What to do about cell phones in Europe?

This may be shocking to most, but I leave mine at home. I go on a cell-free diet and emerge quite happier for it. I'm sure it's useful, but I'm also fairly sure you won't get separated unless you decide to split up to do different things (getting separated doesn't necessitate a cell phone, just a good fallback plan that everyone agrees on). If your company pays for your phone on your trip, doesn't that imply that you should be reachable? That in itself is reason enough not to bring one.

Some people get local sim cards.

I used ATT passport which was $30 for unlimited text messages when overseas. $1 min if phone calls. I only texted, so it worked great. I am wondering if Verizon wouldn't also have a "text only" type plan. Even if you get separated, a text will work as good as a call.

Michael,
You can always buy local SIM cards for your phones, but make sure your phones are "unlocked", in order for the local SIM cards to work.

If you have a "contract" with Verizon &/ or your phones have not been paid (on lease), then your phone(s) may not be eligible to be
unlocked.

As a TMobile customer, I get free data and free texting in most countries. My phone calls are 20 cents per minute. If I make my phone calls over wifi, they are free. Just something to consider. I just take my phone with me when I travel and use it like I'm at home. I love it...especially because I work even as I travel since I am a small business owner.

From looking at the International page at Verizon, that sounds like the price to have almost the same service in Europe as at home. I say almost because there are some *'d items and Wi-Fi is far more prevalent than towers providing 3 or 4G LTE access. It is definitely the most expensive thing you could do. There are other options.

If you talked only to an ordinary rep, you should call the international people and talk to them. In the meantime, take a look at what is possible on the International page -- http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/international-travel/.

These plans are different from what was available on my last trip (to Istanbul, Greece and Italy) in 2014. The one that is closest to what we last used is the Monthly international travel pricng plan for $25 per month, but for my 6 weeks in the UK this year, I may opt for the $40 per month plan. In either case, I'll completely turn off my data and use Wi-Fi. The data offered on all the plans other than the one you listed is miniscule, very easy to exceed and very expensive if you do. Every place I'll be staying has Wi-Fi. Assuming those lodgings have passwords, I feel very comfortable doing that. If they don't, I'll adjust my Wi-Fi usage accordingly.

30 years ago folks went to Europe with no phones and they apparently survived as we are those parents now.

But, during our trip last year, we purchased an unlocked "cheap" phone off of the internet. Bought a card upon arriving at Milano Centrale for about 10 euros. Used the phone one time over a three week trip with multiple other travelers. Used our iPad every night to check email, social media, etc.

I think it's a good time for the entire family to enjoy the experience and not need to be connected 24/7.

Have a wonderful trip!

I dont bring a phone. Its pretty darn easy to travel without one, and yes, i have taken my kids , solo to europe a few times.

Last year i finally brought a small tablet so i could check my emails where there is wifi.

Its not that hard finding each other if seperated, goodness folks have been doing that for centuries.

A couple of years ago I bought a cheap cell phone in Italy for €30, it came with ten minutes, I added euro to it when needed. It phones, texts, and has basic bells and whistles, but no data. My Verizon phone was left at home.

If you take your phone and buy one cheapie, you should be fine. Kids can go cold turkey on social media until they have wifi in the evenings. I take an iPad mini to check email and do research while I am traveling.

we find our phone very handy while in Europe. not that we 'have' to carry our phone, but is great to use for the off-line apps, translator, maps, rick steves walking tours, simple camera etc etc. also using viber etc , when we have free wifi to message and talk to home. (there are so many good off-line apps to help travel)
we 'even' put a low cost sim card in for the 'insurance' of having a working phone if we need it . so if you have phones ( that you don't mind the 'possibility' of losing) then take them along. what we don't do is 'live' on the phone, we go to enjoy the scenery etc. if it is a phone that you are 'precious' about then leave it somewhere else, so you enjoy your daily outings.

hope this helps

You could turn off data and just use them as wi-fi devices. Everyone could email, use social media, and use internet whenever they could fund wifi, which is easy to find in hotels and cafes.

Or buy SIM cards or cheap pay-as-you-go phones over there. I've never done it, but a lot of people do. I'm sure a bunch of posters here can give you details.

ATT iPhones work in Europe but with much higher charges. I can go over there and use my phone as normal without paying ahead of time - but each call and each KB of data will be $$$. Does Verizon not do this? I buy a very small data and text package from ATT before I go. $30 or so for a month. Then I leave data off 95% of the time and use it carefully when needed. Ditto for a small texting plan - my friends know not to text me too much when I'm away. I don't actually make calls much, so I will just pay $1/minute or whatever if it is ever needed.

Although having a Global phone is a requirement for us, what's most important is local service. Neither Sprint nor T-Mobile even have real coverage where we live (in the southern AZ desert about 40 miles from the border with Mexico) without roaming. Verizon is the best. AT&T is catching up. Bummer. I checked on the Google option, but it won't work here.

I can't believe that your only option from Verizon is $10 per day. Are there no other international plans? International plans are not cheap, but typical is about $20-25 per month.

The main thing you want to be able to do it make a call if you need to and send limited texts if you need to. Otherwise, leave data off and only use wifi for surfing the internet. Phone calls should be extremely limited: emergencies and business calls. Same for texting (this can be harder for young people to accept).

I don't see leaving phones at home, they are used in transit and can connect to wifi networks and for emergencies. Many take photos with them.

Another option is to only have a couple phones with the international plan. The others are wifi only.

Getting a different SIM card works if your phones can be unlocked. But that can also be a hassle unless you need to make numerous calls/texts.

A reminder that is critical, you must leave data off always because even turning it on for short times is a lot of data downloaded as it all backs up. Much of that data will download once you get on a wifi network.

Michael - My youngest daughter found an app called WhatsApp. As long as she has Wifi she is able to text us with no problem. Just make sure you turn off the cellular data option on your phone.

Our method (thanks to someone who posted here a few years ago) is to put the phones on vacation hold while on a longer trip -- NO CALLS OR DATA but the phones work as wifi devices, cameras, and offline GPS but also without the substantial costs of our at-home usage. Communication home via email from the hotel/apartment at night as needed. For those very infrequent necessary calls, we bought pay-as-you-go Eurobuzz (Mobal) dumb phones charging $0.79 per minute or $0.79 per text -- so we have something for emergency use, but not for chatting. (Thanks for the tip, Eileen.) Last year's 1-month trip we ran up about $5 in calling charges.

...if we ever get separated....
Agree on rally points where the family should meet in case of separation. e.g. museum books store while visiting museum, train station "meeting point" if heading for the train, back to the hotel if really lost.

In the "old days" we traveled without phones or even e-mail. How in the world did we survive? These days it is a bit more difficult.

During our trip to Austria we arrived at an unstaffed village train station and found that the bus serving the station only stopped at peak hours, with the next bus a couple of hours away. The station's taxi service was on-call, with a sign identifying the taxi company telephone numbers. Through the kindness of a young mother pushing a baby carriage and a second young child in tow, she first made calls on her cell to our hotel, then called the taxi company to order a pick up for our group. She even waited for a return call from the taxi dispatcher to let us know that the taxi was on its way. Then she continued on her walk to the village.

During our trips to China, our guides gave us their cell number and told us if we get lost, just ask anyone to call. Everyone in China seems to have a cell. Have your family members carry hotel cards and if in trouble, someone can help call your hotel. The kindness of strangers works.

Kaeleku,

There's no point in "harping" on Project Fi, as that option is useless for the majority of people as it only supports Nexus phones. According to their website....

"The Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6 are the first smartphones that support Project Fi's network of networks. We currently only support these devices."

michael.j.peter,

There are several options you could consider.....

• If your company will pay for your roaming service, sign-up for that. That will provide one phone for confirming hotel reservations or emergencies, and since you're all travelling together that should be adequate. One point to note is that you would still be receiving calls (business or otherwise), and those sometimes happen in the wee hours of the morning from people that don't bother to check the time difference.
• You could also get the Verizon plan for your wife's phone, as that will allow you to keep in touch with her if you're separated. You didn't say how old your children were, but is it possible that they will either be with you or your wife at all times?
• If the children are older and may venture away on their own, there are several possible options......

(1.) Turn off data on the children's phones but leave the voice & text functions on. That would allow you to contact them if needed (or vice-versa) but the costs would be higher as you wouldn't be using the roaming plan. You'd have to check with Verizon for specific prices for occasional use.

(2.) If the children's phones are unlocked, you could use travel SIM's from iRoam, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, Mobal or other firms. The SIM cards range in price from about $10 - $30. Check the respective websites for details. These typically use a U.K.-based number and post-paid billing (calls charged to a credit card), so no need to top-up. These also offer fairly consistent rates across most countries in Europe. Using texts most of the time would be cheapest as received texts are usually free. Voice calls would be more expensive for them, as they would have to make an international long distance call to your number in the U.S. However, one caveat - it's best to leave data turned off when using a travel SIM, as data charges are often steep, if available at all.

(3.) Turn off all wireless functions on the children's phones except for Wi-Fi and use something like Viber to keep in touch using text messaging. Of course that would only be possible where they're able to access Wi-Fi. That would allow them to keep in touch with their friends or post on Facebook or whatever. However, one point to keep in mind is that Wi-Fi service can vary between countries and between hotels. In some cases it's good, in other cases service can be a bit "erratic" in some parts of the hotel, and in other cases it only works in the lobby area. In addition, if you're staying in the higher end hotels, they often charge for Wi-Fi service while less expensive hotels often provide that with the cost of the room.

As you can see, there are no solutions which are both easy and cheap. The simplest solution would be to just use the roaming plan provided by your home network, but that's also the most expensive. Do they have only a voice and text option at lower cost (keep the data switched off, and only use Wi-Fi)? The cheapest option would be to buy local PAYG SIM cards when you arrive, but of course all the phones would have to be unlocked. Costs and other details would depend on the network you chose, and which of their plans you opted for.

If you absolutely must have phone service for the rest of the family, I would just pick up cheap phones with local SIMs at the first place I came to that sold them. I bought a phone with about 10 pounds of minutes (in Scotland) for 10 pounds. I used it to call home to the US on three occasions, each lasting 15 minutes or so, and didn't use up my time. The phone store can set it up for you and make sure it is working, and also tell you how to add more time if you need it (start with the minimum and see how far you get). That would be the cheapest option by far. But Pat is right - it is easy to travel without a phone, too. It is easy to set a meeting place (or tell them to return to the hotel) if you get separated - and how often does that really happen? I have traveled with kids and we haven't stayed shoulder to shoulder all day, or had cellphones, and we still got back together at the end of the day.

I'm with Nancy. I can see using phones to reconnect after heading separate directions. Phones are cheap and easy in Europe. You can find multiple options of basic phones, sim card and minutes for 25 euro. They are available at kiosks in the airport, kiosks around shopping areas, phone stores (some sell one company others sell multiple companies) and even department stores.

If I were doing what you plan. I'd buy a few phones at your first stop, use up the minutes that come with the phone. At the next country, pop into a store and buy new local prepaid sim cards for cheap. Ditto, your third country. Calling within a country is very cheap but you're still roaming when you hit the next country.

For calls home. I'd pack a smartphone or Ipod touch and set up Skype before your trip. When you're in Europe use Skype with WiFi (at your hotel, Starbucks, McDonalds or almost any other cafe, bar) and you can call home for just a few cents a minute. Just make sure everyone knows to only use Skype, and only on WiFi, with your smartphones.

I don't see any reason to blow hundreds of dollars for roaming service from the U.S.

Also the Iphones will be a good place to check email - but only use WiFi. You may be able to use Facetime instead of Skype if everyone has an Apple product. I like Skype because I can set it up to dial people's home phones.

*** SIM cards -- am I correct that every time you change the SIM card, you get a new phone number so everyone needs to write it down and/or reprogram the contact list on their own phones in order to keep in contact?

Laura B.,

Yes, that's correct. Each time you change SIM cards, the number changes and also the costs and terms of service, according to which plans you choose with the local network. Buying SIM's in each country is NOT an option I would ever use. I need to be accessible from home, so changing numbers is NOT an option. Last year I just used the roaming package with my home network (which included data) and it worked well, no problems at all. As I recall, that was also about $10 a day but in the overall costs of the trip, that wasn't a big deal.

Last time I went to Europe, I signed up for an international data plan with Verizon, which was $25 per 1GB of data and some nominal amount for phone calls (although I used my phone for data only). I had no problem buying a local SIM for cheap in the UK (something like £10 for 3GB of data), but in Germany for example, it was difficult to find a local data option that was a better deal than the Verizon plan. This was in 2014, so I am not sure if Verizon doesn't offer that international plan anymore or if you're using something else.

Frankly, I plan on switching to T-Mobile before my next trip this fall. I have numerous friends who have used their phones all over the world with T-Mobile with good success, and it seems like a no-brainer. I know some people here are advocating leaving their phones at home, and that's totally fine if you want to do that, but I guess I'm just one of those millenials who like the convenience of having the internet at the ready, especially in an unknown place :)

I have Verizon and recently used them in Europe. $40/mo/device for 100 minutes/100 sent texts/unlimited received texts/100 mb data

If it were me, i would have my company put the plan on my work phone. Depending on the data plan, i might even set up a wifi hotspot on my phone to let the others have access to wifi on my work phone. However keep in mind that heavy usage could use up the my data or kill my battery.

The other phones would not have any plan at all. I would advise family that the phones can be carried but not used except in emergency only or only when free wifi is available. I would disable the mobile data on each phone just in case. These phones would have to pay roaming voice or text charge rates if used. If not used, there will be no charges at all.

If all your phones are unlocked, check T-Mobile's Simple Choice Plan. For 4 phones with 2gb of data each you'd pay $100 per month. To increase to 6gb is an additional $15 per phone but you need not get it for all 4. Calls in and out are $.20/min. There are no contracts so you can cancel at any time. You would have the same US telephone number for your entire trip and switching local networks from country to country is automatic and seamless. Another benefit is if anyone calls you from the US they'll dial a US number. I've used this on three trips, single and multi-country and will be using it on a trip to Corsica and Sardinia later this year.

On a two week trip through Spain and Portugal, I had the 2gb plan and used it as a GPS as well as using a GPS tracking app to map my journey. I used my iPhone for some web surfing but basically saved that for wifi where available. I used just over half my available data package.

Edgar.. how is it more difficult to travel today without a phone "these days its a lot more difficult". I don't find travel more difficult without a phone and I have been doing it for many decades now.. but maybe I am missing something.

Now.. if you were to say it can make things easier.. perhaps it could.. but its one more thing to worry about and pay for.

I am about to reveal my almost total ignorance of things technological, but I've really been wondering about this. If we give our smart-phone # to the Europeans we need to meet up with; e.g., the guide we reserved for a tour in Vienna, do they need to put in the U.S. country code, should they need to reach us? Would we need to put in the country code for Austria if we want to call them?
My 2 cents on the issue of does one need a phone at all is of course, not. However, we have had reason to use a phone on several different trips, mostly for finding a place that we had directions for, but still couldn't find. I like knowing we can communicate with our lodging owners and emergency services people.

I agree. If you're staying in hotels, you can probably get by without a phone. If you're staying in less formal lodging (B&Bs, apartments and the like), it can be a bit nerve-wracking to be sitting on a bus that's running 2 hours late. Once you're settled in on the first day, all is likely to be fine. It's getting to that point that can be a bit tricky.

As a dumb phone user who has been waiting for a system I can deal with, I have to thank Kaeleku for the heads up on this new system. A great nugget of knowledge' thank you for harping.

It's all about how much you want to spend. For many people spending hundreds to have the most convenient option (using their phone) seems like a good deal. Especially if you don't make local calls or expect people to call you.

My primary use for a phone is local calls in Europe. I use a phone to book rooms as I travel so saving money on those calls outweighs whether I have a different phone number in each country.

I tell people to email me if they need anything. If so, I'll use Skype to call them back or just return the email using WiFi.

"If we give our smart-phone # to the Europeans we need to meet up with; e.g., the guide we reserved for a tour in Vienna, do they need to put in the U.S. country code, should they need to reach us?"

Yes. You should give your US number as +1-area code-number (e.g., Rick's office would be +1-425-771-8303).

You should also enter all your US numbers that you might dial from abroad into your phone using this format, with no dashes. This way, you just press "send" and the call or text will go through, wherever you are in the world, without needing any adjustment. It doesn't cost extra, either - the phone systems know where you are, and you are charged accordingly (in other words, just because you use this format, you won't be charged for an international call when you're in the US).

"Would we need to put in the country code for Austria if we want to call them?"

Yes. So, if the Vienna phone is listed as (0) 1 774 89 01, you enter it in your phone as +43-1-774-89-01 (no dashes). Again, this way you never have to think about it again.

The way to remember what to do is, when you use your US phone plan abroad (without changing to a local SIM), your phone is like a little "bubble" of the US. So, calls must be made as though you're still in the US.