phones in Europe

[chipy]

i have a Razr from Verizon... and i read that it is not GSM, meaning i can't use it in Europe. previous to reading this, i heard that you can get a SIM card in the specific country you are visiting and put that in your phone. so now that, that's not an option, what can i do?

1) get a prepaid cell phone in the countries i'm planning on visiting?

2) get a prepaid phone card in those countries and use pay phones?

3) another option?

i'm thinking of going to Austria and Czech. thanks!

 

[indamixx99]

When I went to england and france, i just got a prepaid cell phone. Cost about $20 for a phone and about another $20 to add like 200 minutes to it

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: indamixx99
When I went to england and france, i just got a prepaid cell phone. Cost about $20 for a phone and about another $20 to add like 200 minutes to it

This. If you can manage to be out of contact for the length of time it takes to get to the cell phone store, I would advise taking this route. When I was in France, I just bought a Bougytel (sp?) phone for like 40 euros (this was in 2007 fyi) and then bought prepaid cards at grocery/tobacco stores as needed.

That being said, the one thing you can do in advance that I would recommend is to get a prepaid intl calling card so you can call back to the US for less that what you would normally pay.

 

[chipy]

thanks guys, i'll go that route.

TheWart - do you have any recommendations as to where to go get an international calling card? do they have a "Newegg" or "Adorama" of international calling cards? Good prices, good service, no hassle.

thanks again guys!

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: chipy
thanks guys, i'll go that route.

TheWart - do you have any recommendations as to where to go get an international calling card? do they have a "Newegg" or "Adorama" of international calling cards? Good prices, good service, no hassle.

thanks again guys!

Hmm, to be honest I just got a few at Costco before I left. I don't think that there is that much deviation in price, so you could probably pick one up at a Walgreen's or Long's or even CVS.

You will only be using the card for when you call back to the US (for inter-europe calls obviously use the cards you get across the pond).

 

[chipy]

Originally posted by: TheWart

Originally posted by: chipy
thanks guys, i'll go that route.

TheWart - do you have any recommendations as to where to go get an international calling card? do they have a "Newegg" or "Adorama" of international calling cards? Good prices, good service, no hassle.

thanks again guys!

Hmm, to be honest I just got a few at Costco before I left. I don't think that there is that much deviation in price, so you could probably pick one up at a Walgreen's or Long's or even CVS.

You will only be using the card for when you call back to the US (for inter-europe calls obviously use the cards you get across the pond).

Thanks man, I appreciate it. I'll shop around and see what I can find... I've still got a couple months til vacation.

 

[uli2000]

Look into a ringback service if you are going to use a mobile phone to make your international calls, since incoming calls are free in most European countries.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I think Verizon will rent you a GSM phone for ~$10 for the period of your visit.

 

[Athena]

You can get a cheap pre-paid phone from T-Mobile for less than $15 (use cashback). They will activate a US phone number but there's nothing that says you have to use it.

Once you have a GSM phone, you can get SIM cards locally or buy one online before you leave. One of the most important things to think about though is how you plan to use the phone. Are you looking to communicate with family in the US or for in-country calling while you are there?

 

[chipy]

thanks for all the replies. i'm trying to get a international phonen card from pingo so i can call my hotel overseas and i see several choices for Czech... one of them being a T-mobil. does that mean if i don't have t-mobil i can't call from my cell phone? must i use these cards at a payphone or landline? this is frustrating...

 

[TheWart]

Originally posted by: chipy
thanks for all the replies. i'm trying to get a international phonen card from pingo so i can call my hotel overseas and i see several choices for Czech... one of them being a T-mobil. does that mean if i don't have t-mobil i can't call from my cell phone? must i use these cards at a payphone or landline? this is frustrating...

The brand of phone card should not have any bearing other than the price....you can use any brand phone card with any GSM phone (sorry if I misunderstood your question).