Germany - ?? Buying 2 prepaid phones IN GERMANY to be able to call my wife if we get lost ?

Correct is that since 2017 every new prepaid SIM needs to be activated. You can do this physically in person based on your ID / passport (which depends on your passport issuing country of residence) in the shop in which you buy the prepaid card. For most non-EU (minimum EWR) countries the VideoIdent is not possible. Take care to block that sim immediately when it is stolen.

For your purpose it is easier to send you just a SMS, even if it is based on an own expensive tariff. It is only in case if and only one or two SMS to tell meeting point.

At huge events just agree on a meeting point, e.g. the entrance which you used.

Alternatively just walk into the next café or facility with a free wifi and call each other via Skype or a different service.

Or use a tracker app in which you can allow each other that your partner's smartphone is tracked.

Why not buy the phones while you are in the US? Smart phones are very helpful for all kinds of things while you travel, not just contacting each other. If you buy them ahead of time, you won't have to spend any time once you get to Germany trying to figure out how to use them, etc.

I use a prepaid Dutch Vodafone SIM for my travels to Europe. Because of EU roaming rules (most roaming fees have been removed), you can use a Dutch SIM in Germany. I bought my Dutch Vodafone SIM on eBay. The Netherlands does not require any sort of address verification. In your case, you'd buy two SIMs, of course.

In theory you could buy those Dutch SIMs without phones and just take them to Germany with you and by cheap German phones there. I'm pretty sure you would be able to buy a prepaid phone easily in Germany without an address - just the SIM part you'd have to get verified, but if you arrive with your own SIMs, you could skip that part.

Brad,

You don't indicate when your trip to Germany is taking place but I will be entering a trip report on my experience with the Google Fi service during my May trip to Germany/Austria.

It appears Google Fi call rates are about the same as the call rates for local phones/SIMs. The big benefit is that the phone numbers will be known before hand and you can provide this number to airlines, hotels, etc., and receive important notifications while traveling. Also, family/friends back home would be able to call you for free... You should be able to find good used (or new) unlocked smart phones to register on Google Fi for not much more than the cost of a prepaid phones.

It appears Google Fi call rates are about the same as the call rates
for local phones/SIMs.

Does not appear to me.
For what OP needs ( "hello, I am standing at ..."- calls) they will pay 5 EUR per SIM. Example Vodafone:
https://www.vodafone.de/privat/handys-tablets-tarife/prepaid-ohne-vertrag.html

Why are you not just using your carriers international service? I use Verizon, and it's cheaper than getting more phones, and bills, every time I travel. I only buy a local phone if I'm going to be in a particular area for more than 6 weeks.

For example, with Verizon I can get 4G service in every country in Europe (with the ability to call to the USA) for $10/day and stay on my same plan for all other charges. Using the example posted above, (at 5Eu per SMS) it's a heck of a lot cheaper to use. And I only get charged on the days I use it, which is rarely half the time.

Along with that, if you put Skype or one of the other similar aps on your phone you can talk for free if you're in a free wireless area (which is not hard to find). I've had hour long conversations using an old iPod (not a phone) using Skype to the USA while in places like Prague and never spent a dime.

Why are you not just using your carriers international service? I use Verizon, and it's cheaper than getting more phones, and bills, every time I travel. I only buy a local phone if I'm going to be in a particular area for more than 6 weeks.

Many wireless providers in the US do not provide international roaming cheaply or at all. Lots of us do not use the "big four" carriers.

My current carrier, Mint Mobile, does offer it but for a poor rate of $20 USD per GB. For a two week trip, I'd probably use 2GB and it would cost me $40. Or I could use my Dutch Vodfone SIM and get the same 2GB of data for 10 Euros. If I had Verizon, I'd pay $140 for two weeks worth of use - and yes, I use my phone every day.

A few years ago, my request to buy a SIM card (no phone) in a German phone store was refused. By going to a different branch of the same company in the same city, I managed to buy one. I believe the rules for foreign passports have been relaxed since then, but you might still meet poorly trained employees who don't know the rules and will want to err on the conservative side.

Do not assume you can buy the same kind of cheapo phones in Germany that we can get at Walgreens and CVS. If you do buy phones in the USA first, make sure they are GSM bands, and that their SIM is easily removable.

As a 67-year old, I might observe that it was not a life and death matter to have two phones when my wife and I went to Europe 20 years ago. We do carry phones now, but it's more for Google Maps and local research in a hurry. I have found reliance on WiFi to be a false dream, both in the US and in Western Europe. Even in NYC, the WiFi posts on many corners aren't always working-like our subway trains!

The same issue you can have with SIM cards from NL when trying to use them in Germany. It is not standard in Europe that all providers offer roaming and roaming for free - some countries permit exceptions to that. So, it is really necessary to check that.

The same issue you can have with SIM cards from NL when trying to use them in Germany. It is not standard in Europe that all providers offer roaming and roaming for free - some countries permit exceptions to that. So, it is really necessary to check that.

I have not used my Dutch Vodafone SIM in Germany (or in the Netherlands!), but I have used it in France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Slovenia. Vodafone's website lists the countries it will work in, and Germany is included in the list.

"For a two week trip, I'd probably use 2GB and it would cost me $40."

I'm really having a hard time believing the OP can buy two phones and service for a two week trip for less than $40. And again, they aren't looking for everyday use.

"For a two week trip, I'd probably use 2GB and it would cost me $40."

I'm really having a hard time believing the OP can buy two phones and service for a two week trip for less than $40. And again, they aren't looking for everyday use.

You're taking what I wrote completely out of context. I was responding to your question as to why the OP wasn't just using their international roaming e.g. Verizon $10/day. I said it would cost me $40 to use MY phone service overseas to get 2GB of data (so buying the Vodafone SIM was way cheaper). I never suggested anyone could buy two phones plus have service for $40!

No, Andrew, I'm not. The OP is asking about coverage for two weeks of occasional use. I doubt they can buy two phones and coverage for less than they can convert, upgrade, or add on international coverage to their existing phones. For two weeks it just isn't worth the hassle.

Your recommendation is good if they were going to be using the phones extensively, or on a longer trip, but for two weeks I just don't see that there's any advantage to buying another piece of equipment to schlep around and then throw in a drawer when they get home. And if they stay in and around a free wireless zone, they don't even need to use their carriers international coverage, because modern phones can work there with free service. It's not hard to find open Wi-Fi in Germany.

Agree to KGC, especially about free WiFi in Germany.

I just want to add the information to OP and readers that also in Germany we have some areas on the mobile network without any coverage (example map of Brandenburg) around Berlin. Cities are of course well connected.

Sorry, I don't see where the OP mentioned "occasional use." What they mentioned was the ability to communicate with each other if separated. In other words, they might want to get in touch at random on any given day. You can't rely on WiFi for that - and there's really no need to.

It should be quite easy to find a cheap phone with a SIM in Germany for well under $140 each. Looking on Deutsche Telekom's website, I see cheap flip-phone devices for about 30 euros each. And there are basis prepaid SIM cards for about 10 euros each. So...for $50 USD each, they could get two flip-phones to communicate with each other, plus they'd have the phones to use next time if need be. The only issue is with the "German address" thing for the SIM. I'm really not sure how easy that is to get around - maybe not hard.

Still, I'd recommend spending a little more for a smart phone which would be much more useful than a flip phone. I know I paid only about $100 USD for the basic Android phone I used in Europe last year, and I had the phone to use again on a future trip (or in the US). Some very cheap (slow) Androids could be had for even less than this, though I'm not sure I'd recommend one. But, $100 or so for a decent phone + a SIM is still less than the cost of using Verizon's international plan for two weeks.

We travel to Europe once a year and wanted phones that would do the same thing--mainly just be available for occasional use if needed. We did not need to access the web, use GPS, or anything like that on the phones. Our carrier does not offer international service. We decided to purchase 2 inexpensive flip phones from Mobal. One for my husband to carry and one for me to carry in case we were separated. You get everything you need including a UK phone number. They have worked in every country we have traveled to in Europe--and without a hitch! Service and call quality have been excellent. The price per call is more expensive, I'm sure, than with other plans or carriers, but we pay NO additional fees and there is NO contract. When we're not using them, we turn them off and they sit in the closet not costing us a penny until our next trip. We've used the company's customer service and thought it was excellent. I also appreciate having a UK number to enter into some of the reservation websites we need to use when making travel arrangements. A couple of sites I have used in the past would not accept a US number--no matter if I used the US access code or not.

Thanks! I think we are going to go this way ! Thanks to everyone else for their time and comments! You see - we are NOT phone people. We use Tracfone here in the states only for emergency if the car breaks down or something. So, the 29 dollar phone with Modal will work perfect! I think i might even go for the 79 dollar smart BLU phone ( I know - not great ) but with that and a $59 dollar plan with 1GB of data - i can use google maps when no wifi is available ! Thanks ALL ! : ) Brad and Annie

Modal will work fine, just expensive. Then again, even Tracfone is expensive to me for day to day use at home.