Going to England then Germany ans want a cheap travel phone with camera that also allows internet. Any suggestions? Was planning to buy an unlocked one in US then get a SIM card when I arrive. Many thanks,
Peggy
Posted by
Seattle, Washington
32 posts
Before going, you should check with your current mobile provider (if you haven't done so already) to see what their international phone plans are. T-mobile and Sprint offer some pretty good rates for using your phone overseas as you would at home. They can also tell you if the current phone you use is unlocked already for use overseas or they might be able to tell you how you can get it unlocked if it's possible.
Otherwise if you can manage to get an unlocked phone (you might be able to shop around online for some cheap ones), swapping SIM cards while you're abroad is easy and can be fairly inexpensive. I've personally used Vodafone in the UK, it was about £15 for unlimited texts and calls within the UK as well as a few gigabytes of data. In Germany, the main companies are T-Mobile.de, Vodafone.de, E-Plus, and 02. You can easily buy SIM cards at any mobile provider store and sometimes grocery stores like Aldi. Sometimes even at airports you can find little stores that sell SIM cards. It's possible to buy SIM cards online and have them sent to you before your trip, but there's really no need to buy ahead of time as it's easy enough to do so once you're there.
Just keep in mind, if you do buy a SIM card overseas and need to contact someone back home, you're better off doing so through WiFi on apps like Skype, Facebook Messenger, or Whatsapp.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Cheap goes away when you start adding internet. You can get very cheap phones, and plans, for calls only. I'd say an unlocked Moto G might be a good deal, about $100. I'm flying to France tonight with my phone. I don't know what to expect regarding a SIM. I'll put the details I discover in a trip report.
Posted by
California 🦋
5226 posts
Peggy,
You don't necessarily need to buy a new phone, if you already have one, but you do need to make sure that it's unlocked.
My daughter spent some time in the UK recently & she bought an 02 SIM card for her iPhone 4s & paid £15/ month for
unlimited calls and texts & some data within the UK. However, she was not able to make calls when she traveled outside of the UK, except only when Wi-Fi was available.
Many of her friends purchased the Three SIM card & they did have phone service when they traveled to Germany, The Netherlands & Denmark.
Have a great trip!