Phone cards

Take a look at www.net2phone.com. I have used them with good results.

Another thing to be aware of is that some of the cheapest cards bill in like five minute chunks, get a card like MCI or Sprint that bills minute by minute.

I've used both MCI and Sprint in the past and been quite happy. They both have toll free numbers in all the European countries that you can call to access home and charge, depending on the country, between 10-20 cents per minute.

Hi, Christy. I used the EUROPA phone card while in Rome. It cost 5 Euros for about 270 minutes of calling time, and can be purchased at any Tabachi in Rome. Rick actually recommends the EUROPA card in his Rome 2008 guidebook. I'm not sure if you can use the card in other countries. Hope this helps! ~Joseph~

I've had the best luck with one-country PIN cards in 5 Euro increments although I'm seriously considering going cellular next trip.

Another option I've had luck with is using Internet cafes that advertise international calls.

Have you considered Skype? I was surprised to find that a decent number of hostels had Skype phones. I'm not too familiar with the service other than it is dirt cheap and all you need is a computer and a headset.

I vote for phone cards! I have a Sprint one and find it useful both in Europe and at home. It's a great way to call Europe when you need to make hotel reservations and the like. I pay .04/minute to call England, .06 to Germany and .07 to France. Beats chalking up high charges on your home phone for overseas calls. I paid $10.00 for mine and have made 3 very lengthy calls to UK friends and still have lots of time left.