Anyone familiar with CellHire mobil WIFI rental?

20 GB of data is alot. We just returned from 16 days in Scandinavia - we were not driving so probably less usage on Google maps. We added to International plan to our AT&T phones - it was $60 each for heavily discounted phone calls and 1 GB data each. We only used about 500MB data for the entire trip - mostly we used Wifi at hotels and restaurants - it worked great. One helpful hint - try City2Go app by Ulmon. It's about $10 and you can download maps of cities and countries ahead of time. It does not give you directions but shows your position on the map (via GPS which uses no data) so you can navigate yourself without using any data. You can preload destinations like hotels, museums, etc. Fantastic app - you might try it. I learned about it at a Rick Steves talk on travelling with technology. If you go to the webcast section of Rick's website, you can watch the whole talk and learn other great tips to minimize data needs... Have fun!

I just did 14 days and used expresso wifi and they were great, we had a signal wherever we went and I brought along a external battery pack to keep it charged. It was only $80 for the 14 days and they had numerous pick up and drop off places. You cannot use your actual phone for regular call with this but can make calls using WHATSAPP as long as the other party has the APP. This was also unlimited data.

The SIM card for your unlocked phone is going to be a lot cheaper, unless you really need 20GB of data. Last year, I had 3GB of data with my Dutch Vodafone SIM for a 17 day trip and I barely used 2GB - using the phone constantly for Google Maps and to tether my laptop (on buses and trains) but using WiFi at hotels. But I don't stream videos on my phone with mobile data - some people do, and that would use a lot of data quickly. I drove only one day with Google maps on that trip but didn't need mobile data - I used Google Maps "offline" for GPS navigation.

These WiFI hotspots rarely make sense - maybe if you have a bunch of people using one, with kids who stream videos or something, or people traveling on business who need one common hotspot. Or someone without an unlocked phone. A WiFi hotspot is yet one more device you need to carry around and charge.

One possible downside of using your phone: how well will it work in Europe? Phones designed for North America (if that's where you are coming from) may not have all of the data frequencies used in Europe. Depends on the make/model. A WiFI hotspot uses the same mobile technology as your phone will use, but your phone may not have all of the fast data frequencies (like LTE). I'd hope a WiFI hotspot would have all of the LTE frequencies used in Europe. You can check out your phone and see what frequencies it has, by googling the specs. If it's a newer, higher-end phone, it's more likely to have all of the fast data frequencies you'd want in Europe. But I've found that even 3G is plenty fast enough - LTE is nice but not necessary. 2G on the other hand is really slow and difficult to use.

I would recommend getting a €30 TIM for Visitors SIM that includes 10gb of data. On my last two trips to Italy, both 22-23 days long, I constantly used my smartphone for GPS, maps, directions, info, etc. I never came close to using that data. And you also have a phone for emergencies, calling your hotel, making restaurant reservations. When I travel, I carry my iPhone, iPad and a rechargeable power supply about as big as a tube of lipstick. When in a hotel, I use the free WiFi using the phone data only when I’m on the move. I see no need to get a mobil hotspot unless you intend to stream videos.

I've not had a need or desire to own a cell phone, so I have a lot of catching up to do
to best prepare for this trip. My wife's cell provider does not offer Intl. service. We will
be purchasing a 2nd cell phone for this trip.

We will be visiting several museums where will be using 2 cell phones equipped with
ear buds to listen to Rick's audio tours. In this case we will need to purchase 2 SIM cards-one for each.

Will a wifi device be of any advantage when using 2 cell phones-having to purchase 2 phone plans?

Is texting common in Italy? Reason I ask is that I just read a forum reply that said the TIM plan does not include text messages?

We are also bringing an iPad Pro Wifi 9.7". Am I correct that this model can be used as a "router" for the cell phones?
Would this iPad also require a SIM card purchase?

Any advise on a good/reliable cell plan to purchase, and a good place to purchase it, when we arrive in Venice?

I've not had a need or desire to own a cell phone, so I have a lot of catching up to do to best prepare for this trip. My wife's cell provider does not offer Intl. service. We will be purchasing a 2nd cell phone for this trip.

A smart phone is really useful for navigation, especially. Using Google Maps on my phone has saved me hours of time that I used to spend researching bus and train schedules, walking routes, etc. Last time I was in Venice, for example, I was out late one night taking pictures around San Marco. I was staying at a hotel near the train station. What's the quickest way to get back at 10PM? Instead of trying to guess which vaporetto might be the best option - or just walking - I asked Google Maps to guide me back to the hotel. It gave me walking directions to vaporetto leaving from Rialto - quicker than taking a different vaporetto but a lot less walking than just walking all the way back, something my aching feet appreciated. In the past, I might have tried to figure out the varporetto schedules...or just not bother and walk all the way back.

We will be visiting several museums where will be using 2 cell phones equipped with ear buds to listen to Rick's audio tours. In this case we will need to purchase 2 SIM cards-one for each.

No, actually, you don't need a SIM card to listen to Rick's audio tours at all. You just need to install his app, then download each tour to your phone. You can do that on WiFi, even now at home if you want or at the hotel in Venice before you do the tours. No SIM card or mobile service required.

Will a wifi device be of any advantage when using 2 cell phones-having to purchase 2 phone plans?

You should be able to buy two SIM cards for a month's service still for less than $99 to rent a WiFi hotspot. And if you do that instead of using the WiFi hotspot, the two of you can still use your phones separately. If you decide to do something apart for a short time, only the person carrying the hotspot will be able to use their phone. Plus, the hotspot is yet one more device to carry around, make sure it's charged up, etc.

Is texting common in Italy? Reason I ask is that I just read a forum reply that said the TIM plan does not include text messages?

I'm pretty sure all TIM SIM cards would come with texting. But, you can find other ways to text for free not even using the SIM card - with apps like WhatsApp (which you can also use for calling).

We are also bringing an iPad Pro Wifi 9.7". Am I correct that this model can be used as a "router" for the cell phones? Would this iPad also require a SIM card purchase?

Not familiar with that iPad. Some tablets are "WiFi-only" and can't accept a SIM card at all - and that means that, no, they can't be used as a "router." You are actually thinking of the "hotspot" feature both phones and tablets have in them - if a tablet can take a SIM card, it can be used as a WiFi hotspot exactly like one of those devices you are considering renting. You can share the TIM SIM card's mobile data via WiFi - just like the mobile hotspot. But, your smart phone can do exactly the same thing. When I take my Android phone to Europe, I use my Dutch Vodafone SIM and use my phone as the WiFi hotspot for both my laptop and my tablet. It's the best of all worlds for me.

A tablet that can take a SIM card is basically just a large smart phone. But again, some tablets can work on WiFi only and don't have a place even to accept a SIM card.

Any advise on a good/reliable cell plan to purchase, and a good place to purchase it, when we arrive in Venice?

I'd recommend either TIM or Vodafone - I've used both in Italy, and both are known to have good coverage. I recall there was a TIM store on the Strada Nuova not far from the train station - probably a Vodafone store too. Bring up Google Maps on your computer (whatever you are viewing this on) and search for "TIM Venice, Italy" or "Vodafone Venice, Italy" to see where the stores are.

I like this blog for info on European prepaid SIM plans - explains the different plan options you have to choose from:

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Italy

Thanks Andrew for all of the above...very helpful.

This will be our first trip to Italy and we will obviously be taking lots of photos.

What device is best to use -camera, smart phone, ipad (kind of bulky to carry every day)?

Our camera is older and may need to be replaced, our smartphone is a $230. Moto G5 Plus 64gb, and the
Ipad is 128 gb.

And, how do we store 23 days of lots of photos? Where can we safely transfer and store lots of photos as we go along?

Thanks.

What device is best to use -camera, smart phone, ipad (kind of bulky to carry every day)?

Depends who you ask and what you will be using the photos for. I am a serious photographer and take thousands of pictures on trips like this. I have a nice DSLR that I used on many trips, but last year I downsized to a "bridge camera" - a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 (a bit old now I guess). It's a compromise between a DSLR and a little point-and-shoot camera. I was skeptical at first that I could get pictures anywhere close to my DSLR, but I have been extremely happy with the quality and in some ways I can get better shots than the old DSLR (better image stabilization).

If you aren't quite as serious about photography but still want nice pictures, you might at least invest in a nice point-and-shoot camera. I wouldn't buy it a week before you leave for Italy - I would try it out a lot before you go if you have time, to get a feel for it. I would also buy a spare battery for it and carry it with you. Nothing is worse than your camera battery dying while you are in a beautiful place!

I carry a laptop and a portable hard drive when I travel, so I use that to backup my photos. I realize most people don't travel with a laptop anymore. There are devices you can carry with you as you travel to offload your pictures (maybe that will interface with the phone or tablet), but I am personally not familiar with them. I wouldn't bother trying to find places anymore to burn CDs of your photos for backups or anything. Instead, I'd just buy several big memory cards - they are fairly cheap. You can even buy more in Italy if need be. Videos really eat up space on your memory card more than still photos (JPEG files) do, though. If you won't shoot many videos, you won't need all that much space. But I'd get at least a 64GB memory card. Maybe two, and halfway through the trip if you haven't filled it up, swap cards anyway. Memory cards can get corrupted so it would be nice to have at least half of your trip pictures safe with another card in the camera.

Our camera is older and may need to be replaced, our smartphone is a $230. Moto G5 Plus 64gb, and the Ipad is 128 gb.

You can also look into portable hard drives that connect to your phone or tablet - transfer the photos first to the phone or tablet, then copy them to the hard drive, if your device runs out of space. You might also be able to connect a memory card reader to your phone or tablet to copy the photos over once in a while, to back them up on your phone or tablet. If you buy microSDXC memory cards for a camera, you can plug them directly into your phone but use them in a camera (probably with an adapter), so that would be one way transfer photos. Then again, I'd probably buy a large memory card for G5 anyway - they just don't cost much anymore.

But 128GB on the tablet is a lot, unless you'll be storing a lot of other stuff (videos to watch on the plane, whatever) on it. Maybe with both phone and tablet you'll have enough space to backup photos that you won't need to bring a portable drive. I would bring another memory card though, to have more than one.

I personally wouldn't rely on taking photos only with the tablet or phone, though, unless you think you'll never be printing them. They might be just fine for posting on Facebook or online photo albums. I have a Moto E4 and the camera is pretty poor (mostly just SLOW) - perhaps the G5's camera is better than mine, but I still wouldn't rely on it for photos in Italy. I'd still buy at least a nice P&S camera if you can, unless you've taken a lot of photos with the phone or tablet before and are happy with them.

We were just looking at camers this moring in consumer Reports and noticed the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Digital Camera that earned a very good rating. Wondering what your thoughts were on this camera and how it might compare to your Lumix?

You could do everything you’ve mentioned with one smartphone and one SIM card if you want.

Photography: Get a phone with a good camera, and sign up for a cloud service for your photos (Apple’s iCloud, or I guess its’s Google Photos?.. Not sure because I have iCloud). I take photos all day, and when I get back to the hotel at night and have WiFi, the photos are automatically uploaded to the cloud. I also bring an iPad with wifi only, and iCloud automatically downloads the photos to the iPad so I can review them on a bigger screen and decide whicy ones to keep. Having a decent amount of storage streamlines the process, but since the photos are on the cloud you don’t have major worries about saving photos. This does assume, as mentioned above, that you’re not planning to print photos or take a lot of shots in low light or other challenging conditions (though phone cameras get better all the time).

Audio tours: as mentioned above, download the ones you want to use in advance. Take two pairs of earbuds and a headphone splitter with a long cord, and you and your wife can share. Or use the iPad for one of you, if you don’t mind carrying it around all day.

Internet access: as mentioned, Vodafone and TIM are both well regarded. I used TIM all over Italy last summer, and about ten days ago at the Milan train station they were offering two good visitor plans for 23-26 euros for a month. They’ll insert the SIM card for you and activate it. In theory it can take a little while to “go live,” but the last SIM card I got was activated with full internet access immediately.

One more thing: bring a portable charger for the phone. It’s rare for me to make it through a busy touring day without running down my phone’s battery, especially if I have shot much video. And of course charging cables and power adapters for recharging overnight.

Have a great trip!

If you have or get a camera that uses SD cards you can use this device to view and back them up to your iPad.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJYT2AM/A/lightning-to-sd-card-camera-reader?fnode=91

Once on the iPad the photos can be backed up to cloud storage. You can also email them to friends and family.

We were just looking at camers this moring in consumer Reports and noticed the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Digital Camera that earned a very good rating. Wondering what your thoughts were on this camera and how it might compare to your Lumix?

My particular Lumix is bigger - it has a much bigger zoom range, more megapixels, etc.. The G1 X Mark II is more of a point and shoot camera - which may be all you need. Your needs may be different than my needs. There are also Lumix models comparable to the G1 X Mark II but I haven't used them.

One suggestion though: try to play one one of these cameras before you buy it or be able to return it if you don't like it. I did buy my Lumix without ever having seen one, but I bought it from Amazon and had the ability to return it for a refund. I have bought and returned other cameras before, but I really loved my Lumix. You should like whatever camera you buy - it should be a joy to use, not a hassle.

Great thread, learning a lot.

Is there any advantage to icloud vs google photos...thinking that google may be better because we also have a windows pc?

Are any photos taken on a cell phone able to be printed?

Any advise on the correct cell phone portable charger? Looks lot lots of options and prices, etc..

I don't think having a Windows PC has anything to do with Google vs. Apple cloud.

Sure, any JPEG file can be printed (phones produce JPEG files too). The question is, how good will it look? Will it be sharp or kind of blurry or "speckled" (noisy)?

This doesn't need to be a hypothetical question: you have a Moto G5 now. Take a little field trip (maybe just to a park in your neighborhood) and take some pictures outdoors like you might take in Italy, then print them and see how they look to you. Some of them may look just fine. But in lower light, I think you'll find they don't look nearly as good as in bright, sunny day light. That's one area where a "real" camera will do better, usually.

If you're happy with the photos from your G5, then maybe that's all you need.

Chargers: I always use the same chargers in Europe that I use at home. I simply have a little plug adapter to make my US-style plugs fit in a European socket, like this one:

https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/european-power-adapter

I do attach it to a 3-to-1 socket "cube" (the end of an extension cord without the cord), so I have three US sockets for each European plug.

Google photo storage is free and unlimited. Photos are limited to max of 16 MPs, and video to 1080P HD. Apple gives you 5GB free storage then different break points above that. For example 50GB is 99 cents a month. Apple seems to have better privacy policies.

In addition to wall chargers, there are battery based devices that can charge your phone on the go. Which type were you asking about? In either case I have been satisfied with Anker brand products.

The type of charger that we can carry with us and use on the go. What is an appropriate capacity for a charger for this pupose?

Any opinions on the better option for a SIM card for the 23 days Italy?
Tim, Vodaphone?

Do we need an Italian Tax Code to purchase a SIM?

We'll be using the phone for navigation while walking and driving, each day.
May need to make calls or texts to airbnb hosts, etc..
May need to make calls to the US, while away.
Use for emails, etc..

Are we better off doing an advance purchase on line, from home?
Sounds as if those working in the stores do not always offer what in the best
interest of the tourist, from what I've read.

Any advice on the cell phone settings, while in Italy?
Should we turn the data off and keep wifi on?

Any opinions on the better option for a SIM card for the 23 days Italy?
Tim, Vodaphone?

I would choose one of those two, probably, and not Wind, another provider. I'm not sure it really matters which one. I'd just go to a TIM or Vodafone store when you get there. I think it's about 30 euros for the "tourist" SIM either way. One may have more data or fewer calling minutes than the other.

Do we need an Italian Tax Code to purchase a SIM?

No, but you will need a passport to buy a SIM in Italy.

We'll be using the phone for navigation while walking and driving, each day.

You can download google maps "offline" maps into your phone on WiFi and then navigate in the car without mobile data on (put the phone in airplane mode). This will save data. But, if your SIM card comes with a lot of data, you may not need to do this. Google maps "offline" only works for driving directions, not walking/public transit - you need mobile data turned on for that to work.

May need to make calls or texts to airbnb hosts, etc..

Use your SIM card's calling minutes for that. Incoming calls are free for prepaid SIM cards, so if you give the hosts your Italian number (which will come with an Italian SIM), they can call you on that number and it will cost you nothing.

May need to make calls to the US, while away.

Italian SIM cards may come with some international calling minutes. But I use Google Hangouts (free app you can install in the Google Play store) to make free calls home to the US, even to landlines. Install it at home before you leave for Europe. If you have an Android, install the Hangouts Dialer app as well. To call US numbers from Italy, make sure you add a +1 prefix to the front of the phone number. (On a smart phone, hold down the 0 key to get a plus.)

Are we better off doing an advance purchase on line, from home?

I'd just buy a SIM at the first TIM or Vodafone store you find. Hope the agent speaks English and you can explain what you want to do with your phone - they'll probably sell you a tourist SIM.

Any advice on the cell phone settings, while in Italy?
Should we turn the data off and keep wifi on?

You'll want everything "on" to take full advantage of the SIM. Turn on not just data but roaming data. Make sure the phone works before you leave the mobile store - try making a call and then surfing the web (make sure you aren't connected to WiFi when you test that out.) People turn off mobile data and use only WiFi if their home mobile service doesn't offer cheap international roaming, to avoid big roaming fees. That isn't an issue if you buy a SIM.

You may be making this all too complicated, especially if you are going to have to get a new cell phone anyway.

Don't worry about getting an Italian SIM. Go to a T-Mobile store now and open an account. It should be contract free so you don't have to keep it when you get back. I think you'll need to get one that is not prepaid, but just be sure it has the international roaming available for it. Text messages are free and calls from Europe are 20 cents a minute. Best of all, though, a data connection is included at no additional cost. It is slow, but you'll get an opportunity to upgrade for a small fee when you get overseas. You'll get a text message.

T-Mobile supports WiFi calling, so if you have a good WiFi connection (at the hotel, perhaps), you can call the US for free. To make calls to European numbers, get WhatsApp or Google Hangouts, which will use your phone's data connection.

Years ago, I suggested complicated schemes to allow travelers to communicate overseas that required purchasing local SIMs and forwarding calls to voicemail and so on. It was a lot of effort and bother. Now, my phone just works when I travel just like it does back home. Much simpler and less headache. I hope we never have to go back to the old way.

Just signing up for T-Mobile US will cost about $100 ($25 for a SIM, $75 for the first month). It might make sense for someone who wants to keep T-Mobile service in the US after the trip, but some of us find T-Mobile too expensive for our cell phone needs at home.

Sprint, FYI, still has a deal for a free year of unlimited service for eligible phones (you pay the tax/fees - I pay about $3.80/month, I switched in January). Sprint has the same international roaming plan that T-Mobile has. You do have to port in existing service, but if you buy an eligible phone, you can just get a cheap prepaid SIM and port that service in - that's what I did.

But walking into a TIM or Vodafone store in Italy and letting them set the phone up will cost about 30 euros and should be really easy. Apps like Google Hangouts and WhatsApp can be setup before leaving the US.

Appropriate battery based charger capacity will depend on your intended usage.

Let’s say I want to recharge my phone fully. I find that my phone has a battery capacity of 2,700 mah (milliampere hours). So a charger of 3,000 mah would give me one full charge and likely a little bit more after that. Just do the math to figure out which size charger fits your needs. Chargers in general get larger, heavier and more expensive as battery size increases. Probably require more time to recharge as well.