Verizon iPhone in Italy

Read through this thread from a couple months ago. It may answer your questions. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/verizon-international-phone-data-plan

I’ve used the $10/day plan on previous trips but I’m going to try the $100/month plan next trip. Need to keep my Verizon phone number when traveling so a sim won’t work for me. I use Google Voice to call home (landline), hotel WiFi and download Google maps.

I did learn that Verizon has a dedicated International Line 1-800-711-8300.

The service rep told me about "The Ultimate Unlimited". You can use your phone Internationally for a month for $25.

IMO, it really depends what you are doing, for how long, and how you want to use your phone. If I am abroad for more than 10 days, I use the monthly international plan and don't have to think about anything. If we are doing independent travel, which requires use of maps, navigation, web searches, etc throughout the day, then I also tend to use the monthly plan - again, so I don't need to think about it. Our last trip was to Peru (we had a mix of tour and independent travel), and I had the monthly plan but only was charged $85 - not sure why, but worth asking about if you call or chat with Verizon.

The $10/day plan is great if you are on a tour and don't need cellular access throughout the day. Note that you only get charged the $10 if you use it, so keep the phone on airplane mode to avoid accidentally using the plan. You can check in on your email, messages, etc via wifi each morning and evening at the hotel, or use free wifi at museums, cafes etc.

WhatsApp is easy to download and use, especially for texting and phone calls. Our experience has been that most guides use this for contact info. Not sure what else you need to know about it?

To me, the $100 for an international plan is a pretty minor travel expense and eliminates an awful lot of anxiety and over-thinking. I don't need to worry or set up anything different for anyone, including banks and 2-factor access codes, to get through to me as needed. If I'm in the middle of a town and want to look up an attraction, or navigate to a restaurant, the last thing I want to do is look for reliable wifi...just my 2cents.

You can download maps to major cities ahead of time, offline the "gps" usually works, but it just doesn't give you directions.

You can use whatsapp via wifi, I did a 2 week trip with a OLD not smartphone as late as 2019 with just my iphone on wifi when I was in wifi places. I'm going for my AT&T international $100 (max charge per billing cycle) plan.

I actually heard about esims from this board and airalo is an option, but others have said its not as good as buying a sim card for a local provider when you get there. Your phone would need to be unlocked, but probably won't apply to you if you're looking to use Verizon while you're in Italy.

@dsn41075, I am sure it depends who you talk to - it always does! - but I just chatted with a verizon rep, and the least expensive international plan is $20 but that is ONLY for cruise ship travel.

TravelPass is $10/day when you use it. Monthly international is $100/month. "Recurring" international is also $100/month (no deal there, which seems weird).

They also have Unlimited Ultimate, which would replace your current phone plan. This is $55/month, includes unlimited international data, talk, text for 210 countries and all the usual other stuff - 5G, unlimited domestic data, hot spot, etc. This one actually sounds like a really good deal, depending how much you travel and what your current plan is (I'm doing some math now lol).

We just did Italy this summer, and I did an e-sim card. My son spent my money and did the Verizon plan half way thru the trip right from his phone. We'll, the e-sim is ok at best. Not reliable. Next time, I will suck it up and just pay Verizon.

I paid alot for the vacation, and I don't want to be stuck without a valuable tool < phone > in a foreign country. Just my .02 cents.
And as another poster said, they only charge you if you use it.....so

I've traveled to multiple countries in Europe multiple times, and I've used eSIMs everywhere I've gone with no problems. I recommend Nomad for single country plans or multi-country plans. Both have worked flawlessly for me. Typically if you're using the local SIM as primary for data-only (my approach), your texts and WhatsApp will come through on the secondary (home) SIM.

You can select the secondary (home) SIM to make calls when needed; on Vz they're usually between 1 cent and 5 cents a minute, whether you're calling local Europe or the USA. I set my primary SIM to Do Not Disturb to avoid junk calls getting through, with close friends and family granted exceptions to the DND.

Make sure your iPhone accepts dual SIMs before trying this, but the newer ones all do AFAIK.