Yet another cell phone/sim card question!

There are dual SIM card phones (that would hold two SIMs) but I don't know of any option that would allow to both keep your US number and have a local number with a single SIM, since the SIM is what gives the phone its identity (phone number). There are several packages through Verizon that cover international calling, texts, and data, and you could use your apps on wifi to keep your data usage down. On my recent trip to Spain, I took the smallest package but used none of the calling, a few texts, and all of the small amount of data. Everything else was on wifi.

Sheron,

The iPhones are a single SIM design so I don't know of any way you'd be able to use two SIM's at the same time. Given your need to be reachable in case of emergency with your Mom, the easiest solution is to use the Verizon international roaming plan. I'm not overly familiar with their pricing, but from other comments I've see here the rates seem reasonable. Of course, your phone would have to be unlocked to use other SIM cards (I'm not sure if that's the case with Verizon phones).

Some of the travel phone firms provide an optional "local connect" number which would also work, as that provides a local number in your home area for people to call you and that's connected to your travel number. Have a look at iRoam for one example. The rates for travel SIM's are usually good for voice and text, however the travel phone firms don't seem to be able to provide inexpensive data plans.

Look at KnowRoaming. Instead of a standard SIM card, it's "SIM sticker" you put on top of your regular SIM. This way, you can have the same functions as a phone with two SIM cards, but in one SIM slot. You control which one you're using with an app. It comes with a US number, so callers from the US can reach you without difficulty.

I haven't used it, but my friend has, and is very pleased with how well it worked in Italy. Details here: https://www.knowroaming.com/

For similar elderly family reasons, for many years I had my AT&T phone with very very expensive international service. I knew my parent or their caregivers needed certainty of being able to reach me. I don't know of any way to do what you are asking unless you change your carrier. Based on someone else's comments on this site, I just last week converted from AT&T (I was with them for over 25 years) to TMobile. Your phone has to be unlocked (paid off) to change the SIM card, so I assume you have done this if you are looking at various sims.

If you have 24-36 hours before you leave, I would switch my service from Verizon to TMobile, you keep your US phone number, get free international data in most European countries, unlimited international text, and calls to the US are $0.20 per minute. Plus today I got free in-flight GoGo wifi on a business trip by being TMobile. My plan costs $65 per month for this which is slightly less than my AT&T but a lot more services. I suggest the 24-36 hours so you can work out any bugs (after a week I couldn't figure why I was not getting visual voicemail...I just had not downloaded their application). This way family can still call you on your regular US number and you don't need an Italian sim. After my parents were gone, I started to get Vodafone SIM cards which significantly reduced my costs (AT$T bills were $300 for 2 weeks each trip given how much data I use in GPS, and I was down to $30 for Vodafone). The convenience of keeping my US number AND unlimited data in Italy (plus many other places) drove me to try TMobile. Oh, and you don't have a contract, it's just month to month if you phone is unlocked.

I thank other posters here for me learning about TMobiles plan.

Harold, I got so excited when I looked at the KnowRoaming web-site because it seemed like the perfect solution however it doesn't work with Verizon phones so unfortunately it won't work for me!!

Nancy & Ken, iRoam does appear to have a sim card which might work in my application. I'm not looking for dual sims; I've found several companies who offer an international phone number as well as a U.S. phone number on the same sim card. Having a U.S. based phone number will enable me to activate call forwarding on my Verizon plan and forward my calls from my phone number to the new U.S. based phone number so that my mom's facility & my siblings don't have to dial a different number. Verizon doesn't allow me to forward my calls to an international number otherwise I would. I guess I just need to research iRoam and some of the other companies I've found and try to determine which company is the most reliable but was hoping someone on this forum could add some anecdotal experience with a particular company so I know the sim card will work when I land in Italy. It's hard combing through on-line reviews and not knowing if they're fabricated or not. I know Verizon has an international calling plan but it's still very costly and my mom is experiencing a medical issue which might require more frequent communication than I originally anticipated which means I could come home to a very large bill from Verizon.

Thanks for all your input.

Thanks for the suggestion Mary to switch to T-Mobile but unfortunately I'm locked into a contract with Verizon for another year. My IPhone 6+, however, is already unlocked therefore I can easily switch out the sim card so that seems to be my only option for now.

I just looked at Verizon's web-site and it looks like they offer a new 'Travel Pass' option which might be easier than swapping out the sim card and hoping it will work. They charge a flat $10/day and I would only be charged for the days I actually use it. Hopefully most of the time, I can simply call my mom's landline using Skype when in the hotel room using wifi and therefore I wouldn't have to use the Travel Pass every day but in the event someone needs to get in touch with me from home, I would pay the $10/day and have use of all of my normal Verizon plan features without incurring additional charges per minute or for data, etc. I will look into this a bit more but I think it might be worth it in the long run to not have to swap out the sim card and forward my U.S. number to another number, etc.

Sheron,

It sounds like you've found a solution.

Just to clarify though, iRoam uses only a single SIM card so it's nothing complicated. For $29 it's quite reasonably priced.

They also offer at no cost....

"Choice of a Canadian, USA or UK Number - By having a SIM with a USA, Canadian or UK phone number, your contacts will not incur any long distance call or SMS charges to reach you while traveling."

That might allow you to forward your Verizon number to your travel SIM number, so anyone calling you would simply dial your regular number. Just a thought....

Thanks Ken. I'm still researching getting a SIM card because they do appear to be much less expensive than the Verizon travel plan. Have you ever purchased a SIM card from IRoam? If so, how was your experience?

Before I left the U.S. I signed up for Verizon's International plan, then I could call the connections I needed. Then I purchased the Italian sim card after arrival in Italy.

I have been in Italy for over two months and have had a nightmare with TIM cell phone company. They told me I have X GB and X time, but it suddenly disappears and you have find someplace to pay more to recharge. I would try a different company if I were to do it over again, either WIND or VODAPHONE, as Italians tell me they are better, but I do not know. In my opinion get a sim card, and download WHATSAPP on your phone and have family members do the same. You can use the phone for searching things on the go with the Internet (but put on airplane mode when not on WiFi unless using it).

You can call and text the United States for free as long as you both are on WiFi. There is another App I use TEXTNOW that gives you a different U.S. number but you can call and text for free. Just ignore all the ads that actually are paying for your calls.

This has worked well for me, except TIM has given me a nightmare, but I appreciate having Maps available, finding someplace while out and about, etc.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I have the 6s and the battery life is horrible! Take a portable charger with you.

Sheron,

Yes, I have used iRoam in the past, but I should provide a few more details.

I used their service for a number of years, but at that time they were operating as Roam Simple. Last year they merged with another firm and are now operating as iRoam. At that time they were using U.K.-based numbers (O2 Telefonica) but these provided coverage throughout Europe at consistent rates. They use post-paid billing with calls charged to a credit card, and I much prefer that to the bother of having to top-up. As I recall, their cards were renewable, so I could use them every year and have the same phone number. They also provided an optional "direct connect" number, which provided a local number in my area code that was mapped to the travel SIM. Before leaving the country, I simply call-forwarded my regular phone to that number. I'm not sure if that's the same system they use now?

The last time I used them (2014?), they seemed to be having difficulty providing cost-effective data packages. That seems to be changing since the merger and they now seem to have a reasonable voice, text and data plan. I found their customer service to be excellent. Any time I contacted them with a problem, they were always quick to respond.

Last year I decided to try roaming with my home cell network again (Rogers), as their travel plans have become more reasonable lately (although not exactly inexpensive). That worked well and their advertising slogan of "Roam Like Home" was completely true (at least in terms of effectiveness though not in cost). I recently upgraded my iPhone so I'll have to continue using my home network for the next two years until my phone is paid-off as the phone is "locked".

Hope that provides the information you were looking for.

jeannegriffith,

"P.S. I have the 6s and the battery life is horrible! Take a portable charger with you."

I've been finding the exact opposite with battery life with my 6S. Just curious, did you go through the settings and change these for your trip? Some of the things that can affect battery life are.....

• Use Cellular For - it's a good idea to go through each item in that section of the menus, and switch "off" any app's that you don't absolutely need to be accessible via cellular.
• E-Mail - this can be another power waster if you have it set to check E-mail frequently. Change it to "Manual" and only retrieve E-mail when you're in a Wi-Fi area.
• Display brightness - if you turn that down a bit, it will reduce power consumption slightly.
• Low Power mode - activating that will change some of the settings mentioned above to reduce power. Here's a link on that - http://www.howtogeek.com/229224/how-to-use-low-power-mode-on-an-iphone-and-what-exactly-it-does/

Despite all these measures, I still believe it's prudent to pack along an auxiliary battery.

I have an I phone its unlocked and whatever country I am in I buy a sim card and exchange it with my American sim card. I would give your mother your new Italian phone number and she can call you or text if something should happen. I paid 20 Euros and it lasted me 2 weeks. I was able to purchase the sim card at the airport.