Pre-paid cell phones

We use Tracfone as our cellphones in the US. We were told they will not work in Europe; can't be unlocked for use with European SIM card I think is the explanation. I'm not sure about the other prepaids, but my guess is they also won't work. We bought a mobal phone and it worked great for us. We were able to leave our cell phone number with people in the US in case of emergency (nobody called!). We never called the US either, but made calls in Italy and France. Be aware that the per minute charge is high, but as long as you aren't making long calls, that shouldn't matter much. Our total minute bill was about $21 for two weeks of travel.

Hi Danielle,

It sounds like this will be a bit more expensive than you're looking for, but I used http://www.telestial.com/ to purchase a reconditioned GSM phone + SIM card. Looks like there is a deal right now for about $50 USD for the phone and some talk time, depending on where you're going.

I found telestial through the RS website, about a year ago.

T-Mobile works. Guess it depends where you're traveling. I use T-mobile, and the rates on their pre-paid cards are reasonable. My German phone works anywhere I travel in Europe. (I think at least; but I have used it in Italy, Ireland, London, Czech, France, and Switz. and have not had problems) There are roaming fees though, so watch your balance or carry extra pre-paid cards to re-charge. The best perk of the cell phone has actually been text ability. I use direct international text messages for short updates to friends/family in the states, and they only cost .29 euro cents.

I have an tmobile world phone Treo(not pre paid), and works very well in Europe.
I woul ask the phone manufacturere if the phone works in Europe.
Or buy a phone in Europe then a SIM card.In Europe they don't really use plans, but prepaid SIM cards.
you will get a local phone number which will cost you less money.

I have a Mobal phone, which I generally only plan to use for emergencies, and I love it. You don't have to worry about running out of minutes or having to change SIM cards for different countries. The per-minute rate is high (which is why I use it as an emergency phone, not my main means of calling back to the US).

Danielle, if you want a Cell phone for travelling in Europe, you'll have to use a quad-band model from either T-Mobile or AT&T. AFAIK it's NOT possible to use PAYG (prepaid) phones for international roaming, this is only available to those on a contract plan.

You could however buy an UNLOCKED quad-band phone off E-Bay (caveat emptor) and use a Euro SIM card. Keep in mind though that roaming in Europe can attract high rates as well.

The least expensive option for keeping in touch with your friends would be via text, as the rates are very inexpensive.

Happy travels!!!

I've been looking at that $50 Siemens A55 deal from Telestial . . . wondering if anybody else has used this phone or service and how reliable it is in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. It's really only for emergencies back home and work (so much for vacation).

Make sure your US mobil phone also has the two GSM bands: 900 MHZ and 1800MHZ.

Here are some of your EU options:

1. T-mobil US seems to be about the only reliable US service provider in the EU, but they aren't cheap in the EU. A local call in the EU will cost you as much as a person-person long distance call in the US!

2. You can by unlocked mobil phones across the counter throughout the EU in electronic stores for around $30. They will be GSM only and won't work in the US. You can get prepaid phone cards that have a chip in them from a local service provider. Be warned: roaming calls (any call made to and/or from outside the provider's service area) will be high compared to the US.

3. Since I live in one EU country, all my calls to the US go via Skype or a phone card. The phone cards give you about 300 minutes to the US from the EU, but each card is limited to calling from 1-3 countries. You get them at Kiosks. To use Skype you would have to borrow a computer.

I just came back from Spain. My boyfriend was in italy. We spent 2 weeks there and both bought cell phones in Europe and they worked great. A few tips: if you don't speak the language find the person who can speak the best english- obviously.

There are large "phone stores" in most larger cities with many prepaid phones and services to choose from, many of which you have never heard of. My boyfriend bought a phone through Vodaphone, and his per-minute cost was something like $0.69. Really high! I purchased a prepaid phone through a company called Happy Movie and mine was $0.17. Both were unlocked cards.
My phone cost a total of $53 Euros. I purchased the card with 5 hours on it, you can purchase more if you need the time. Also, because of the high charge my partner had with his phone, he purchased the prepaid phone cards you find at Tabacs, and this cut down on his usage of prepaid minutes.
Don't worry, buy it there it's much easier than you think.
Happy travels!

Make sure the phone cards you buy can be used to call through your cell-phone, rather than meant to be used with a pay phone. The ten euros or so spent on the right type of phone card can save far more by cutting down on your pre-paid cell minutes.

Also, if you don't read the language where you buy a phone, have the salesman switch it to english before you leave the store.

One more thing, many shops that recharge your phone will likely only take cash.

Well, I guess this shows which generation I'm from (hey! I'm just "forty-ish," but probably more "ish" than 40 now...), but I don't feel the necessity to be in contact all the time (in fact, I DON'T like it). I like to provide anyone I want to contact with my itinerary(usually by email) so they can find me if necessary, and use public phones or hotel phones to contact them. Also, this is where planning ahead (NOT my strong suit) comes in - arranging meetings & outings in advance if possible. I really hate my cell phone - I see it (even at home!) as sort of a necessary evil and don't leave it on all the time. I appreciate the convenience & technology, but prefer to treat it as alternate communication rather than (the way most people do) primary contact with the world. I can see how it would come in handy traveling, but I travel a LOT & only use it in the U.S. with few repercussions -in fact I think it keeps me more in touch with what's going on in the "real world." Just me though!

Just got back from London. During my trip my cell phone I used from a previous trip broke. In London I popped into a cell phone company and got a new one for 20 pounds. They made me add 20 pounds worth of airtime but I was able to transfer my previous balance from my "broken" phone to the new one by calling customer service.
So just get it when you get there. The pay as you go is so easy to get... and not expensive either!

I will be in Germany in a couple of weeks with several couples. We were thinking of just using 2-way radios when traveling in multiple cars. We have heard that they may not be legal. Does anyone know?

thxs

I am just casting a vote for "lisa's" comment above. If you current U.S. phone does not support international calls then just buy a "throw-away" phone or pre-paid one in the country that you will be traveling. If you are travelling to more than one country then it gets trickier and more expensive. When I was in France the odd thing was texting was free, but that was few years ago.

Having a phone is a good idea. This is not about "constantly being in touch" or a generational thing. The cellphone culture took off in Europe faster and more sophisticated in the U.S. as a result the culture there works with the expectation that most people have them. Hotels will want to call you back, or leave a number, car rental, etc.... Pay phones are sketchy at best.

I don't know what kind of contact you wan to keep with the other couple, but what about just e-mailing every few days. Cafes are very prevelant.

Frank in St. Louis...FRS or GMRS radios (those little "walkie-talkies" you see in the blister packs) operate on different frequencies here in North America, so they are illegal in Europe...some of those frequencies overlap with British emergency service frequencies. However, you can purchase similar radios in Europe, called Personal Mobile Radios (PMR 466). But they're more expensive than here.

In August I travelled around Germany on business. I laready had an unlocked triband GSM phone, given to me by someone who was upgrading to a new phone. In the Frankfurt Airport I went to a store called FOTEC and asked for a SIM card. The clerk, who spoke good English, sold me a card from a company called Blau world. The SIM card cost 39 Euros, which included a credit of 10 Euros. Calls back to the US were 9 cents a minute and incoming calls were free. The clerk even put the SIM card in the phone and explained all the features.

My coworker went into a T-Mobile store a few days later and bought a prepaid cellphone, including SIM, for 15 Euros (on sale). She paid 19 cents a minute for calls back to the US, incoming calls free.