phone

Hi Naomi. You will get a lot more replies if you are more specific. Where are you traveling? For how long? Are you tech savvy? Will you be using it for photos, videos, emails, surfing the web, perhaps even calling? Do you already have a phone and carrier and need advice on a SIM card option? Etc... "Help us help you".

1 u lk

See a variety of tips and links at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/phones-tech.

I was seeking a general ans ; my friend traveled to Germany and Romania with a " Mobal" phone and had a difficult time with it. Rick talks about buying a "cheap phone" in his shows and I wish he'd elaborate i.e., what and where to buy.

Naomih9, maybe you should go back to your friend to find out what problems he had with Mobal. "Best" phone depends on what you intend to use the phone for: local calls, calls back home, Internet data, keeping in touch with travel partners ... Also the area (s) you will visit.

We used Eurobuzz, which is related to Mobal, and it worked great in France and Austria for our limited needs of local calls and texts. Phones purchased before we left, and are sitting with our travel supplies for the next European trip

I'm with Laura, I had 2 Eurobuzz phones and they worked just fine. They are often on sale or 2-for-1, you buy and own the phone and only pay for your actual usage. I too have stashed them away for my next trip. In the US they default to the T Mobile network, which makes sense since it's GSM.

It doesn't sound like you're especially tech-savvy, but you could buy an unllocked quad band GSM phone before your trip and buy a SIM card upon landing. Or buy a cheap burner phone for the country you're in.

There are lots and lots of resources on the internet for international phone use. Also in Rick's technology forum.

I will be in Germany and Romania later this month. I'm simply adding an international plan through AT&T using my smartphone.

Thanks. I'll look up eurobuzz. Never heard of that. It's true I'm not phone tech savvy since I only own a "dumb" phone. ha. I'm not bad on t computer and just use my Virgin phone to make USA calls only.
I'm not presently planning a trip to Europe but still am curious. I couldn't find anything on line but Mobal. My friend got t Mobal but phone services didn't support its use hardly at all. He sent it back when he got home. He just wanted a phone to make mostly local calls, to his friend, his hotel, to venues, help, and to call home if necessary.
I did read Ricks info on phones. I Still think it's pretty complicated.

Naomi,

Unfortunately, not only is it complicated, it's rapidly changing. So there is no simple or single answer.

The best way to proceed is to wait until a few months before your trip, and then research what's currently available for the countries your are visiting. Then, compare this with what your domestic provider can offer. Only by doing all this can you figure you the "best" answer for your needs. Then for the next trip, you have to repeat the process - the "best" solution can be completely different by then. Like in other tech areas, information that is current now gets inaccurate or outdated very quickly.

As said above, your needs and wants have a lot to do with the answer. If you only want to use the phone for emergencies, that's different from someone making a lot of local calls, which is different again from someone whose main concern is being reached from the US, and is different again from two people traveling on the same trip who want to be able to reach each other easily. And all of this is just about calls - data is a whole other issue.

One thing is simple - your Virgin Mobile US "dumbphone" will not work in Europe. Other than that, all bets are off. Do read all of the linked Rick Steves articles - believe it or not, they are one of the best and clearest introductions to the subject (I told you it was complicated). If you really want to get dizzy, there's a whole website dedicated to just this subject - Prepaid GSM. Although I find it very helpful for specific questions, they throw around jargon with such abandon it makes my head spin.

naomih9,

Harold provided a good summary of your options. Which one to use will depend to a large extent on your anticipated uses, and whether you'll require data.

There are many other travel phone firms besides EuroBuzz and Mobal. If that looks like it might work for your situation, you could also have a look at Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, One SIM, Max Roam or others. If you're just looking for a basic phone for voice and text, the travel phones are a good option as they work in a variety of countries with consistent rates and don't require topping-up. Many of these firms sell basic phones, or you can buy your own unlocked, quad-band GSM phone off E-Bay or Amazon and just buy the SIM card from them.

Just noticed you referred to your friend's phone as "t Mobal" which if you meant TMOBILE is different from Mobal. Many names, many phone alternatives.

LAura, I meant "Mobal" phones.

I want to thank you all for some good hints on this subject. I don't know why I could only find one travel phone company, Mobal, when I searched before.

LAura, I meant "Mobal" phones.

I want to thank you all for some good hints on this subject. I don't know why I could only find one travel phone company, Mobal, when I searched before.

Last trip to Spain. I went to an El Corte Ingles store in Barcelona as soon as I got downtown. El Corte Ingles is a big department store that I knew would have a section for phones (hopefully multiple carriers). I ended up spending 25 euros for a basic flip phone, battery, charger, SIM card and ten euros worth of minutes from Vodaphone. I had a choice of plans. I could either take 60 free minutes then pay more per minute or a lower cost per minute (I think it was 8 cents). I didn't really take time to figure out which would ultimately work better, I chose the lower per minute rate.

In Spain, and really all over Europe, there are phone stores and kiosks everywhere for a variety of mobile phone companies. There was a place called, I think, "The Phone Store" in Toledo that offered the same 25 euro deal from Vodaphone and an equivalent deal (different brand phone) from Orange.

The biggest downside to these plans is you have to stop in a store to add value to your SIM card. The stores really are everywhere, though, so it sounds worse than it is.

I think Rick gives good advice. Let the sales clerk set up your phone (they're often preset to a language other than English) and make sure it works before you leave the store.

I also carried an iPod touch. Before the trip I set it up for Skype to land lines for a few cents a minute. I had to have wifi to use Skype but it worked well for calls home from the hotel, Starbucks, McDonald's, etc. The iPod worked for email, maps, directions, weather, music, travel alarm - essentially anything I'd do with a smart phone other than making calls.

Thank you! GreAt info, just t kind I'm looking for.... a cheap, simple flip phone, a little like my "smart "Virgin" phone! Ha.
And, yes, I'd take my Kindle for Skype, email, video messages, etc ( while at a wifi source.)
Naomi

Thank you! GreAt info, just t kind I'm looking for.... a cheap, simple flip phone, a little like my "smart "Virgin" phone! Ha.
And, yes, I'd take my Kindle for Skype, email, video messages, etc ( while at a wifi source.)
Naomi

speaking of Kindle, be aware that you might not be able to use it to watch the Amazon Prime programming you might like to watch at home because you'll be outside the US. But for other internet purposes it works well.

If you want to read books or listen to music from the Kindle, you need to download them before you leave. And if you take your Kindle on the plane and onto trains, which is likely, be sure to bring your recharger along. With any necessary plug adapters.

Yes, I understand all that. I'd mainly use that for emails, etc. Prob would use a phone just for calls locally.

naomi,

If you just want a basic, inexpensive phone with a plan that will work in many European countries, this is a good option....

https://www.roamsimple.com/products/Roam-Simple-EU-SIM-Card.aspx

With this you'd have a working phone as soon as you step off the plane, and no issues with running out of minutes and having to top up.