We will be going to the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, & France in the spring for 2 months. I have been researching buying Sims cards for our phones. We both are with Verizon. I have an I5 phone and my wife has an old LG Revolution phone. My main use will be with my Google Maps program. We will be driving for one month. I understand that this feature uses quite a bit of data. I don't know whether to purchase the Sims cards online here or wait until I get to Germany. I will be adding time and space as we move around. I would appreciate any advice. I am not sure how I would add time and data to the phones if I purchase the Sim cards online here. Also, is it hard to forward our present American numbers to the new numbers we will be getting. That way everyone here does not have to get used to calling us with the new numbers. Earl
Posted by
Seattle
544 posts
Hi Earl,
This stuff can get really complicated. If you ask 10 different people, you'll likely get 10 different answers.
If your Verizon phone is an iPhone (5 or newer) you can buy a SIM in Germany to use with it.
The LG Revolution does not have European frequencies and therefore is not possible to be used in Germany or any other European country.
Based on keeping things simple while you're in Europe, my best advice is to sign up for T-Mobile USA before you leave. You can keep your numbers and use it with unlimited data in Europe. Unlimited 3G data is plenty fast for Google Maps. You also have unlimited free texting and calls are 20 cents a minute while you're in Europe.
If you aren't satisfied with T-Mobile's service coverage at home, you can easily switch back to Verizon when you get home as long as you don't finance any new phones. iPhones purchased at Apple Stores purchased for either Verizon or T-Mobile are compatible with both Verizon and T-Mobile if you switch out the SIM card. If you buy an iPhone at T-Mobile directly they are locked to T-Mobile. iPhones bought directly from Verizon are all unlocked.
I switched to T-Mobile and find that it works fine in cities, but not so much in small towns and rural areas. At least that's the case here in Seattle.
Good Luck,
Nordheim
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
18005 posts
I travel to Europe a few times a year so I got T Mobile and have used it nearly flawlessly from Istanbul to the UK and most of the countries in between. 100% better than the old sim cards I use to buy.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32214 posts
Earl,
To begin with, in order to use any other SIM cards, you'll have to ensure that your phone handsets are unlocked. As you're going to be visiting several different countries, a few options you could consider.....
- Buy a SIM card in the first country you visit and then use that throughout your trip. Each country has several cell networks so you'll have to do a bit of homework to find one that provides a good data bundle. Since you'll likely be purchasing the SIM on a PAYG plan, you'll have to ensure that topping-up the card is easy once you leave the country of purchase.
- Use a SIM from one of the travel phone firms such as *Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Telestial, Mobal, EuroBuzz or One SIM (there are others). These often provide consistent rates for voice and text across many countries, but often not as good for data. You'll have to check each of their websites for details.
Posted by
OP
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA
33 posts
I want to thank everyone for the great advice. I saw several sites on the internet which sell Sim cards. Since we will be visiting several countries, I want to be able to recharge any plan easily. I had read one comment on the Rick Steves site that data usage for Google Maps is high, about 50 mb for 2 hours of usage. On our previous trips, we used area maps to get around. I really like Google maps for route planning. I am not too concerned with calling usage, just the data usage. The Sim card ads on the internet were for $25-30. But that did not include the usage. As you are all aware from my post, I am not a computer wiz. I think that we have decided to just use my I5 phone. I just wanted one phone for my wife, so if we get separated, we could get in touch easily. Believe me, it happened to us in Rothenburg in 2006. Long story. Earl