Past trips to Italy, always used internat'l calling cards for Italy-US & Italy-Italy calls. Now want to make it easy for US travel agent & spouse to reach me while en route between hotels for any flight changes, emergencies, etc. Someone recommended buying simple, cheap Samsung phone in Italy with prepaid minutes, about 40E, just for short calls, as mentioned. No other charges, except get more minutes IF needed, where phones are sold. My simple dinosaur cell phone doesn't accept TIM's, so not an option. Not familiar or savvy about all those i-phones etc., out there. Don't want complicated device, just access to me from US. Would appreciate input from personal experience from other "granny" types with limited cell phone-savvy.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
Peg, To begin with, which cellular network is your "simple dinosaur phone" with? As it doesn't accept SIM cards, I'm assuming you're with Verizon or Sprint? The two easiest solutions to your situation: 1) Buy an inexpensive PAYG phone when you land in Italy. There are lots of cell shops, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. I believe there's a TIM or WIND store at Roma Termini (one floor down from track level). The phone will come with an Italian number so anyone calling you will have to make an international long distance call. Keeping in touch with your spouse would be cheapest using text messages (provided he also has a cell phone). Sent texts are usually only about 75¢ and received texts are FREE. You may need some help setting up the phone, as all the menus will be in Italian. Be sure to ask about how to "top up" the minutes on the phone. 2) Buy a basic phone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal. Their plans are usually on a "post paid basis", with calls charged to a credit card, so no "topping up" is necessary. The phone number is typically a U.K. number, which also means that your contacts would have to dial an international call. However, some of the travel phone firms are able to provide an optional local number, which is "mapped" to your travel phone. Your contacts would only have to dial a local number, and the call would automatically be forwarded to your travel phone. Happy travels!
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
If you get a phone and prepaid account over there, any calls made by your travel agent in the U.S. will be charged to the agent at international rates. I'd be sure he or she is prepared to make an international call before choosing which solution to use (as a travel agent, they may be set up with Skype or something similar to make such calls). Is your spouse going to be calling from the U.S.? Same comment. Depending upon your cell provider in the U.S., you also may have the option of upgrading your U.S. cell to something that would work overseas as well. If you have a contract plan with T-Mobile or AT&T, this is an option. You can still get a simple cell phone, off ebay, from amazon, etc. Based on your comment, however, I agree with Ken that you are probably using Verizon or Sprint (or one of the companies that use their networks). If you use Verizon, you could get a loaner phone from them. The biggest advantage of sticking with your home carrier? You likely avoid most of the hassles of learning a new system and callers to you just use the number they already have. Just keep your calls to a minimum. Using a U.S. plan overseas can be very expensive. Otherwise, I'd go with getting a local phone once you are there and asking folks to send text messages to communicate. They can text you and then you can call using the calling card if you really want to be frugal.
Posted by
Boulder, Colorado, USA
27 posts
Using an IPhone, I find a free or low-cost wireless hotspot and use Skype. It costs about 1 cent a minute plus whatever the wireless fee might be.