Pocket wifi

sally,

I've looked at "Pocket Wi-Fi" in the past, and found that it tends to be somewhat expensive. There's always a cost for data access, and the Wi-Fi unit will also be accessing the cellular data network.

It would help to know what you'll be using the phones for? It would probably be cheaper to use the Verizon roaming plan but limit data use to hotels which have free Wi-Fi.

Will you be needing data access 24/7?

If you can make do with just having wifi in the morning and in the evening, you may not need such a plan at all since most hotels have free wifi these days.

Thanks Ken and Anna. We do not need it 24/7. We had verizon international last year. I had to call verizon a few times at night as I had difficulty using data while we were out. They had to help me connect/switch to local cell carriers to get data.

I used a company called Cellhire a couple of months ago. I was quoted about $60 for 5GB of data and $19.99 for the rental and shipping. I expected to pay about $80 or so, thinking that 5GB of data will last me 2 weeks since I barely use 2GB a month here at home. Much to my surprise, I get an email towards the end of my trip that I used an additional 15GB of data at $10 per GB. Looking at the bill, it looks like I was charged for just having the device on at all times. I thought I would only be charged for whenever I used it like I do at home. I was never informed that I had to turn it on and off as needed. I ended up paying about $240, luckily I split it with my travel buddy so we spent $120 each. I may as well have just used my Verizon international plan at $10 a day and avoided all the hassle of the rental. I found out about Cellhire through renting a car with AutoEurope.

I get a SIM card from a local provider. I've found that works well for me as my home provider does not offer international plans. If you have an unlocked phone you may want to look into this option.