Eurobuzz phones

vg,

I haven't checked too closely on EuroBuzz, but haven't heard of any negative reviews so far. I looked at them briefly but felt the rates were higher than the service I'm using now. They're only one of a number of "travel phone" companies, and I'd suggest looking at the others as well, just for comparison. Some others that you could check include Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Mobal, Telestial, Max Roam or One SIM (there are others).

Which service to choose will depend to some extent on what type of phone coverage you're considering for travel. If you want just basic service, any of them will probably be good (subject to price). If you have a smartphone and want data, the situation gets more complicated (and expensive).

I've been using Roam Simple for several years, and the service has always been excellent (and have just renewed my service for this year). It was very cost effective when I was using a basic "flip" phone but is more expensive when data is added.

Good luck!

My husband and I used them 3 years ago, and they worked very well (thanks again, Darcy!)

EuroBuzz is affiliated with Mobal, FWIW; Mobal phones are worldwide, whereas EuroBuzz phones are - say it with me - for Europe only ;-) We ordered the SIMs and phones (so we'd have the option to leave our expensive phones at home if we chose); The package arrived with a few days. They worked just as advertised! The calls we needed to make to the USA sounded like they were in the room with us, and the texting worked perfectly. No problems with the billing, either. [In fact, the credit card I gave them expired Nov 2013; they sent me an email requesting the new expiration date. Now I don't have to worry about them having an old credit card :-( ] DO NOTE that this is a post-paid vs prepaid option; you only pay for the calls and texts you actually make, and you never have to remember to top-off your account in order to keep your phone number. Your phone number will never change.

I researched the (Motorola) phones before ordering; they have a long standby time, and a long talk time, too. Lightweight. Of course it's been a few years, and I know they've used different manufacturers since I bought mine, but they were still very nice phones.

Note that the website says you CAN use them worldwide (from Europe) but it will cost more than the $0.79/minute rate. Since they are only European dual-band phones, they can't be used outside of Europe. The charging cord has a double-round (European) plug, but the included adapters allow for charging nearly anywhere in the world. This means you can charge them at home so they'll work as soon as you enter any European country.

We were very pleased with our EuroBuzz phones, and will definitely take them with us on our next trip!

If you have any specific questions or concerns, please ask!

It's a $9 European-wide SIM, vs buying individual SIMs in every country you visit. Plus you never need to 1) either let your investment expire as happens with most SIM cards, or 2) spend $ (every 3 months to a year, typically) to top off your soon-to-expire SIMs. When most SIM cards seem to cost ~ $5-10 each, $9 that never expires looks good to me. Also, everything is in English, so you are ready to go as soon as you receive your SIM &/or SIM + Euro dual-band phone; no trying to decipher Italian voice prompts or trying to get the phone store employee (who may or may not speak English too well) to set it up properly. Some people have no problems with buying SIM cards everywhere they go, but others have had cards that NEVER worked, or they worked fine in Italy and Switzerland, but went dead in Germany...far, far away from any customer service from the store in Milan :-(

Now...if you anticipate yakking on the phone 4 hours every single night to your honey in Nashville, you could do a little better than $0.79/minute. But if you plan to send the occasional text or make a quick phone call, it's $0.79. Period. Anywhere. Anytime. And you never pay for any time that you don't actually use, as oppose to the majority of prepaid SIMs you might buy once you arrive in Europe, nor do you have to guess at how much time you have left or how much time to buy when topping-off your card later. It's never fun when your phone goes dead in the middle of a call...

So to answer your question...no, they aren't too good to be true (if you believe that you understand their website). Worked like a charm; there are two dead EuroBuzz phones waiting to be charged for our next European trip - whenever that is ;-)

Thank you all for the information, esp. Michael. My maiden name was Griffith !
I have the phone and am off on Sat.
I will post my opinion when we return in Sept.
Best to all.