Unlocked phone with local (European) SIM card

Kaye
I haven't done this, but there are lots of information on this under the transportation link. I was just looking at it for myself and looking at one company called Roam Simple that you could order ahead of time. It looks like Croatia and Slovenia are in two different zones, so you might need different Sims. But they are not that expensive.

"if I buy a pre-paid SIM card in Croatia, then I will have access to mobile and text messaging, correct?"

Yes. You would be subject to the terms of the plan you bought. For instance, you may have to pay per text, or there may be a certain number of texts included.

"Would I need to buy another one to go into Slovenia (or would they perhaps have a parent company allowing service across borders)."

When you go into Slovenia with a Croatian SIM, the phone will still work, but you are roaming. You would then be paying at whatever terms your plan had for roaming. Within the EU, roaming rates are capped; since both of these countries are part of the EU, your roaming rates should not be high. But be careful if you are going outside the EU (say, to Montenegro); these rates are not regulated, so they can be low or high. A friend of mine took his T-Mobile UK SIM to Turkey. It has very good rates within the UK, from the UK to the US, and while roaming in the EU. But on my advice, he checked on roaming rates in Turkey, and they were £1.50 per minute - ouch!

"Still would have no data, unless I buy a data plan somewhere, correct?"

Again, that would depend on the terms of the plan you bought when you bought your SIM. These days, most plans include data, but you have to double-check the exact terms. If you are going to use a lot of data, you want a plan that's advantageous for that (for instance, one that includes a gigabyte or two per month, rather than one that charges by the megabyte).

"Where is the best place to buy a pre-paid SIM card?"

They're sold all over the place - newsstands, kiosks, and dedicated stores (like AT&T stores in the US). Once you know which company you want, ask at your hotel for the nearest place that sells it.

To learn more about the subject, a great source of info is Prepaid GSM. Here's their Croatia page (next to "Prepaid Offer" select "click here" to learn more about each company's options): http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/croatia.php

And here's their Europe Forum. Be aware that information there can get VERY technical; don't be afraid to ask for clarification: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22

Many have switched over to T Mobile for their $50 monthly service plan that comes with unlimited data. International voice calls are $.20 per minute which is very reasonable. The phones work in Europe seamlessly--just like calling in the U.S. Best thing is that there is no contracts. Upon returning home, you can keep it or can the service.

And an unlocked AT&T phone works on T Mobile. Verizon phones don't work with T Mobile.

Thank you so much to all of you for your help....Wow, a lot to think about.

David, so if I understand correctly, I could take my old unlocked iPhone to TMobile, get a monthly (or in this case possibly, two month) contract and use my phone in Europe, only paying extra for calls from Europe to US/people calling me from US? Texts and data are free/included in $50 fee?

Thanks,
Kaye

Kaye, the only catch with the T-Mobile plan is that in Europe, you only get 2G data speeds included at the base price. Some have reported that they got 3G service, but you can't count on it. If you want faster data with T-Mobile, you have to pay extra.

Kaye, we are looking at T-Mobile as well for our newly unlocked iPhone 4s. My understanding in talking with them is that calling from Europe to the US is included in the 20 cents/minute fee. I don't know what the charge is for someone from the US calling you in Europe, but if you use the T-Mobile phone to call from the US to Europe it is not the 20 cent fee, it is much higher. We plan on trying it on our next trip, but do not use a phone often. What appealed to us was that you will never be charged extra for going over your data limit. Instead, the system will revert from high speed to the lowest available carrier. This may or may not be good for you. We also like the idea that we can just bring one phone that will work in both Europe and the US. You do have to double check the rates for the countries you are visiting, some countries are not at the 20 cent/minute fee in the T-Mobile system. Good luck! - Barbara

"I don't know what the charge is for someone from the US calling you in Europe, but if you use the T-Mobile phone to call from the US to Europe it is not the 20 cent fee, it is much higher."

1) If you are using your T-Mobile US Simple Choice plan while in Europe, a person in the US calls you as they would if you were in the US (your usual area code and number, no other digits needed). They pay normal domestic rates for this, and you pay $0.20 per minute.

2) If you are using a T-Mobile phone in Europe but do not have a Simple Choice plan, it will work, but your rates for calls, texts and data will be MUCH higher.

3) If you are in the US on a T-Mobile plan and call Europe, you pay T-Mobile's international rates. These depend on your plan, but as said above, can be very high. If you're doing it more than a few minutes a month, it pays to get one of their International Plans, which for $10 or $15 per month give you very cheap calls to many countries.

More details about all these situations here: http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/international.html