Hello all! Sorry if this topic seems to come up all the time but I thought my issue might be a little different and could benefit from it's own post... First, we will be spending 3 months (excuse me, 90 days) in Europe in mostly Italy, but also Spain and Portugal. We want to be able to stay in contact with family here in USA, so we were going to add a World Traveller package through ATT. But also want to keep in contact cheaply with our friends in Europe which isn't covered by ATT so I know I can get an unlocked World phone on eBay and buy a SIM card and load minutes when I get to Italy (first stop) but I have other questions: 1 - if I buy a SIM card in Italy, will it cover calls when I go to Portugal/Spain or would I have to purchase a new card with each country?
2 - my sister has an iPhone. Would it better to download Skype and use it with wifi to contact family here in America? What is your experience with that? 3 - has anyone purchased an actual Skype phone and is that an option to combine all my issues? I think I have figured out the most efficient and least expensive way to handle all of this, but your comments/experiences would be helpful!
Posted by
Dallas
1021 posts
I've not used an Italian sim card, however it's my understanding that it will work in Spain and Portugal, but the rates per minute will be higher as you'll be roaming and incoming calls won't be free as they will be in Italy. I suggest you post your question on the Trip Advisor Rome forum which has local experts who are knowledgeable about Italian sims. They can advise about the best ones as well as the cost of Italian phones which is an option to getting one on Ebay. Our experience with the Skype iPhone app is that it works very well with a good wifi signal, but not so well if the wifi signal is weak. With a good signal the call quality is quite good. You might also look at getting a Skype Online number which will allow people in the States to call you without incurring international calling rates. You can have calls forwarded to your Italian phone for a reasonable per minute fee. The international calling card as mentioned in your heading can be used from land lines or in conjunction with your mobile phone for making inexpensive calls to the US.
Posted by
Sacramento, California, USA
129 posts
Hi, I live in CA and my daughter is in London. I have bought calling minutes on my Skype account, not a subcription, just $10 at a time. Then when I want, I can call my daughter's cell phone using Skype through my computer. The clarity is amazing. I also called her while she was traveling through Europe. I've also used it to call Italy to book museum reservations for an upcoming trip. It's great.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2625 posts
Monique (and Dex:) ), Now that I've told you how fantastic Skype on the Ipad is, today's testing resulted in my callers not being able to hear me on the Ipad, but able to hear me on my Mac. So, if you choose this method, do try it out a few times. There certainly are kinks. For backup, I will have a netbook with me. The TextFree app works seamlessly, so make sure you try that one out. I really like it.
Posted by
Pasadena, CA
15 posts
Skype has plans around 3 or 4 dollars a month where you can call back to the U.S. for free. We just used skype on our ipod touch at wifi stations. You get a voicemail account for that price as well. No possibility for instant, but I don't really want to be instantly reachable on vacation.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2625 posts
Monique - I did a ton of research on this issue and here's what I have in place for my trip. I will be using an Ipad as a phone. I purchased credit on Skype and bought a Skype telephone number with voicemail. When I leave, I will forward my TMobile cell phone to my Skype telephone number (same area code as my cell phone, so no one calling me gets any extra charges). When thus forwarded, my cell phone calls just ring through to my Ipad as long as I have the Ipad on and am signed into Skype. I plan to leave my Skype open and signed in during the evenings when we are back at our apartment. People calling earlier in the day will (hopefully) just leave me a message. I have tested it out and it works perfectly. It took a little effort (and a few posts here) to get it all to make sense, but it really works. Cost is so minimal that it's amazing.
Posted by
Dallas
1021 posts
Glad you got it sorted, Valerie. I'm curious whether the issue of the iPad not "ringing" for an incoming Skype call is resolved and, if so, how?
Posted by
OP
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
712 posts
Thanks everyone! I think we are going to do what was mentioned above, and get an online number so people wit/without Skype and contact us, and we can even do text messaging at a lower rate than my cell phone carrier's international plan. We already have an unlocked world cell phone, so we'll get a SIM over there and some minutes. Doing research on this is a great way to save money. Thanks!
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2625 posts
Dex, I'm not exactly sure how I resolved it. One thing that's key is to have both the Skype app open AND be signed in (sometimes those are two separate things with Skype, I notice). At some point, in desperation, I plugged in some headphones to the Ipad and called it from my house phone and the call rang through. I then tried again without the headphones and and the Ipad volume on high and it rang through! Monique - On the texting issue, I found that although Skype is cheaper, it's still expensive enough that it can really add up if you're a heavy texter. There is an app I loaded call TextFree that works through wireless on my Ipad. It even gave me a free local phone number. I give that phone number out to friends and family, and my texts come through to my Ipad. Completely free! Valerie
Posted by
OP
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
712 posts
Valerie - you are my hero! I am a HUGE texter and of course for the trip I know that I am going to have to curb my enthusiasm in that regard, but still for me it's a great way to keep in touch on the fly.
I will definately look into that app you mentioned. Thanks a million!!!