Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
European SIM cards. Or buy a cheap, basic phone before you go (search your
favorite online shopping site for “unlocked quad-band GSM phone”).
In Europe, basic phones are sold at mobile phone stores, at hole-in-the-
wall vendors at many airports and train stations, and at phone desks within
larger department stores. Phones that are “locked” to work with a single pro-
vider start around $40; “unlocked” phones (which work with any SIM card)
start around $60. Regardless of how you get your phone, remember that you'll
need a SIM card to make it work.
Car-rental companies and mobile-phone companies offer the option to rent
a mobile phone with a European number. While this seems convenient, hid-
den fees (such as high per-minute charges or expensive shipping costs) can
reallyaddup—whichusuallymakesitabadvalue.Oneexception isVerizon's
Global Travel Program, available only to Verizon customers.
Calling over the Internet
Some things that seem too good to be true...actually are true. If you're trav-
eling with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you can make free calls over the
Internet to another wireless device, anywhere in the world, for free. (Or you
can pay a few cents to call from your computer to a telephone.) The major
providersareSkype,GoogleTalk,and(onAppledevices) FaceTime.Youcan
get online at a Wi-Fi hotspot and use these apps to make calls without ringing
up expensive roaming charges (though call quality can be spotty on slow con-
nections). You can make Internet calls even if you're traveling without your
own mobile device: Many European Internet cafés have Skype, as well as mi-
crophones and webcams, on their terminals—just log on and chat away.
