cell phone calls

joe, If your Cell phone doesn't have an international plan, what type of phone will you be using? Is your present phone capable of use in Europe, and which network are you with? To answer your questions, you may find it helpful to have a look at this site: www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/call-uk-europe.htm Some comments on your questions...... 1.) I find when calling North America from Europe, dialing +1 - area code - seven digit number works just fine. I have numbers for some family members programmed into my phone in that sequence, so it's very easy to make calls. 2.) It sometimes takes me one or two tries to make calls within countries, but I have an App for that which helps. It seems to vary sometimes depending on where I'm calling, as the area codes appear to be different throughout the country. Which area will you be travelling in? Cheers!

Actually, my phone does have an international plan. Just need to know the sequence of numbers to deal both for inter and intra Italy.

Have you tried to call your phone company to ask these questions? What type of phone do you have with what company?

joe, Sorry about that. I misread your post regarding the international plan. I assume your phone handset has quad-band GSM capabilities. You might want to purchase a travel package with your network, in order to reduce costs slightly.

Hi Joe, To call the US from Italy dial: 001 + area code + tel number To call Italy from US dial: 011 + 39 + area code + tel number
(so, in the example you gave dial 011 39 366 159 6851 )

Joe: na's reply is correct. But if you are using your cell phone and want to make it easy, do the following: Store US numbers on your phone as +1-area code-number (e.g., +1 212 555 1212). Store the Italy number as +39 366 1597851 (+39, then full number including area code). Remember that if you are dialing a land line in Italy, the area code starts with 0 and the 0 must be dialed whether you are calling domestically or internationally. So, if a Milan hotel is 02-874-863, enter it in your phone as +39 02 874 863. Italian numbers that start with 3 instead of 0 (like the one you listed above) are cell phones. If you store the numbers this way, all you have to do is press "send" on your phone, and the number will dial correctly, anywhere in the world you are calling from. By using the plus and the country code, the phone system "knows" how to route it, without having to dial it differently from different places. The plus is a universal replacement for the international access code, which varies by location (011 in the US, 00 in Italy). And don't worry - if you're calling your US number and are in the US, the system knows it's a domestic call (you won't be charged differently because you have the plus in the number). By entering numbers into your cell phone with the plus, you never have to think about them again (no changes needed to dial them from anywhere). Of course, there is no plus on land line phones, so follow na's directions for calling from those.