Communication

Email!

The trouble with using phones is the time difference. There are only about 8 hours a day when one of you isn't sleeping (8 AM to 4 PM over here, 4 PM to midnight over there). I find with email that I can write when I can and they can answer when they can.

Agreed on e-mail, if you mean communicating with friends and family stateside. When my boyfriend was in Italy a few years ago, we used e-mail, and also Gmail chat if we happened to be awake at the same time.

You'll need to provide more details to get the best answers.

1. Communicate from Europe to the U.S.?
2. Communicate from the U.S. to you in Europe?
3. Communicate among your party while traveling in Europe?
4. Calling to places you are heading in Europe (such as a hotel)?

Plus, we need to know how much communication you are talking about. Just checking in? Long chats? And so on.

You'll find other recent posts (in the last week) asking about cell phones in all of the Travelers Helpline subforums. You might look at those because they provide the range of advice. But here it is in short:

Buy a cheap cell phone (here (ebay) or there). Needs to have European bands (safest bet: quadband phone), be GSM, and be unlocked. Buy a SIM card there for calling Europe to Europe. Calling back to U.S.: Get a prepaid calling card for cheaper rates or use a VOIP-type service (skype) from a laptop over wifi or if you are ambitious and not intimidated by tech through a dial around service (call local number that lets you call through to U.S. as if a local call). For calls to you, have friends or relations use a VOIP or dial around service based in U.S. that calls your foreign number you get from your new SIM. If calls are few and infrequent, you may use U.S. account with T-Mobile or AT&T for between $1 - $1.50 a minute. Can do same with Verizon but only with certain phones - a normal Verizon phone may not work over there. With a U.S. or foreign SIM, don't call, but send text messages instead to keep the costs down.

I vote for email, too. It was especially handy when we were in China, where we were 15 hours ahead of home. There would have been virtually no way to call home and catch someone awake and/or not at work when we were available to call. And it was fun to print email out and share the news from home with others in our group.

Are most of you staying for extended periods? We will only be there for 10 days, so I was just planning to get a phone card.

I'm using a European pre-paid phone for communicating within my group and Skype, email, instant message, and the occasional phone call to stay in touch with people in the states.

Brooke is doing exactly what my family did while away. We didn't end up skyping but we wee able to if needed. I gmail/facebook chatted with a few people, posting status updates and tweets to keep in touch and keep people up to date. I bought a prepaid phone which was extremely helpful. I just wish the rest of my family had them.

Until our latest trip this spring, I had gotten by fine just by purchasing calling cards in-country. No phone, no computer. This time, I took a laptop and my cell phone from home. Each proved so valuable, I don't know how I managed without them all this time. The laptop enabled my wife and me to keep up with friends, family and the workplace without having to talk with them on the phone. My wife was more worried about being out of touch with family than I was, but e-mail and Facebook were more than satisfactory. The phone (a Verizon Renown with global calling) earned its keep as soon as we arrived at the car rental office, which was deserted but had a phone number posted. The attendant arrived a few minutes after my call; otherwise we would have been left standing in the snow for a long time, wondering what to do. We also used the phone to arrange a meeting with friends in Germany, and the laptop to confirm hotel reservations and to check in with Delta for our flight home. Since we did not actually use the phone much, our bill for April was only $20 more than normal. And, no, we do not use Skype, but there is nothing wrong with it if that is what you want.
Edit: I made two or three more calls in Germany; they were travel related and could have been handled with a phone card, but the cell phone was SO convenient.

Adrian,

I've found that a combination of Cell phone and computer works best for me.

The time difference isn't as much of an issue when using text messages, as the recipient picks up the message when it's convenient. Text is also one of the least expensive ways to communicate to family back home. I tend to use voice calls sparingly, but for more urgent matters, it's good to have that option.

For more detailed messages and keeping up with things like the HelpLine, I'm travelling with a Netbook and so far that's been working great. I've found that there are an increasing number of Hotels and B&B's that provide free Wi-Fi for guests (I'm using free Wi-Fi at a Hotel in Tuscany to type this reply).

Happy travels!

My family was away for 17 days. I would recommend getting a prepaid phone over a phone card.

I used to rent a phone with a package that came with Autoeurope. I started doing this when I had a hard time finding a pay phone. Last year I bought an iPhone. I turn off the data and use it as a regular phone. I used it primarily to check on local reservations, to hook up with local friends so normally most of the calls are in Europe. One year, though, my dad was very ill. I almost cancelled the trip, but he was insistent that I go. So, I called home every other day and they were glad to have a number where they could reach me immediately. Pam

Rachel for ten days I probably would go with a phone card as well. I'm staying for two months and will have a few home bases and need to let the group leader know where I am at all times (the trip is run through a university, meant as an immersion language course), so a European cell is my best bet for that.

Rachel,, I just use a phone card,, and my shortest trip to Europe was 9 days.