cell phone rental in Italy

I used Mobal. Their phone was 50$ and they charged my VISA by the minute. No other hidden fees. No monthly fees, etc. Pay as you go. I was only in Paris 9 days and made 1 call. I have friends who use Skype, a computer service but maybe you won't bring a laptop. Good luck! I can only use Mobal out of the US and when I go to Italy this summer I can use it again. No expiration. I think it is mentioned in Ricks books as an option. http://www.mobalrental.com/
http://www.skype.com/

For $50, you can buy a used phone here, get a SIM in Italy and pay a lot less per minute in charges. And if you lose the phone or get it stolen, there are no additional charges.

I tossed around the options for a while, my main concern was communication between my wife and I when separated (really just help calls) In the end, we just took our ATT phones and called on international roaming at $1.29 a minute. In total it was cheaper plus much easier. We did buy 5 Euro phone cards for calls to families (comes out to about $0.20 a minute) We also had our phones unlocked, so if we wanted, we could have purchased a SIM card(s) in Italy if we felt that we needed much more.

I looked at the old posts here, and decided on VERIZON. I just ordered the phone, so I can't give feedback. If you are a "good" customer (I don't know what that means, but I think it means you have a Verizon phone), you get a phone for the $21 delivery charge, $1.29 minute flat rate, no roaming charges. 1-866-875-6934. I can also call and get calls to the US from Europe.
If anyone else has used Verizon in Europe, could you let me know how it worked out?

When in Venice in early March I visited a Vodafone cell phone store. You could buy a cell phone for 40 Euros and a SIM card for 10. There per minute rate is pretty cheap. Check it on the internet. There page comes up in Italian but has a small link at the bottom that takes you to an English page.

My personal plan is to buy two unlocked cell phones in the US that have the 900/1800 GSM bands on them and purchase a SIM at Vodafone the next time I go to Italy. You can find the phones online for about $50.

I don't see any reason to rent.

I have been trying to figure this out for my trip in May. I am a Verizon customer so I might call to see what kind of deal they can give me. But I also heard about Cellular Abroad. http://www.cellularabroad.com/gsmrental.php

If I were a frequent Europe traveler, I would buy a phone. But I think it is alright to rent if this is my 1st trip and who knows when I'll get the chance to go back.

I work at Verizon and we have several different options but the best and most economical seems to be the Global Travel program that is for customers traveling for less than 21 days and you basically just rent the phone and return it when you get back. The best back is you use your same cell phone number, no security deposit or other fees, just 1.29 a minute. The number above is correct also. It's what I'm def going to do when I go.

Thanks for the Verizon info Sara! Do they need to unlock your phone to use it in Italy?

Tom,

My wife and I currently live in Rome and traveled here often before we decided to make this our home! After much research, years ago I purchased on ebay (in the US) two inexpensive UNLOCKED cell phones - probably no more than $25 each.

I bought SIM cards while still in the States. Upon arrival I "recharged" my SIM cards. I use a TIM network Sim Card. There is also Wind and Vodaphone Cards here in Italy. Many of our friends have any of these three choices (and there are more!).

We pay about 12 to 15 cents a minute to talk with each other and 15 cents for a text. To call the States we have Vonage and Skype... but if needed, we use the cell phones and it costs about 65 cents a minute to call the US. TIM does not accept Int'l texts.

If you make a phone call every 6 months most SIM cards will stay active for your next trip. I did that for years before we moved over so I've had the same "Italian" phone # for 5 years! Any questions, drop me a line! Good Luck!

I just called Verizon about the Global Travel Program. I dialed the number on their website which is 800-711-8300

They told me I would receive a free phone with free shipping both ways. It would be $1.29/minute. Texts were 50 cents to send and 5 cents to receive. I get to keep my current cell phone number. They just send you the phone and you call to activate it before you leave. No hidden fees.

What I needed was a European cell phone I could use during my trips abroad.
And after doing some research I decide to stay with http://callineurope.com/; the rates they offer look more competitive compared to few sources I verified. And I won't have to pay any monthly fees and will be able to reroute my US number.