Phones

Yes it is ok. You plan old school style and set up a meeting spot for a certain time. Not a bad idea to have a backup too (i.e. if one party is held up, you'll meet back at hotel at 6pm).

It does depend what sort of things you are planning to do. If you are just going to be spending your time in cities I think you can cope without a phone. But, I wouldn't want to be driving in a foreign country without one. I once broke down in a rural part of the UK and there weren't any phone boxes or houses for miles (lucky I still managed to get a phone signal).

You could buy one cheap disposable phone after arrival for each couple to use in case of changes in plans, emergencies, etc. Or check with your current provider regarding international plans and possible sim card needs.

I guess i forgot an important detail. We're traveling in England - Bath, the Cotswolds and London. Except in London, we'll have a car and will be driving.

If you have GSM phones, you could consider buying GSM cards in the UK. That will give a both local numbers. Or, you could just buy or rent cheap phones for the duration of your trip. If it was me, I'd buy or rent a phone to avoid the potential for horrendous roaming fees from my American carrier.

Large areas of the Cotwolds, being very rural, have very limited mobile phone coverage, but most larger towns are OK.

I agree with Michael. You don't need a phone. I have traveled numerous times, both alone and with other people, without phones and we have all made it back safely. You just have to make a plan, as he said. Of course phones can be great in an emergency, but that is unlikely to happen, and phone coverage in the areas you'll be visiting isn't optimal, anyway. Let it go.

If you want a phone, just go into a TESCO supermarket and buy a cheap one. They are available for under 10 pounds, including some credit. Roger

I agree with the last post from Roger: Just buy a few cheap phones when you're there. In this day and age, everyone needs to carry a phone, especially when driving, if only for emergencies. It makes meeting up again so very easy. But, I also agree with using the older methods, too; the ones we used before we had to the ability to be connected all the time. There is nothing worse than relying on being able to easily call each other and then discovering that the phone is out of range, broken, out of minutes, or the battery's dead. We tend to get too comfortable with the notion of being able to reach each other by cell phone as if they always worked everywhere. We all know better. If you prefer, make the older method your primary plan and save the cells as your backup plan. Now if you were asking about calling to the U.S. or being reachable from folks back home, you'd get a more nuanced answer about what to do. From what you asked, getting a prepaid phone over there is the best solution.

Just my humble opinion, but I don't think there's anything immoral about carrying a cell phone while on vacation, so no lecture here from me. ;-) Carphone Warehouse stores are everywhere in England and sell very very cheap pay-as-you-go phones. Cheap enough that even if you don't use it much, it's worth buying. (You'll spend more on snacks and magazines at the airport for your flight home.) We have two that we charge up and use every trip -- they've been invaluable. In fact, I lend them out to friends and the phones have been to England more than I have!

sara, I always travel with a Cell phone and have found it to be a very useful "travel accessory" on several occasions, so I WON'T be the one telling you to "let go of the need to have a phone". It would help to know which Cell network you're currently with? If you're using AT&T or T-Mobile, your present Cell phone MAY work in Europe. If you're only planning to use the phone occasionally, you could just use roaming with your home network (if the phone is compatible). Using text messaging to keep in touch with the other couple should be very cost effective, as received texts are usually free. Which option to use will depend to some extent on whether you plan on using the phones on future trips to Europe? You could certainly buy inexpensive PAYG phones at Car Phone Warehouse or directly from the network shops (Orange, Vodaphone, O2, T-Mobile, etc.) Those would provide the least expensive rates in the U.K., but the rates will be higher if you use the phone in other countries as you'll be "roaming". The SIM card may also expire if not used for several months. You could also purchase a "travel phone" from one of the firms that offer those such as Roam Simple, Call In Europe, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. Their plans are often "post paid", with calls charged to a credit card. The advantage of these is that you'd never have to worry about "running out of minutes" in the middle of a call, and also wouldn't have to "top up" the phone or have unused minutes at the end of your trip. However, "postpaid" plans have somewhat of a risk that if the phone is stolen or lost, the user could be charged until the loss / theft is reported. Happy travels!

Use a phone. Stuff happens.

I wasn't saying to not have "a" phone. What the OP would need is multiple phones. Do the math.

Michael, 4 cheap phones isn't really a big deal compared to the cost of the entire trip.