I would get a sim card for Italy it can be done - try ebay.

It really depends on what kind of phone and who your provider is....the 2 main questions: is your phone a GSM phone, or dual band so it will work in Europe? Is it unlocked, or can you have it unlocked so you can purchase a sim card of fit?

The Rick Steve's site has a good article about this.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/cell-phone-europe.htm

I am currently visiting Paris with my smartphone. I have chosen to buy a local sim with data access as well as calls and texts within France.

I have also downloaded into the phone the Google Map for Paris. I save as favourites beforehand where I want to go and then use it as I would a paper map. I then don't need to have internet access. I only use the internet and GPS if I get stuck and even then I use one of the many free wifi locations available.

FemmeFrancophile,

Can you please tell me how you saved your Paris map as a favorite so you can use it without interned access?

Thanks
Mo

AT&T has international Data plans. 50MB for 24.99.

I would say the main questions are, how long will your trip be and who is your provider in the US?

When I travel for a month or more, I get a local sim. But my last trip was 2 weeks in Italy, and I just paid the AT&T charges. To be honest, it was kind of a test to see how much it would be! For the small amount I used it, the cost wasn't too bad. Probably the next time I'd do the int'l data plan VirginiaBeach describes.

...One thing I love about using my AT&T sim is that I have phone access right away, without having to go to a kiosk and get one. That's come in handy on more than one occasion!

Oh, but do read this WSJ journal article first if you haven't traveled abroad with a smartphone before. A big heads up!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577351824213467562.html

Modeen, regarding saving map.

Google added a capability to pre-cache up to 10 pieces of 10mile x 10miles sections in Summer of 2011 for Android Google map. For some interesting reason, they did not provide this capability to iPhone at that time.

To turn on this feature on Android google map:
menu/setting/labs/pre-cache map area

While looking at area of interest, long-push the map cache center/loading address/pre-cache map area. To see what you cached, menu/setting/cache/pre-cached map areas.

Unlike maps cache during the course of looking around, manually cached maps don't get erased automatically.

Thanks, Greg. Unfortunately, I have an iPhone. But I appreciate the info.

Mo

Try True Maps 3 for iPhone... maps are stored on the phone so no data or WIFI needed.

Offmaps Lite too

Thank you all for all the info. We will be in paris for 2 days, frankfurt for a week and then milan, florence and rome for another week. Unfortunately, we use Verizon which is CDMA. We would either need to get an unlocked GSM phone which is highly unlikely by the time we leave or go without or rent one.

Don't rent... it's a sure way to get gouged! Look on Kijiji.com and Craigslist for unlocked quad band phones near where you live.
In the Ottawa area where I live you can pick up an iPhone 3 or 3GS
for about 100 bucks these days... have it unlocked for 25 and you're good to go.

Online retailers like newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com also sell unlocked quad band phones for 50 bucks or so...

Ah, GQ, yes having Verizon/CDMA does change matters, unfortunately. And I suppose you don't have a tablet or you would have mentioned it.

Certainly, purchasing an unlocked GSM phone would be great. Since I live in NYC, J&R is my go-to place (http://www.jr.com). I've also had success with Mobile City (http://www.mobilecityonline.com/). But I understand if you won't be able to make a purchase before your trip!

There may be some helpful information on this thread, which is about a service called Call In Europe that is being discontinued, but has a lot of related info:
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/call-in-europe-cellphone-service-is-changing-on-may-1.cfm

I will be working in Stuttgart, Germany for two months this summer. I really do not understand much about unlocked phones. My current AT&T phone is a Samsung Blackjack II, without Internet access. I use it for texting and calls. I went onto the J & R website and found a Samsung SGH-a177 phone that is being sold for $64.88. If I were to buy it how do I use it in Germany? Do I buy a sim card to fit it when I arrive in Germany? Does buying a sim card mean the phone will work? I would use it for calls within Germany only? Or could I use it in Austria or another country if I decide to take a weekend trip say to there or Belgium? Should I just Skype home? Has anyone used the Blackjack Plus for calling to the US from Europe? Thanks for your patience in explaining this all to me! Kathy

ggreen - thanks for the link to the wsj article - you probably just saved us a ton. I would never have thought of turning off our auto-updates!!!