Cell phone

Travelers have been trekking to Europe for centuries without a cell phone and lived to tell the tale. Nobody can make your decision for you.

Or get a SIM card in Rome that goes into the unlocked (?) smart phone that you already have. Just get the card from a store in the city of Rome, near your hotel, so that if there is any problem with service starting or understanding the commands (which might come up in Italian, at some point), you have a store to go back to.

As much as I would have liked to have trekked through Italy unplugged earlier this month, I have a 94 year old mom in the states and had to be able to be in contact by phone. I found the $40 global plan with Verizon was just perfect for me. Didn't need a lot of data, and I think it included 100 minutes. I didn't want to have to deal with phone rentals or sim cards once I landed, but that's just me. Be sure to keep your phone in an airplane mode until you need to use it, though.

Suggest looking at RS travel tips on his website...."How Can I Stay Connected in Europe?"

First off, I am NOT a Verizon customer so I cannot not speak to Verizon-unique issues of policies. However, by the way your question is asked, I'll assume you are a Verizon customer and you have some sort of a smart phone.

If you have an Apple iPhone, series 5 or later, it contains both a CDMA (Verizon/Sprint networks) and a GSM (AT&T/T-Mobile, rest of the world) radios. Reportedly, with Verizon 5S and later models, the GSM radio is factory unlocked and can accept a foreign (but not AT&T or US T-Mobile) GSM Subscriber Identification Module (SIM). When the foreign GSM SIM is inserted in the phone, the CDMA radio is disabled so it is important to remove this SIM upon return to the USA...
I have also heard the same things said about Verizon Android “world capable” phones but I don’t have any direct experience.

An alternative is to purchase a used or refurbished FACTORY UNLOCKED GSM Quad Band phone before your trip. They are surprisingly inexpensive online or directly from the manufacturer. (This is the route I took...) When you arrive at your travel destination, you just pop into a phone store and purchase a pay-as-you-go SIM and you are now reconnected with the world.

I loved this so much, I dumped my overly expensive "contract plans" for a monthly plan (from a nationwide retailer). I now get better phone service than I had with Sprint, including unlimited everything, for a fraction of the monthly price. As a bonus, my phone is truly mine and I'm free to take it wherever-whenever I choose and connect it to whose ever network I choose.

And, one last thought, although I recognize that travelers successfully traveled without a smart phone for several millennia, they also used to plunder along the way to feed and house themselves. Just as airplanes replaced ships as the transoceanic travel method of choice, smartphones are replacing the printed maps and pay phones of yesterday. I, for one, will never be without one again.

Maybe it is just me however I wish I had Todd advice before I left the US. I have an older phone and Verizon (it works great in the states and I live on a steep hill). I set up the $40 plan before I left the US and my phone does not work. I even bought a SIM card here in Italy and that is not working either. What ever you do just make sure you understand how your phone will function outside of the US.

Thanks for the great info Todd! I will be using it the next time I travel.

If you have a current smart phone that is not under contract, your carrier will/should unlock it for free. Doing this, will typically allow you to use a SIM card you purchase in Rome. TIM was one of the suppliers I read about, but unfortunately I cannot unlock my phone yet (heading to Rome/CT/Florence next week).

I am like Cathy. We want to keep our US phone number but we will not be making a lot of calls or using a lot of data. It was easiest to call Verizon and have them set me up with the $40 international plan. By talking with them they were able to set me up with the $40 plan but only for the days I will be in Italy (21 days) so maybe my bill won't be even $40. Pam

Renting a cell phone is rarely a good deal these days. If you want cell phone service, the sensible ways for most people are to use Verizon's service or to get an Italian SIM card.

As you have been told, a big advantage of using Verizon is you keep your US number, which means it doesn't cost any extra for people in the US to call you while you're in Italy, and they dial you as they normally would (no international country codes to learn). Of course, if you want Italians to call you (say, a restaurant to re-confirm a reservation), then it's not so great.

One thing that several posters have emphasized: in order to be sure you are set up properly and are getting accurate information, be sure you deal with Verizon's International Customer Service (which apparently often takes some pushing on your part). The regular customer service people, unfortunately, often just don't know what they're doing in this area.

If you want to buy an Italian SIM card, let us know EXACTLY which phone model you have, so we can give better advice. There are now good Italian plans aimed at visitors (for instance, for €30 you get 2 GB of data, 200 minutes of calls to the US or in Italy, and €5 of credit for texts or more calls).