smart phone options to bring??

I have Verizon too and just take my iPhone 4s. International calling was very reasonable and easy to do. They will set up a calling plan for you if you have a phone that works overseas. They don't all work internationally though so check with them and they can tell you if what you have will work, or if you need something else.

Last year was the first year that I tried to not bring my phone. Instead I brought my iPad and it worked out really well. We just used the wifi in the hotels and I was able to FaceTime and text message (only to other apple devices) as well as have have emails and internet access. It was kind of nice not having to be tied to the phone. I am getting the new iPhone though and am contemplating taking that instead of the iPad and just leaving it on the wifi mode so I don't have to pay data charges.

Verizon does have some easy options for you if you don't have a CDMA capable phone.

I just had my iPod Touch last trip and communicated via email.

The whatsapp app for iPhone is great to use because you can send text messages via app with no data charges. Used it all summer!

If you communicate by e-mail, be sure to setup the phone to operate on WiFi only from your hotel. You don't want any surprises.

T-Mobile just came up with a plan with free data and e-mail AND $.20 per minute voice anywhere. They're getting many world travelers as customers because of the low cost. And it's without monthly contracts. If you had an ATT GSM phone, you could use it with a T-Mobile SIM card.

You should check with Verizon to see if their phones work in Europe. Ask if they can rent you a phone that works in Europe if theirs are not compatible.

On David's point, you could only use a T-mobile SIM card if your ATT (or other carrier) GSM phone is unlocked. Also, you can use wifi elsewhere if you find it (don't worry about just doing it from your hotel). I think what he was trying to emphasize is to make sure the phone will only function on wifi. The safest bet is to put it on Airplane mode and turn wifi on, which will make sure the phone doesn't use data. There are options on some phones to turn off roaming, which would also help make sure it doesn't use any.

As mentioned above, Verizon has a global travel plan for short-term international trips; see http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global.html?intcmp=INT-VZW-VNT-GLOBAL. If you have a global ready phone (such as an iPhone 5) and are a Verizon customer, you could sign up for a global voice plan and/or a global data plan and can keep your U.S. phone number. Global voice has a $4.99 one-time payment that buys discounted call prices ($.99 per minute in Italy - just checked); for global data you pay $25 for 100 MB. If you reach 100 MB, they will ask if you wish to purchase more (so no risk of accumulating exorbitant data charges). If you don't have a global phone, Verizon will loan you one for free. I used this service (have an iPhone 5) this past May in Austria and Germany and found it to be excellent and not very costly, since I made very few calls. I liked having my U.S. number and not having to do anything other than turn my phone off and on to activate the global service after signing up (I called Verizon to arrange the activation and de-activation dates). I used wifi in hotels, but liked having the option to use cellular data to check weather, look up addresses, etc. when out and about.

To echo what most people said, I communicate through email, text, and facetime. Most hotels and a lot of restaurants and public places have areas for free wifi. If I am wifi-less, I send a text. I have ATT and texts were either 25 or 50 cents without purchasing a plan, depending if the receiver was an ATT customer as well. This is also how I communicate with my fellow travellers. My bill is usually an extra $10 per week I am travelling. And I text fairly liberally- no "hey how are you" texts but if I need to tell someone something, I do it. I have never purchased any sort of international plan for calling. You would have to be on the phone A LOT for the price to be worth it.

If you are in a situation where you would need to talk on the phone a lot, an alternative is the Magic Jack. My dad is on love with it and has been using it abroad for years. You pay a monthly (or yearly?) fee that is pretty minimal and you can make calls using a wireless network. And even better, people can call you and leave voicemails because you are assigned a US number. The voicemails will go to your email. The downside is that you have to bring an actual old school phone with you, which usually isn't small.