I would like to get a prepaid or temporary cell phone for use in France for three weeks, something that allows me to make calls within France and also reach the U.S. Since it's a short visit, I don't want to purchase an international phone in the U.S.; I need something I can use there and then turn back in. Anybody run across a good solution?
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
How about a good old calling card, especially if the stay in France isn't really that lengthy?
Posted by
Davidson, NC, USA
82 posts
If you have Verizon, they will "loan" you an international phone for 3-weeks for $9.99 shipping. As I understand it, they just change your existing phone number over to the loaner phone...the per minute rate isn't cheap, but people who call your regular number will get you. (could be good or bad!!!)
Lisa
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32320 posts
You could also consider a firm such as Cellular Abroad or Mobal. They offer not only rentals but also a selection of GSM phones and SIM cards (for those that already have a phone).
Be sure to carefully check the rate structures, so that you have a clear idea of the costs and how to "top-up" the phone while you're in Europe.
Cheers!
Posted by
Tarzana, California, USA
67 posts
We rented a cell phone from "Call in Europe"
Big Mistake. The cell phone has its instruction in Frence. When you call for messages, you only receive a message in French. They do give you a short bulletin which explains how to use the phone, but it is not simple to understand. I am surprised that the phone that we purchased was not programmed in English.
Posted by
Davie, FL, USA
49 posts
If you have an AT&T or T-mobile GSM phone, you can call them and tell them that you are travelling internationally. They will tell you how to unlock your phone for no charge. You can then use any SIM card that you want when you get to Europe. We used our AT&T phone for like $1 a minute for a short call and used skype over the internet for longer ones. We just used the cell mostly for emergency communication.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
Ken, Purchasing and Renting Cellphones is a very popular topic here... just as popular as "What shall I wear" and "Getting money".
Check out this similar post click here
Posted by
Reseda, CA, USA
196 posts
I have used Cellular Abroad with much success. I now have T-Mobile with international roaming enabled 1$ a minute for outbound calls last I checked. Just make sure that your phone works is the right frequency. There is a tool on the T-mobile site to figure out if you are set up.. happy travels.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
107 posts
You can get your phone "unlocked" and then just purchase a sim card in Europe.
Just search out unlocking cell phones and your city and chances are you can find someone.
Mine cost $20 Cdn to get unlocked. Then just find a Europe sim card that you can pay as you go, fill it up with an amount of Euros and put the sim card in your phone. You will then have a temp Europe number.
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
107 posts
One more thing.
If you unlock your phone, you may be voiding the warranty. That is the trade off.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA
13 posts
My thanks to everyone who replied to my posting. I finally decided to rent from callineurope for simplicity's sake, and also because their prices seem relatively reasonable.
Posted by
new york
2 posts
Hi Ken,
You should try www.callineurope.com, I've used them few month ago and it comes with all instructions in English. It's true that the prompts are in French but it's a good way to start learning ;-) and the user guide tells you the essential on how to retrieve or delete a message. That's the price to pay the lowest rates on the market and maybe those frenchies will open their mind and business to International travelers! If you were to buy a prepaid in France you would have encountered the same issue but you wouldn't get any english help...