Skype

Contact Skype or download the skype app and follow directions. You will need to put some money via credit card on deposit. It is very easy and works surprising well. You do need an internet connection. Do not use a data connection.

skype to skype call is free, money deposit is only for skype to non-skype calls.

Skype is the best thing in travel since the backpack! Skype to skype is wonderful and as previously mentined ...FREE.
On a recent trip to Costa Rica my daughter "toured" me around her room and hotel when she skyped me. Great way to keep in touch with grand-kids on a normal basis even when not traveling.

Debbie, check out this page on Skype's web site. I tried to post it as a link you can click but the Helpline formatting software has a problem with it so you'll need to copy the line below and paste it into the address box on your browser. https://support.skype.com/en-us/faq/FA11008/How-do-I-use-Skype-for-iPad

Skype can be fun but it's only as good as your wireless connection. I had mixed results calling back to the States while in Europe. But once I located a reliable, strong wireless signal it worked well and I had a good half-hour video call with someone.

I find person to person contact from Europe to the US (in particular Denver) to be not worth much. Most of my friends don't want me calling them in the middle of the night. When they get up, they are in a rush to go to work, and they can't really talk at work. When they are free to talk, 5 PM to about 10 PM, it's 1 AM to 6 PM over there, and I'm sleeping. I have a calling card for about 5¢/min - that's cheap enough, but I rarely find I can use it. I find email is the best way to keep in touch. I write when it's convenient for me; they write back when it's convenient for them. And, I can send out group emails to many friends.

Download Skype app to ipad. Set up account on Skype. Add $10 credt to your Skype account. Test it out at home. You will find that you can call from your ipad to a computer for free. With the $10 credit you can call ipad to a home/cell/business phone for about 6 hours. You will need to find a wifi and log onto it, not as easy in Europe as it is in the U.S. Most hotels claim to have wifi but it won't always work from your room if at all. Still when you have a good connection it works fantastic. Use the world clock on the ipad to figure out when to call. Some people were thrilled that we called from Europe.

I agree-- test it out at home before you travel. That way you'll have a clear understanding of how to make Skype work for you. As I already mentioned, everything hinges on have a strong, consistent wifi signal. I had to give up on several calls because the connection was so up and down we couldn't communicate. As far as the time difference goes, I find that's not a problem if you want to talk to someone badly enough. I did one call when it was 11:00 AM Paris time and 8:00 PM Los Angeles time. Nobody got their knickers twisted.

Really? I doubt that you really did that or you would have known that 11:00 AM Paris time is 2:00 AM LA time. 8:00 PM LA time is 5:00 AM Paris time. Which illustrates my point. With Skype you have to make these time calculations (and you are usually wrong). With email it doesn't matter. I can post an email at 11:00 AM in Germany (3:00 AM in Denver), then go out and sight see all day. My friends in Denver (or Pa or LA) can pick it up and respond at 4:00 AM in Germany (8:00 PM or whatever, their time).

If you don't like Skype, don't use it...leaves more bandwidth for the rest of us. If e-mail is your thing, congratulations.

@Lee Yes, sorry, you are absolutely correct - I got my times reversed. It was 11:00 AM Los Angeles time and 8:00 PM Paris time - an innocent mental error - still I felt we had plenty of opportune times in which to make our call - how's 7:00 AM Los Angeles time and 4:00 PM Paris time, for example? I had a pressing reason why I needed to talk to this person, and we made it work.

I believe Debbie's original question was how to set up Skype on her iPad to call the US from France; she never asked if sending an email was better than using Skype. There are plenty of instances where one may need to utilize Skype while in Europe (eg, a real time conversation with their office, or with the kids who may have been left back home in the U.S. with the grandparents). An iPad is far more portable than a laptop so it's not difficult to find WiFi somewhere and to use the World Clock app to instantly see what time it is back home before using Skype to make sure you aren't calling at a strange hour. My parents are older and have absolutely no idea how to even turn on a computer, let alone how to compose, send or check email; yet my European relatives have used things like Google Voice and Skype to contact my parents on their telephone and for Skype-to-Skype with the rest of us that have it on our computers or iPhones. I am sure Debbie's iPad is going to be used for lots more while travelling besides Skype, so why wouldn't she want to download the free app and give it a try over having a big delay in response time via email?

A little off the question, but I just used my Ipad2 in France to Facetime my kids at home, and boy was that FANTASTIC! No charge with the free wi-fi at the hotels, and I could see the kids and talk to them, rather than email them. Time difference was just a small issue - I called them at 8AM Colorado time and woke them up on a Saturday morning when they like to sleep in. I just ordered my new iPhone 4S so I'll use that next time I travel, but I also found the iPad2 was great for surfing the web on the larger screen, and adding just that bit of weight to my pack didn't seem to matter. SKYPE is great too, but the Facetime from Apple is amazing and easy to use!- of course the person you are Facetiming has to have the Apple product with Facetime as well......