Two phones - SIM or no SIM?

Al,

To answer your last question first, No, you will not be hit with roaming charges, as the E.U. eliminated those for E.U. residents a year or so ago.

I normally just use the roaming plan with my home carrier as it's the easiest solution, although expensive. I believe my carrier's charge has increased to $12 / day, but there's a cap of 10 days. On a month long trip, I'd still have to pay $120. In your case, you'd likely have to pay $10 / day each so the bill would be higher. Buying German SIM cards will probably be your most cost effective option.

Another solution you could look at is a travel SIM from one of the firms that offer those. Two examples.....

• http://www.cellularabroad.com/
• http://www.iroam.com/

That way you'd have a working phone as soon as you step off the plane, and the SIM's work most places in Europe.

Here's some info on German SIM plans:

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Germany

If you read that page, it seems the German government in particular has put up some barriers to foreigners buying SIM cards there. I know nothing at all about German SIM cards. I use the Dutch Vodafone SIM I bought on eBay last year when I go to Europe and it has worked great for me, but every country is different. I'd recommend the Dutch Vodafone SIM, but you need a few weeks to get it mailed to you from the Netherlands, so it's probably too late for you now.

But if you can get a SIM in Germany, you may or may not be able to use it in Switzerland, as Switzerland is in neither the EU nor in the EEA where the new EU roaming rules have been enforced. My Vodafone SIM supports roaming there (they aren't required to), but other vendors may not. At worst, you'll need to buy new SIM cards in Switzerland.

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Switzerland

I would install some sort of VOIP app on all your phones, however, and make sure you are connected. I'm not sure what kind of issues you've had with Skype, but I've used it for years on phones and laptops and it has worked great for me. You can even make calls to phones with Skype, but to call phone numbers you need to buy credit ($10 at a time) and then pay a few cents per minute per call. I use Google Hangouts mostly - that is like Skype but also allows free calls to US phone numbers, even to landlines (add a +1 prefix to US numbers to call them from Europe). Many others uses WhatsApp, which is very popular in Europe if you are trying to contact locals without paying to call a phone number. You can install any or all of these now (and should) - at least install Hangouts (and Hangouts Dialer on the Android phone) and try them out. Sometimes you need to verify an existing mobile number (to prove to Google you actually have some service already) one time - so do that now, don't wait til you get to Europe.

I’d just use texting for communication.

Can you text without a charge ? I am thinking I may do the Verizon $ 40 for a month plan ( even though I am in Italy only two weeks) My cell number is what I used for reservations etc. and several of them want me to notify them on arrival or one hour before so wifi won't be available while we are driving. Other families members on the trip with me are doing the $10 a day plan but mine will be primary phone for group . Very little data with this pan but we have wifi at all our lodging

Verizon's $40/month plan gives you 100 free sent texts but unlimited received texts. You also get 100 minutes:

https://www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/

I think this $40 plan is awful - it gives you almost no data and really cripples a smart phone on vacation in my view. The most important feature of a smart phone for me is the ability to do real-time navigation walking around cities and using public transportation, and you need data for that. (You can download maps offline with Google Maps and other apps so you don't need data for driving, though.)

I've never heard of lodgings requiring me to call them an hour before arrival - are they AirBnB? Surely they must be used to people traveling without phones.

Many carriers allow international texting for a nominal fee (like $0.25 a text). That’s what it was when I had Verizon. But that was a few years ago. I went over to T-Mobile.

Update: It looks like it is now $0.50 a text.
https://www.verizonwireless.com/solutions-and-services/international-travel/

Do you need to sign up for the Verizon pay as you go or is it just charged when you use it ?

I did the research last night. The "World Pass" program works with my regular data allowance, which I never exceed. It's $10 a day, and you pay only on the days that you use it. When you first use it, the clock starts ticking on 24 hours.

I think I'm going to use this option, perhaps with both phones. If we're together, one phone can be a hotspot for the second phone, and I'll only have to pay for both phones if we split up. Of course, we'll use WiFi whenever possible.

I went to those links that provide information about SIM cards, and to be honest, they scared me.

The only thing that should "scare" you about buying a SIM card is whether you'll actually be able to buy and activate one in Germany. (That would make me wary, too, based on what I read on one of the pages.) If you can do it, the other question is: can I roam in Switzerland? I'm sure some of them can - as I said, my Dutch Vodafone SIM can roam in Switzerland.

If someone at a mobile store sets up the SIM cards for you and your phones work before you leave the store, what are you really worried about? To communicate with each other, set up your favorite VOIP app like WhatsApp or Google Hangouts, ahead of time. The biggest downside is not having your Verizon phone number while in Europe (while the SIM isn't in your phone), but I understand you may be able to access texts and voicemail anyway via WiFi (not sure about that).

So you can try both ways: go to a mobile store when you get to Germany, see if you can buy and activate SIM cards, and make sure it includes roaming to Switzerland. If so, then you're good to go. If not, use your $10/day roaming.

Buying SIM cards is mostly about saving money. If that's not that important to you, go for the $10/day. (I would use it every day, because I need data for things like Google Maps.) But don't let buying a SIM card scare you in general.

It's called "Travel Pass" not "World Pass" and I signed up for it yesterday.

I also found that my phone supports VoIP calling without a special app like Google Hangouts.

I'll report on how it works when I get there.

I just returned from the trip. I never had to use TravelPass, and so did not have to pay for it, although having it available gave me peace of mind. When we arrived in our first hotel, my wife called her mom using the WiFi available in the room. The phone was in airplane mode for the entire trip, and the phone allowed the call to go through as a WiFi call. No Skype, WhatsApp, or Google Hangouts needed, and I didn't have to buy a SIM card.