For overseas DATA use, local prepaid is best solution

Paul, That's excellent information! It sounds like PAYG data access has become easier to get than in the past. Could you elaborate on which cell carrier your data plan was with? Also, are you using an Android phone or iPhone? Based on your description, I'm assuming your trip started in the U.K. and ended in Germany? At the present time, my phone doesn't have data capability but I'll be looking seriously at the iPhone 5 whenever it's released (?) so this information will be helpful for "future reference". Thanks for posting.

Ken, I used the U.K. T-Mobile carrier. My trip started in Germany. I have some UK SIMs that we got on prior trips to England, one as far back as 2006. I keep them loaded with about £10 and keep them active by powering them up in the U.S. every 6 months or so and sending a text message to my U.S. phone. Recently, I discovered that I can buy top-up vouchers off ebay to add credit to the accounts without ever having to set foot in the U.K. or have a chip & pin U.K. credit card. The phones we used were Android. I know the iPhone takes a smaller SIM card, which I believe all the U.K. carriers offer, but I don't have any personal experience with what it takes to get an iPhone to work. As I posted in another thread, calls back to the U.S. were actually cheaper with the U.K. phones than with my U.S. carrier. (See thread titled, "disposable phones in Europe" in this Forum.)

Paul, Have look at This Website for good example of a "worst case scenario" and what CAN happen for those that don't pay attention to the data roaming issue. Click the "1:52 video" button on the left side of the text to see the story. The phone company was VERY generous to drop $10,000 off the top, but it's still a HUGE bill! When or if I buy an iPhone, I'll definitely consider the method you suggested with a "local prepaid solution". Cheers!

We discovered a potential problem with data on our most recent trip. We loaded an app on my daughter's phone - an Android device - to keep track of her data to be sure she didn't accidentally use any. Her phone had her U.S. SIM in it so data charges would have killed us. We then turned off data roaming, etc. in all the settings we could find. She and her friends back home exchanged picture messages, or MMS. Sending them cost just $0.35 on our plan and nothing to receive when roaming outside the U.S. When we looked at her phone, however, yikes! she had 27 MB of data use showing in the counter app. What I discovered is that picture messages are treated as data by the phone, just not data data that burns up huge charges. Or at least I hope so. We're still waiting to see next month's bill. Sometimes international charges take a billing cycle or two to appear. Anyway, the take away is that we couldn't count on the data counter app to separate out the MMS data from Internet data. Still, we preferred to err on the side of caution. My daughter stopped sending picture messages.

I'm bringing my unlocked iPhone 4 to Italy, for a little less than one month. When I get there, can I purchase a Micro SIM Card and an italian prepaid service that will let me use it for calls and data (internet and emails) while in Italy? Will this also allow me to tether wirelessly to my iPad? Thanks.

Pierre, check out these message threads: SIM Card for Italy iPad in Italy Cell Phone Data Plan Making my ipad work in Europe AT&T data and call plans

How much does it cost to get a SIM from a european carrier? I have an unlocked iPhone 4 and use Tmobile in the U.S. Also, is there a way I can get the SIM and set up the PAYG plan before I get to Europe? (If not, where would you recommend I go?) Do most of these European SIMs/PAYG plans work all over Europe? (or is there a specific carrier that you would recommend?) I'll be in Europe for about a month and I'm not yet sure which countries I will be seeing so I'd prefer a carrier with the widest network/coverage. Also, did you only use the SIM/PAYG plan for data? How about calls/texts? Thank you!

I have used a SIM from a carrier based in the U.K. The help messages are in English as is telephone support. That was helpful. This one SIM worked in several European countries. The companies want to enable their customers to travel outside their home country, so they expect and permit roaming. The costs are capped by law or regulation so they aren't as deadly as data roaming on a U.S. carrier. The major drawback of this method: You have to load enough value on your card while in the U.K. or figure out some other way to add value should you need to do so (I bought top-up vouchers on ebay U.K.). It costs very little. The SIM cards are basically free. You can get one with about $10 in credit for about $10. I don't know if you can get one before you get over there (you could try ebay). If you did, I'm not sure you could activate it until you were in Europe (but I haven't tried). Once you are there, you can buy SIMs all over the place. They are sold at phone stores, convenience stores, and so on. Finding one is generally not a problem. Yes, I used it for data (read the top of this thread for details) as well as calls and texts.

Thank you! Very helpful!