I know it's old technology...but what about simply buying a phone card in Italy and using public phones? Or are they as rare now over there as they are over here?
Posted by
cochranville, pa, usa
322 posts
Tabacci shops sell phone cards in 5 Euro increments. Rick suggests the Europa cards and they have worked out well for us.
Posted by
OP
Potomac, MD, USA
8 posts
I guess the bigger question is...are public phones abundant or scarce? Pretty hard to find a phone booth here in the U.S. now.
Posted by
cochranville, pa, usa
322 posts
We always used the phone booths near our hotel but saw many others throughout Rome.
Posted by
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
241 posts
But payphones are getting scarcer, just as in US, with rise of cell phones. By the way, when done using the card don't forget to pull it out of the phone! It is easy to forget it is in the slot. I've lost a couple that way!
Posted by
Indianapolis, IN, USA
143 posts
Phone cards also work with the phone in your hotel room, and at least where I stayed there wasn't any additional charge. Public phones seemed to be more common in Italy than in the US, didn't have any trouble finding them last fall (albeit they are probably less common than in the past).
Posted by
wheaton, Illinois, usa
8 posts
I bought the phone card and it never worked after trying 10 different pay phones. I went back to the shop where I bought it and they pretty much showed me the door. wasted money and time. There were plenty of phones in Rome. Tried them all!!!!