Purchasing a cell phone for Ireland

Sheri, Could you clarify whether you're referring to purchasing a Cell phone here prior to travel, or purchasing a phone when you arrive in Ireland? If you buy a Cell phone in Ireland, it will include a SIM card. It would help to know whether you currently have a Cell phone, and if so which network you're with?

I will be purchasing one over in Ireland. I was told be Verizon that I could forward the American cellphone to that new phone # purchased in Ireland and the would avoid the global fees that would be charged.

Sheri, "I was told be Verizon that I could forward the American cellphone to that new phone # purchased in Ireland and the would avoid the global fees that would be charged." I'm not sure I totally agree with that statement, or which "global fees" they're referring to? In determining which option to choose, it's important to consider the anticipated calling patterns. Do you need the phone primarily for calls within Ireland, calls back to the U.S. or receiving incoming calls from the U.S.? How long are you going to be there? These are some options to consider: > Purchase a PAYG phone when you arrive in Ireland. > Purchase a quad-band, unlocked GSM phone prior to leaving (E-Bay or whatever). This gives you slightly more control over which type of phone to use. If you prefer a "flip" over other styles, you can buy that type. If you purchase in Ireland, the ion may be more limited. The phone you purchase can either be used with a SIM that you purchase in Ireland OR one described in the next option. > Purchase a SIM or Phone & SIM from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Call In Europe, Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Telestial or Mobal. These usually operate with a number based in the U.K. (or elsewhere in Europe) and are billed on a "post paid" basis" (calls charged to a credit card). > Obtain an "International Phone" from Verizon. Have a look at This website for details. You'll have to contact Verizon to go through the "fine print". Value Plan roaming appears to be 99¢ per minute. Keep in mind that each call forwarded from your U.S. phone will incur long distance charges to the U.K., so your savings may not be as much as you thought. Good luck!

Incoming calls are generally free to the recipient in European calling plans. So, if you are trying to set it so others can call you without the caller running up long distance fees, forwarding you Verizon phone to an Irish cell number may be a good technique. Be sure you are on Verizon's International Long Distance Value Plan because then those forwarded calls will run $0.19 a minute. Otherwise, under the standard plan, they will cost you $1.69 a minute. This does not help you for calls you initiate back to the U.S., though, and you won't get text messages sent to your Verizon number.