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Visiting Multiple Countries - Cell Phone Advice Needed Please!

Posted by on

I will be taking a trip in several months to Italy (4 days) , Amsterdam (2 days), Belgium (1 day) and France (2 days) and I am not very technologically proficient.

I currently have an IPhone 5S with no international plan. My travel companion will have a U.S. phone with international calling. However, this will be a business trip for her so I will be sightseeing while she is working throughout most days of our trip.

My primary need to for a telephone would be to stay in touch with her while we are separated (for meet up info, etc.) and to be able to call or receive emergency phone calls in the U.S. and check in with family as necessary.

Does anyone have recommendations as to the best options? Would I have to buy individual SIM cards for each country I am traveling to? That sounds very expensive considering that I will be in some of these countries for 48 hours or less. Any suggestions?

Posted by
32206 posts

lm,

Buying individual SIM cards for each country is NOT the best option, especially as you need to possibly "receive emergency phone calls". Each time you change the card, the phone number and plan terms change. One other point to note is that for you to be able to use ANY other SIM cards, your phone would have to be unlocked.

It would help to have a bit of further information on which network you're using in the U.S. as getting a roaming plan with them may be the easiest option.

Posted by
4412 posts

try tech forum. Also look into the Mobal phone, which works all over Europe.

Posted by
17918 posts

If you have ATT or TMobile there is no reason to purchase SIMs or unlocked phones these days. Just purchase a plan and cancel it when you get home. They are cheap and convenient. My TMobile has worked flawlessly from Istanbul through Bulgaria and across the continent to London. No problems and reasonable rates.

Posted by
8141 posts

Jumping in and out of different countries is difficult if you're dealing with SIMS cards.

Contact your carrier to see what international plans they have. You can often sign on one for a month and cut the plan off upon your return home.

For those coming out of the U.S., the T Mobil $50 unlimited service includes $.20 per minute international calling and unlimited international texting. They've signed up millions of customers with this same plan, and it's just like calling from home--seamless.
Last year, my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter kept calling us in Budapest at 3:30 a.m. on her mother's speed dial from home.

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