Sim card for Italy and Greece

1. No. The new SIM card will have a new Italian number (assuming you buy it in Italy
2. Yes
3. Yes, you can use it anywhere.
4. None. Except that while the SIM card is on you won’t be able to receive calls to your US based number.

You must load a plan on your Italian Sim, otherwise you will pay the expensive per minute/per MB fares.

A sim costs around 10 € these days. A plan between 10 and 20 € a month. This is just an example: https://www.tim.it/en/landline-mobile/international-calling/from-italy/tim-tourist

As you can see it does not include texts (aka SMS messages); if you got this plan you should turn the iMessage option off before putting the Italian SIM in your iPhone.

You'd get more minutes, texts and gigas if you bought a plan aimed at locals and paid in cash. Then simply throw the Italian SIM away when it's time to go home.

Hi, I visited Switzerland and Italy in January. For the trip, I did heaps of research on sims, and in the end landed on Airlo e sim, as I did not want to buy a sim after landing and also needed one sim through the whole journey, I wanted something to work straight away, due to my travel plans.

You will need a phone that is esim compatible. That is iPhone XR or above

The benefit of these sims, is they were cost effective, especially for Switzerland which is quite expensive. The negative is you get no phone number, however I could still access whatsapp, data and iMessage

No text service either.

However with an esim you may be able to still use your USA number. If you turn roaming off for your USA number and turn wifi calling on this allows you to take calls whilst on the esim

I got a $5 sign up bonus as a referral. heaps on the internet, or reach out if you want a code.

Then you need to decide what to get. I would recommend the Eurolink. You can get 3GB ($13), 5GB($20), 10GB, ($37).

For the price difference, I would probably get the 5GB and buy another one over there.

This is more expensive than a physical sim in Italy however more convenient

There are other providers that are similar, I used this site for research. https://www.phonetravelwiz.com/phone-travel-options/esim-reviews/airalo/

I believe mobimatter is really cheap. But I have not used them.

It’s an option for you to explore. Might work for you.

My friends who just returned from 3 months in Europe used this https://esim.holafly.com/esim-europe/

That is for data only. So you should be able to keep your US #. Any sim card you get in Europe is your phone number, you can't use both as far as I know.

We are traveling for a month in Italy and this time will just go with the Verizon plan for $100+ tax. I figure we will be using the phone to call ahead for dinner reservations, and the data a lot for Google maps to get around cities.

I considered getting a sim card, we did that in Germany before our last trip to Sicily last year, but it was a pain, since we couldn't use our home phone number. That said, we only used Facetime to call home, as both of us are retired, no work calls. I now have a permanent German number in my iPhone that no one can figure out how to delete, not a big deal as I threw out the sim card when we got home.

I like the idea of Verizon so I can keep track of my usage. I used wi-fi always in hotels and when it's offered in stores, etc.

To be honest, if you are not familiar with using SIMs, not 100% sure you can use a different SIM due to your phone being locked or conditions of your contract, need access to your home number, emails, and need your phone to function like home, then just bite the bullet and pay Verizon the $100.

Yeah you could save maybe $70 or $80, but that is cheap to avoid the headache and time spent trying to figure it out and miniscule compared to everything else you are spending on the trip.

If you do go the SIM route, a single SIM will work, just verify about Switzerland, while they are Schengen and part of an economic alliance, they are not EU and cell phone providers are not obligated to include them in coverage, though many do anyway. Same if you buy the SIM in Switzerland, verify that it will work in both Italy and Greece. Many providers in Switzerland include surrounding countries, but not necessarily all EU countries, but again, many plans include everything.

Edit: Also with the SIM route, if you buy a SIM for data, but still plan to use your home number for other stuff, (in a dual SIM application) then verify what Verizon will charge, they may just wind up charging you the $10/day every time you make a call, get one, etc., sort of negating the benefit of buying a SIM.

We looked into getting a sim card, but after reading about the hassle of getting one, we just opted for the Verizon plan. If you are on vacation, why do you need to check your work emails?