calling home with my phone

If your phone is unlocked, then getting a SIM card in Italy Is a piece of cake. However, people in the US (or your native country) can't call your native country phone number, you have to use the number assigned in Italy to your SIM, an Italian number. What I do is get a Vodaphone SIM with 4Gb data. I then forward my US phone to a Google phone number, which sends me an email with all messages (it's an audio and transcription). I can listen to all messages and then decide what to return. I then use Skype through my cell (Wifi if I can, or data if it's a call to return ASAP through 4G cell). I own a business and get lots of calls, and this lets me seamlessly stay connected. In Italy, between email, Facebook, and GPS, I use 4GB per month, which is about 45€ once ya have the SIM (about 10€). It also allows a large number of texts, but texts to the Italian phone number. The key is the unlocked cellphone.

If your phone is or can be unlocked, you should consider getting a T-Mobile card in the States before you leave. You'll have a US number and a generous amount of data. Only thing is calls run $.20 per minute. Or you could get a TIM or Vodafone "tourist" plan once you're in Italy. Google them to find out cost and rates to/from US.

I'd also suggest reading the cell phone info in the "Travel Tips" section on this site.

Philip, the best I can determine after talking to a T-Mobile rep, that very good T-Mobile deal is available only for customers with monthly T-Mobile plans. Those start at $50/month before any additional international charges. Alas, I am a pay-as-you-go T-Mobile customer and do not qualify.

We have taken unlocked verizon phones to Europe and purchased sim cards once we arrived--Either Vodafone or timm. Verizon walked me through the unlocking process over the phone. It is my understanding now that all verizon 4g phones come unlocked.

richard,

If you mean the least expensive way to call home, then the "best" way is to use something like FaceTime, Viber or Skype and call using Wi-Fi. If you mean the most convenient way with the ability to make or receive calls at any time, then cellular with a SIM card will be "best".

Unless your phone is unlocked, you won't be able to use any other SIM cards in your phone. You could check with Verizon to determine the costs of their travel roaming packages, although I'm not sure what plans they might have that will cover a two month trip.

Each of the networks will have different calling plans, so you'll need to consider which ones provide the lowest cost for international long distance calls. Anyone needing to call you will need to dial an international call, and pay applicable long distance charges.

I bought a cheap phone at a TIM store in Italy for my 89-day trip, the total cost for the trip (including topping up minutes) was less than €100, and I used it a lot for calling hotels. I called the US several times as well.

What MaryL says.

I always go with Vodafone Holiday (30€), specifically designed for foreign visitors, because I have a country house in Tuscany at a location where Vodafone has the best signal. TIM has a similar plan.

http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privati/Tariffe-e-Prodotti/Tariffe/Estero/Vodafone-Holiday-English

I have never received spam calls on an Italian SIM.... But as long as you don't answer them your minutes are not affected. By forwarding your US number to a free google phone, the multiple daily spam calls I get on my US AT&T cell, get filtered and I just delete the email. I reload my Vodafone SIM over the Internet with no problem. The first SIM that I got, years ago, I paid cash (45€) so they would not update it monthly. However, they now have pay as you go accounts, and I've never had a problem. I am less a user of voice, but use a lot of data. Skype satisfies all of my voice needs.

Incoming texts and voice is always free in Italy (Europe actually) so they don't affect your 300 minutes or texts.

RE: "If your phone is or can be unlocked, you should consider getting a T-Mobile card in the States before you leave."

I checked into this option before going to Italy last fall. On the surface, the T-Mobile "international roaming" plan sounds great. However, hidden in the fine print was the fact that data services are restricted to "2G" data speeds when in Europe. This was an immediate deal-killer. Come on - 2G? I left dial-up speeds in the 1980s and haven't looked back since.

My recommendation is to get a pay-as-you-go SIM from one of the local telecoms. Just remember to take it out upon return.

On other bit of advise, once you get your new SIM, email all your (interested) contacts with the new phone number so they know you are behind the strange phone number calling or texting them.

for a 2 month trip I like Zoe's idea of going to a local company like TIM, getting a crappy phone and the calling plan of your choice. The best part is, if there's a problem or an issue or you need/want to refill the SIM card, you just go into the nearest TIM store or local store that does business for them. You have a local support team on your side.

Alternatively, you could buy a cheap unlocked phone on Amazon or eBay before your trip and then buy a local SIM card upon arrival.

We use T-Mobile from home and we are usually getting 3-G which is adequate for the phone/data on our iPhones. It's not always super fast. A few times I've seen LTE. All data is free if you're a Tmobile customer. Phone calls are 20 cents a minute. I'm not sure if that also applies to calls to US numbers.. or to receiving calls FROM the US.. does anyone know?

I have a Samsung flip as well, bought it in Italy several years ago. I got the Vodafone plan Don mentioned, also called the US (€.15/minute, I think I posted €1/minute somewhere but I was wrong).

I asked the salesperson to call my new number from the phone store, just to be sure.

"If I may ask, is there a way to save posts here in some favorites, if there is such a thing? I like to refer back to them at times."

DonnyBee: Just click on your name (you don't even have to be signed in). You'll see an option to "View Topics DonnyBee Has Participated In". Click that, and you can see all the threads you have posted in.

Of course, once your post count goes up into the thousands, it can be hard to find your older posts. To do that, my favorite method is to use Google Advanced Search. To find this post, for instance, I'd search for "Vodafone DonnyBee" (without the quotes). Ignore the results, and look on the upper right of the screen. Click the "gear" icon and choose "Advanced Search". Under "site or domain," put "community.ricksteves.com" (again, no quotes).

By the way, trying this now, I see that this post has not yet been indexed by Google - so it's not foolproof. But it usually works, and is particularly handy for older posts - if I use the right keywords, they pop right up and save me lots of search time.

"Phone calls are 20 cents a minute. I'm not sure if that also applies to calls to US numbers.. or to receiving calls FROM the US.. does anyone know?"

With this T-Mobile Simple Choice deal when abroad in a covered country, any time you are on your phone talking - to or from the US, to or from Europe, etc - it's 20 cents a minute, regardless of who called whom first. This is important if you're having a long call with someone who has a European number. If you call them, it's 20 cents a minute for you, and free for them. If they call you, it's an international call from Europe to the US for them (how expensive this is depends on their plan), and still 20 cents a minute for you.

If you're not in a covered country, the rates are much higher, unless you're on Wi-Fi calling (newer T-Mobile phones allow this; not all older models do). For instance, Morocco isn't currently on the plan; sending a text costs 50 cents each, and calls are $2.99 a minute! They keep adding countries - check which ones are included before traveling. The list is here: http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/roaming.html?icid=WMD_TM_INTRNTNLVR_N8J6LRGJILD2658#

Thanks for that excellent summary. So perhaps wi-fi calling would also help us where wi-fi is available, and that explains why I need to call people in Europe and not have them call me.