Throw away phone for Italy

In the departure area of Fiumicino (for flights within Europe - I think Terminal 1 if I recall) there is a TIM store. However, if you are arriving at FCO, you will not go through any retail section before you get to Passport Control and then the Baggage Claim area. From there you will exit to the street. There are no cell phone stores that I recall in that area. There are TIM, Vodafone, and WIND stores all around Rome. Look for the company-owned stores and not "authorized retailers". It is usually pretty obvious when they are company stores, because the logo is the main part of the sign and only their stuff is sold inside. While you can preview their offerings on their respective web sites, bear in mind that very often in the store they will have special deals or whatever. Still, plan to spend upwards of 40 or 50 Euro to get a cheap phone and a minimal amount of minutes to start.

Why throw away? Have your phone unblocked (if your provider blocks it, as most US providers do) at a mobile phone shop.
Then once you get to Italy you go to a mobile phone store (Vodafone, Wind, TIM) and have a SIM card inserted in your phone. When you are done with your trip, put back your own SIM card. Or maybe you have an older cell phone that you can have unblocked and use that one. When I changed my phone, I had my old Motorola Razr unblocked and bought a SIM card there. Now that's my traveling phone when I go to EUrope.

I bought a TIM phone two summers ago for 29 euro including 10 minutes, and added minutes as needed (a tobacco shop or a TIM store can do this for you). You can default to English as the primary language for the phone. I still use it when I go back to Italy every year, just add more minutes.

Prices vary on the TIM starter phones. Mine cost €40 or 45 last year, can't remember, but it was over 40. With TIM you can add minutes to your phone at Unicredit Banca ATMs. That is, when it's working. It worked consistently for me earlier in the year, but lately has been giving me hassle. You can also add minutes to your phone in most Tabacchi stores usually somewhere near the door there is some sign with cell phone logos and "ricaricare" or some such word on it indicating you can add money to your phone. TIM has pretty competitive prices, lots of locations around Rome, and very strong signal through much of Italy.

A few years ago we bought an unlocked, quad band, gsm international phone on eBay and then went to the first TIMM store we saw in Roma. We have an Italian number and the cost is a lot less than Verizon. Buon viaggio,

We have three or four inexpensive unlocked phones we purchased on eBay in the USA before we moved to Europe or in Italy after we moved. Living in Italy we used TIM, "3" and Vodafone. We felt we got the best coverage (and price) with TIM and it became our primary vendor. When we relocated to CPH, we went back to "3." If you can get your US phone unlocked (with no strings attached) then it is perhaps less expensive to just buy a SIM card. There's a great deal from TIM currently - you might read this.

Ron, thanks for the link to the article. I stop using my TIM phone in August and start using it again the next May, so I have been able to keep the same number. If one goes to Italy every year, it's just a matter of reactivating the phone (TIM stores have done this at no charge, but I also buy minutes when I reactivate).

There are plenty of cheap cell phone options. You don't have to throw the phone away - keep it for next trip and just plug in a new SIM card.

Whether you buy a phone in Italy or just a SIM card inserted in your own unblocked phone, remember that if you don't recharge your SIM card with some minutes at least every 12 months (5 euros is all you need), your number will be inactivated.
So recharge it before 12 months have expired (you can do so online with the mobile phone provider) and you can have the same tel. number any time you go to Europe. Otherwise it's extra money to have a new number and sim card each time.

Roberto brings up a good point about "how to continue" your SIM card service but it WILL depend on which provider you utilize as some have different cancellation standards. So read the fine print. For example, I've have a TIM SIM card that has sat idle for the last two years with about 25€ of credit on it. I have not "recharged" the SIM card during this period. No, my TIM card requires that I "use" the phone number within 12 months or I lose the number - It does not require that I recharge it. So I have a reminder on my Outlook calendar set for about 8-9 months in the future and when it chimes, I pull my TIM Euro-phone out of storage, charge it, and then call my local phone using the TIM Euro-phone. I answer on the second "local" phone and hang up... a 2 second call. Depending on which country and network I am on, this "preventive-cancellation" call costs me about 40-50 cents. Then, I put my Euro-phone back "in storage." I've had the same number now for 7+ years!

We used our MOBAL phone for a month in Italy. It was great for text message connections to meet up with friends and allowed us to call to check on taxis and hotels when needed. Good for having a way to send messages home or allow family to get in touch. We will be able to use it on our future trips as we got one that is good in over 130 countries. Charges are per call and we got connected quite easily..