Using the ipad in Italy

My wife used her Verizon phone with the International Plan add on, worked fine. I bought a a TIM sim for my phone. You will want to use wifi as much as possible to reduce data use.

Many of the RS tour busses have WiFi as well. While not perfect, especially when in mountainous areas, it worked well enough on the Best of Italy tour I took last summer that I never needed cellular data to do what I needed.

Having brought both types of devices to Italy last Summer, here were our findings. Verizon coverage for our mobile was 'spotty', at best, in many locales. This rendered the device pretty much useless, 'cept for having an extra clock and wake-up alarm function. The cellular strength was ok in Rome and Venice, but not so much in and around Florence/Tuscany and the Cinque Terre. Given your itinerary is primarily 'village' centric, you're likely to have a similar experience factor. Conversely, our iPad (which doesn't have the cellular option) served well as means for checking emails and securing tickets on the internet, using a hotel's WiFi connection during the evening hours. The iPad (leveraging local WiFi) was much more dependable and practical for what we needed. We only brought the phone - and enacted international coverage - to use in case of an emergency. Of course, that only works if the phone has a bubble or two of coverage. :)

We used Verizon Wi-Fi for our Italy Trip and Husband could never connect and mine was spotty at best. We relied on the Wi-Fi in our apartment and at anyplace that had Wi-Fi. We took my Tablet which has no wifi service and again used open wifi for access. My reading book and my spreadsheet with our schedule and all details were also on there. Next time I am getting a SIM card for my phone.

I never had any problems with connecting using Verizon's International data plan when we were on our Best of Italy tour in September. We had a brand new bus and WiFi had not been connected on our bus so I periodically accessed my email while traveling and got as good of service as I get in the states.

Be careful that you ask for their international service plan, understand how much it is going to cost you, and turn the cellular service of your iPad OFF when you're not looking at it, so you don't rack up a huge bill when you come home! (I.e. and don't expect to be able to consult it as frequently as you would at home for a low price).

You'll find more about these questions on the Technology Tips part of the Forum.

I found a company on line called ExpressoWifi.com in Italy. They provide cellular coverage wherever you go with a 4G device. Has anyone used this service?

I highly suggest you use your current providers international plan or purchase a Italian sim upon arrival. If you go the Italian sim route there are a few changes to be made in your phones settings, which should be clearly provided (in English) before you can use it. Notably changing the APN setting. Verizon has a roaming agreement with VodaFone which has very good coverage in Italy. Next to that TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) also has excellent coverage. But if this just too much tech for you - buy a international plan from Verizon and don't worry about swapping sims and changing settings. Use your own phone and be careful about data usage. Turn off all notifications, GPS uses very little data so maps on the road will be fine. Been there done that.