Hi,
I am going to Spain/Portugal this summer and am considering getting a calling card to keep in touch with family in the US. Can someone recommend and/or share pros and cons of using calling cards? Also, any info on how much, where to buy will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Rebecca in Alabama
Hey, Rebecca! Just about any international card with US calling capability is decent, but definitely stick with the 5 Euro card in terms of cost...first, in case it turns out to be a dud, which is rare, but can happen, and second, because on three European trips we've yet to use all of our minutes for calls home, even over two weeks (and calling home once every few days). They can be bought in Spain at news stands (all along Las Ramblas in Barcelona, for instance). If you're bilingual, I apologize, but if not, note this simple phrase (which means, Do you have a phone card for calling the United States, five euros?): Tiene usted una tarjeta telefonica para los Estados Unidos, por favor? Cinco Euros?
Thank you for the info, We are headed to Barcelona first and now I know where to look for them. Just curious, but did you feel like you missed having a cell phone?
GREAT question! In our case, no, not at all. In fact, it helped make our vacation even better. Not having our phones meant we were unreachable in real-time for work (REALLY vacated)...something that here in the US is damn near impossible for us. Also seemed to bring my wife and I even closer together...we relied on each other!
Our itinerary for Spain, by the way, including restaurant recs and hotels, sites, etc., can be found at http://moltogentileitalia.blogspot.com/2009/04/week-in-espana-itinerary-barcelona.html, my travel blog. Have a great trip!
My only preference is to get cards that work only in one specific country, then buy another in the next country.
I usually make one call home a day for about ten minutes and it probably works out to $2 for the call. I also call around for lodging so I do use up the cards.
I also get the smaller denomination card. I haven't had a dud yet, but others have said they have had them.
I've found many phones that don't work, sometimes they don't work with a particular card and other times the phones just don't work at all. If that happens, assume it's the phone and not the card.
When I buy a card I ask where a phone that I can use is located. Usually there is one within eyesight. I'll go over and make a call right away. During the call, I compare the card to the phone to see if there are any network logos to help me know which phones work with which cards.
We went to Provence with some friends who felt the need to call home and talk to their adult children every day. They bought a card from Costco and it would not work, even though it was an international card.
I would buy a card in Spain at a drug or tabacco shop. That way you are certain it will work.
My daughter's Costco iternational phone card would not work in Spain, either.
I have another suggestion that I have posted before. Last year my step mother was not well when we went and I wanted my dad to be able to call me, but knew he would not be able to make the international call (too foreign for him).
We have Verizon cell phone. They sent us two phones that can be used overseas with our currrent numbers on them. The charge was for shipping the phones and then it was 99 cents per minute on a call. It was a great comfort for me to be able to talk to dad during this time. We also used the phone to keep in touch when we spereated. Only one entrance key to the apartment, so we had to work on how to meet up to get in.
I was really happy about this service and sent the phones back after our trip-again without a charge.
The only downside to the cell phone is the outrageous cost. A decent e5 calling card can give you 200 minutes--for less than $8.00 US. .99 cents a minute, for the same amount of time, comes out to about $200.00 US.
What is an E5 card? Is that 5 Euros? Can they be purchased in other countries besides Spain and if so, in what type of outlets? We'll be travelling to Switzerland, Germany, France, Denmark and Italy.
Also, should I bring my own cell phone and if so, can I buy SIM cards in each country. Where? I'd like to carry a cell phone mainly for emergencies on the road since we'll be driving a lot through Europe.
Thanks for any tips.
I used the globetrotter calling card on a recent European trip, and it worked out great. There is a payphone surcharge (usually 50 cents to a dollar), but once you connect, the per minute rate is very cheap. The link is below so you can check out the rates for the countries you'll be visiting.
The Costco "international" cards are for calling to other countries from the US, not calling to the US from other countries. That's why they don't work.
Hi Rebecca, you might wanna check out Onesuite.com calling card. You can use it from Spain to call US or US to call Spain and other countries as well.
It's online so you can buy minutes or top up your account over the internet. Very convenient so you don't need to go out to buy one and you can also make calls via the internet using the same account.
JV
I agree with Gio. Just purchase a 5 euro card. I did this in Rome and it gave me 240 minutes.
