International Sim Card

If you buy a SIM card when you arrive in Amsterdam, it will be a Netherlands card with a Netherlands phone number. You will still be able to use it in Switzerland, Germany and France. Before you leave the shop, be sure you know how to add extra credit to the card via the internet. After you leave the Netherlands you will not be able to go into a shop and add credit.

Before you leave, you need to check two things:
1) Is your phone compatible with the European phone system (GSM). Some phones from outside Europe are not.
2) Is your phone "unlocked". If it is "locked", it will not work with a different SIM card.

And don't forget you need a plug adapter for your charger.

Thank you. I think I need to know more about the SIM card itself. Is there a company you prefer to use? How exactly does it work? What I want to know is about data usage in general. How much data can I buy and how much data will I use? I want to be able to pull up websites and do some mapping etc.I have been playng with downloading gmaps and using them offline. I assume I can also do this over there. With my own phone I can use WIFI calling, but if I change the SIM card, will that negate my ability to call home free? I am hoping I can do both, make WIFI free calls to the US and call numbers within those European countries.

I can't recommend any one company, as I am not familiar with the Dutch telecoms market. Hopefully others will answer.

"How does it work" - You take out your existing SIM card from your phone, and replace it with a new one. You then have a new Netherlands phone number and new service provider.

"How much data can I buy and how much data will I use?" - You can buy as much as you want, and buy more later over the internet. How much do you use at home? That would be a good place to start.

"I want to be able to pull up websites and do some mapping etc.I have been playng with downloading gmaps and using them offline. I assume I can also do this over there." - yes. I recommend downloading as much as possible (maps etc.) before you leave home.

"With my own phone I can use WIFI calling, but if I change the SIM card, will that negate my ability to call home free?" - WiFi does not use your phone service, you just need a WiFi spot. You can use WiFi whichever SIM card is in your phone. WiFi isthe same the world over.

I can recommend the Dutch Vodafone SIM. I bought mine on eBay and have used it on two trips to Europe, including Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. In fact, I've never used it in the Netherlands. You obviously can buy one after you get to Amsterdam - probably in various places but surely at a Vodafone store. Not only is "roam like at home" EU roaming supported, but it will also work in Switzerland (not part of the EU) at the same rates.

https://www.vodafone.nl/shop/mobiel/prepaid/

You CAN add credit to your Vodafone SIM online without being in the Netherlands - I had to, given that I used my SIM without even visiting the country. You just need to create a My Vodafone account on the Dutch Vodafone website. (Use Google Chrome as your browser to translate Dutch to English.) I've successfully used my US credit card on their site to add credit.

With many prepaid SIMs, you buy a "bundle" good for a set period of time - data, texting, and minutes. With the Vodafone prepaid SIM, you can buy "You" bundles of various sizes. Currently, you can buy 2GB of data for 10 euros (this is a advertised promotion - they say 1GB plus an extra 1GB right now) or 6GB for 20 euros, good for 30 days. You do get some calling minutes, but they are good only for calls to Dutch numbers. Other calls cost 20 cents per minute. You can also use Skype or WhatsApp to make calls to others without paying that.

The way the SIM works is that first you add credit to it. Then you use the credit to buy/activate the bundle. You don't want to activate the bundle until you are ready to use it (because it's then good for only the next 30 days), but you can add credit to the SIM (say with a credit card) prior to that. The credit is good for six months after you add it. But, if you buy the SIM at a Vodafone store in Amsterdam, you can do all of this all at once. You could keep the SIM alive for a future trip (say you are going back to Europe next year) by using it occasionally - maybe send a text or add credit or something - to push out the expiration of the SIM another six months, using the My Vodafone account on their website.

On the excellent advice of Andrew H, I bought a Vodafone NL card online for my May trip to France and Germany and bought a "bundle" from home. Only downside is that instructions and notifications are in Dutch. I plan to keep it for future trips.

Laura, do you have a My Vodafone account you can check to make sure it doesn't expire? I won't be going back to Europe this year, so I have to keep pushing out the expiration to keep it alive til next year! I have 5 euros left on it, which should be enough to send a text ever few months (expensive on roaming - I think about 60 cents per message from the US). The 5 euros was a "bonus" I got at the first top-up anyway, not enough to buy a bundle, but good for keeping the SIM alive!

The Dutch just isn't a problem given that Google Chrome translates it to English. (not perfect translation but close enough!)

@Andrew, yes I have a MyVodafone account, but thanks for reminding me to check (think I'm good through October, then time to text and/or add money.) Used my husband's phone and Google Translate to read the instructions as needed.

So the Dutch Vodafone SIM includes Switzerland in the countries where it works without roaming charges? Since Switzerland's not in the EU, the carriers don't have to do that and I understand some of them don't.

So the Dutch Vodafone SIM includes Switzerland in the countries where it works without roaming charges? Since Switzerland's not in the EU, the carriers don't have to do that and I understand some of them don't.

Yes, Melissa, according to the Vodafone website: no roaming charges in Switzerland.

However, the Dutch Vodafone prepaid "you" bundles (probably the only real option for their prepaid SIMs) don't have great calling options. They give you only a few minutes of calling and only to Dutch numbers; calls to EU non-Dutch numbers cost 20 cents/minute, whether you are in the Netherlands or Switzerland or in the EU roaming countries. (Incoming calls are free as on most European SIM cards - it's calling OUT that would cost 20 cents/min.) If data is your concern, though, that should be fine in Switerland and elsewhere in the EU - no roaming fees.

If you need to make calls with this SIM, I recommend Skype or Google Hangouts. Hangouts has the additional benefit of free voice calls to US numbers, even to landlines, if you are from the US - handy to call your airline or bank in a pinch and not worry about being on hold for a while.