palkema

Hi,
I'm going to Europe with my wife in two weeks. We both use the internet for EVERYTHING but the AT&T charges are insane for international travel.

We're going to be up there for 14 days, so I was thinking about maybe getting a hotspot and just Skype to make calls if needed. We both have iPhone with GSM, so I was also just considering getting SIM cards while where there.

We're going to 5 countries while we're there.
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Italy
- Switzerland

I guess I wanted to see what others do, or what you guys recommend for using internet, or at least phones.

Thanks,
Paul

gh21

I also have an I phone with AT&T service. For Internet I limit access to when I have wifi access at hotel, Starbucks, etc. I make only a few calls back to US ( and therefore the charges are not excessive), ask hotel staff to make local calls for restaurant reservations.

MichelleY

My daughter was studying abroad this summer in Italy and did some traveling afterward. She kept her phone set in airplane mode the whole time, set data and roaming to off. This made the phone on usable for wifi. We did Skype and used an app called Viber for phoning or texting.

janisj

OK - this is not what you are asking . . . BUT is the 14 days your time just in the UK or for all five countries????

If the latter, that is seriously crazy. Assuming more than one stop in some of those countries there is at least 6 days just travel time leaving you less than 1.5 days per country.

Or - are you on a whirlwind coach tour? Unless the coach has wifi (which is a possibility) don't know how much time you'll have to Skype . . . .

greg

Are you referring to ATT's international data package mentioned here as insane? http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/in...kages.jsp#data

I don't know of any good packages for those who use a lot of data in many different countries. If you use a lot of data in one country, getting a local SIM is usually the preferred way. If you buy a local SIM in each of the country you mentioned, it would probably exceed the cost of ATT's 800MB plan. Which way to go depends on your usage model. Do you know how much you use as measured by MB? Can you reduce your data usage during the trip to fit inside ATT's package? Do you use a lot of data only in one or two of the countries you mentioned = local SIM for these?

Rastaguytoday

Leave the phones at home. You really don't need to be connected all the time.

The whole concept of traveling is experiencing the culture(s).

I can envision a cafe, where all the people sitting outside are glued to their phones/tablets, totally ignoring the world around them.

It's down right sad.

sparkchaser

<i>Leave the phones at home. You really don't need to be connected all the time.</i>

I beg to differ. Having a cheap data plan comes in handy when you need to look up an address, get directions, grab a bus timetable, or get a translation. Yes, all of those have their analog counterparts but a smartphone is smaller and lighter.


<i>The whole concept of traveling is experiencing the culture(s).</i>

If that's the case then the typical Fodorite trip completely misses the mark.


<i>I can envision a cafe, where all the people sitting outside are glued to their phones/tablets, totally ignoring the world around them.</i>

But they are posting pics of their food on Facebook so their family and friends back home can be jealous! Or something like that.


<i>It's down right sad.</i>

I get, and sympathize with, your frustration. My nephew came to visit for 3 weeks and pretty much the whole time his eyes were glued to his iPhone.