Calls and texts?

Hello Marjie. I just got off the phone with Verizon myself. They have an International option to pay $100 for a month of International Talk and Text. You can contact them and set it up to start on a specific date and not renew after the 30 day plan ends. I am in the state of Washington. I don't know if plans differ from state to state? You might give them a call and ask about this plan.

I always just use WIFI and map apps that work offline.

Note that Verizon can and will bill you for days overseas when your phone is never off airplane mode and cellular service is never used, several first hand experiences for Hungary and Japan.

I believe that when using Wifi calling (and in airplane mode), some carriers like Tmobile and Verizon, will have a fee for each minute or text, if international. When making a Wifi-calling call, your carrier does have to do the work of connecting to the phone network to reach the other party. Google Voice or Whatsapp are free. And Textnow is free (with ads).

It also depends on your plan. Some more expensive plans may not have that fee.

These instances were not WIFI calling.

If you receive a “Welcome to _______” text they can bill you for service for that day. How these texts arrive without cellular service I don’t know. It must happen all the time because they always take the charges off the bill upon request.

Thanks so much to all of you. I'm exploring Vodofone for data and Whatsapp for text and calling, but have made no decisions yet.

Whatsapp

As long as all parties have the app, via WIFI this works well for calls and video calls.

As someone else shared, Verizon has a $100 month long plan for international service. You will probably only be there for a 1/4 of that time and some may consider the price steep, however, it was the right price for me to be able to use my phone just as I would at home. Sure, WiFi exists in certain situations, and you can download maps, yet for me, it was worth it. And yes, if you don't have any plans, put the phone immediately in airplane mode as you will get charged.

put the phone immediately in airplane mode as you will get charged.

Reminder that this technique sometimes fails with Verizon, based on multiple experiences in multiple countries.

this technique sometimes fails with Verizon

I think this is so, because making a wifi call with your "normal" number requires a bit of work for your carrier, and many carriers will charge a small fee for each international minute or text. So maybe Verizon's policy is that it triggers the "International Roaming" charge for that day. That wouldn't seem fair.