We will bein France only for 3 weeks and we have been getting conflicting stories on cell phones... my wife and I both have blackberry Torches and we have been told to1 buy a simm(sic) chip in France for our Torch, buy a cell phone, buy a prepaid card and cellphone so we can call the US or have ATT let us buy a program which will cost $.99US/min... what is the best way we can contact family in the US and still call hotels to confirm reservations and also keep track of our family who will also be traveling with us
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
177 posts
if you only need it for emergency, att world traveler 4.99 a month gets you 99 cents a minute. if you travel often, unlock your phone and get a prepaid simcard in europe. if you travel often, don't want to unlock your phones, buy phones in europe with prepaid simcards. either way, i have never used my phone in europe for calling purpose, knocked on wood. my iphone is strictly on airplane mode and roaming data off. we use skye to call home if we have to which we never find the need to, and we set up meeting spots at certain times instead of calling each other.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
177 posts
sorry it's 5.99 a month not 4.99 with att
Posted by
NYC, NY, usa
168 posts
Instead of using my Blackberry in Europe and worrying about the cost of using it, I rented a cell phone from Cello Mobile. I was able to text and call for I believe .69 cents a text and .69 cents a minute. Barely even used it, but liked the comfort of knowing I had it.
Posted by
Tuscaloosa, AL
1152 posts
John, you'll get conflicting advice here, too. As you have listed, there are a lot of options. Here is a recent post that lists my take on what the options are: Pre-paid Cell phones I hope this helps.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
John, Which method to use will probably depend on how much you use the phones and the type of use. If you're seperated and need to set up a meeting point (or whatever), text is very cheap. Based on what you've said, I'd lean towards the AT&T plan and try to use voice calls sparingly. BE SURE to check with them regarding data use though. You may have to also buy a data plan OR leave the data "off" and limit Internet use to Wi-Fi areas. One other thing to consider is that you're comfortable with the Blackberries, and the costs for a PAYG phone have to be included in the equation too. Happy travels!
Posted by
Newport Beach, CA, USA
769 posts
I rented SIMs from Rebelfon in the US for France and Switzerland. The swiss one was not that great - they didnt use SwissCom which had better service. But the french one was fine - Vodafon i think.
Anyways - i agree the $5 add on for ATT made it easier if you are not planning on roaming data (save for wifi) and not calling home for more than 20-30 min the whole trip. Just easier. The prepaid is getting better with mobile data plans so if you need that - it may be better but for plain calls - just pay the extra 35$ or so worth when you get home and avoid the hassle. Also - make sure you know how to turn off the data roaming - ATT has a good FYI page for travelers using IPHONEs.