ITALY - Sim cards for mobile phones/ipad

Mike, I'm not too familiar with SIM cards for iPads, but I'll try to offer a few comments. Are you planning to buy SIM cards for both your iPhone 5 as well as your iPad? You should be able to buy them at any cell shop for the major networks in Italy (TIM, Vodaphone, Wind, 3). However, I'm not sure whether PAYG plans are readily available with data in Italy? I've seen a few comments lately that it's now necessary to have a Codice Fiscale (tax number) for purchasing SIM cards in Italy, and registration using a Passport will probably be required. If you buy a SIM there, be sure the staff at the shop set it up, as all the menus will be in Italian. You'll also have to deal with topping-up. Hopefully some of the others can "fill in some of the blanks" on your questions. Good luck!

I usually use my cheap old Razr for travel with a regular Italian SIM card with Vodafone (no data), but my wife uses a Galaxy in Europe and so she purchased a data plan (actually I did for her, since I have an official Italian codice Fiscale). The cost was 20 euro, if I remember correctly, which included 5 euro of fixed cost for the SIM card, 7.50 euro of voice and text, 7.50 euro of data for a month (don't remember how many Gb). I might be wrong with the amounts (it might have been 30 euro total instead of 20) but overall it was cheap. It was with Vodafone, which had a special offer in July (they always have something anyhow). You can add money to it, if you run out of minutes, just go to a store displaying the provider's logo (not necessarily a Vodafone or TIM store, even Tobacconists' shops can add) Codice Fiscale and Passport. You need both to purchase a SIM card. Your US passport will work, as a domicile in Italy (also needed) you can use your hotel's. The Codice Fiscale (or Tax Code) can be obtained officially from the ITalian Consulate, but there is a quicker way. You can get it yourself online since it's a code calculated based on your name, birthdate, sex, place of birth. Often the phone store will get it for you online, but if not go to the website below: http://www.comuni.it/servizi/codfisc/ COGNOME=LAST NAME NOME=FIRST NAME (INCL. YOUR MIDDLE NAME IF SHOWN ON PASSPORT) SESSO=SEX (M or F is the same in Italian: Maschio or Femmina) COMUNE/PROV= STATI UNITI in the second box for PROV enter=EE (EE means overseas) DATA DI NASCITA= DATE OF BIRTH (dd/mm/yyyy) Click on Calcola to calculate
Print the card and take with you.