quad-band unlocked cell phones on ebay for $18 ea. We bought 2 SIM cards in London for £10 each with £10 credit. It's worked well for us so far in London and Paris.