justretired

This is a technical question and not a philosophical one about the use of cellular phones for travel during vacations. My husband and I have GSM phones that we have been using during our European travel (mostly to Italy and France). We use them to connect with family and friends back in the USA as well as to make local calls in the country we are visiting. As we have gotten older, we have found more needs to be in touch with home, but we do not need to call the US daily. We buy a country SIM card and sometimes we also buy an international calling card to make things cheaper. Recently, we have used Call in Europe - all programs have been relatively cheap and easy to use.

We have begun to travel to other places. In addition, we share our phone with other family members (mainly our daughters) who also are beginning to travel to more unique places. I have heard of world phones, but have had difficulty understanding exactly how these work and whether they would be appropriate for our use. We do carry a netbook, and can use skype and/or other messaging programs.

Here's an upcoming scenario. My husband and I are planning a trip to France and possibly Italy. Greece may be included during this trip or perhaps another. We want to go to Argentina and maybe the Galapagos next winter. Meanwhile, my older daughter is going to France, Russia, Finland, Lithuania, Greece, Uganda, and Kenya this summer.

I know that I need a quad band unlocked phone but I do not know or understand whether I can get some sort of world SIM card or satellite phone. Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Is there a phone and/ or one SIM card that don’t have huge roaming charges for calls? Are there still satellite phones that are small enough for general use?

I posted this on the Lounge as well, but hten htought this might be a better place.

Thank you

soffiass

Hi,

I use WorldSIM, they have both a US and UK number in the same card, free incoming calls to over 90 countries and coverage in over 220 countries.

Until now I'm very happy with their service and I saw today on their Facebook page that they have a new quad band mobile phone and sim card bundle, it seems to be a great deal.

Check their website at http://www.worldsim.com for more information.

Hope it helps!

soffiass

Hi Paula,

When did you use WorldSIM sim card? Maybe you used the old one that is now discontinued, they had a few problems as it wasn't Multi IMSI.

I don't share the same opinion, the service works great, the rates are excellent and I totally recommend it.

Can't talk about Mobal because I've never used it but if the calls are expensive forget it, if I can have it cheaper and with a great service I better keep it or I would regret it.

Thanks.

justretired

sofias and Paula- thank you. I've been trying to figure this out. Do both services use a call back, and if so, how does it work? The first use of the phone and card will be by my daughter who is leaving in 6 weeks for her 3 month trip. Her boyfriend has an iphone, and they could use skype in all places but Uganda and Kenya, where they believe that they will have more trouble finding WIFI. They'll be in the wilderness in both countries and maybe, cell phone use isn't in the cards during those parts of their adventure.

mrcamp

Mobal? They are the most expensive of all international sims I am aware of. It's direct-dial and does not use a callback like all the other international sims. I am sure that is one of the reasons why it's expensive though.