Reid777

I have a group of 20 (yes, it keeps growing) traveling to Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Prague for 12 days in Sept. We have alot of free time and do not plan to be together all the time. Most of us have cell service with Verizon. What type of phones or service does anyone recommend we need, and what do you think is the best way for me to call ahead to reconfirm with hotels, bus services, restaurants, etc. and/or for us to be able to communicate with each other while there? Also, what will I need to call the US? I am taking my laptop, so I will be able to send and receive email everyday and all our hotels have wi-fi. Will I need any special adaptor to plug in my laptop? Thanks in advance.....

Big_Red

For your laptop, look at the power supply (the brick). Look for anything that says "Dual Voltage" or "120/240". Look at the manual. Also look for a slide switch. If you are not set-up for dual voltage, a 240 volt power supply is possibly available from the manufacturer.

Most of Europe uses 240 volts which is double what the US uses. Any device designed for 120 volts will be ruined by using 240 volts. There are voltage transformers available. while these are fine for hair dryers etc I don't know about using them to power a laptop.

For communications, talk to Verizon. The first issue is bands. The US uses two bands that the Europeans do not use.
You can get cell phone bundles for use in Europe. They ship them to your US address. Mobal is one source. We once got a cell phone package thru the company providing our rental car.

logos999

230V +- 10% everywhere on the continent.

Sher

First of all it is my understanding and experience that many hotels in Europe do not respond to email immediately. Not that they are not able, but they might not be tied to their computers as sometimes we are.
So, you really should have another way to communicate with them.
You probably would be more satisfied calling ahead to confirm reservations. You can do this by purchasing phone cards from stores and tobacco shops in any city in Europe. Then you could use a public phone. You can also use these cards to call the US. I am assuming you are residents of the US since you mentioned Verizon.

Are you able to use your Verizon in Europe? That is. Is it a quad band phone or even a dual band with capability of calls in Europe? It used to be that Verizon was not Europe user friendly but that may have changed. So unless the various phones can be used in Europe, you will not be able to communicate with each other by phone.

You could buy an inexpensive, unlocked dual band phone for which you can buy a SIM card to make these calls. Unless you can email the other students, I don't see your contacting the other students any other way.

Someone surely will come up with some other methods.
Good luck.

jackers

With a laptop and wi-fi you can use Skype (VOIP calling) which has free calling to anyone logged on through Skype [skype membership and program is free to download]. You can also call landlines anywhere in the world my purchasing skype minutes.

http://www.skype.com/welcomeback/

P.S. You do need a microphone on your laptop.

ParisAmsterdam

Almost any modern laptop will be able to handle the voltage in Europe. As someone already said, just look on the power brick.

You will need a plug adaptor. And I always take a travel surge protector. It fits in line with the power cord and fits in the palm of my hand unlike the bulky power bar/surge protectors most people use at home. 30 bucks or so at any decent computer store.

BarbSG

We got the Brightroam service. The "world" cell phone. Incoming calls are free in Europe. North America-small charge.

isabel

There are numerous threads here about cell phone use in Europe (if you are from the US). A search will bring up hours worth of reading.

Basically though, you need two things: a cell phone that works on Europe bands (usually that will be a "quad band" phone), and one that is "unlocked". Until fairly recently most cell phones you get from Verizon, or Att, etc were dual band using the US bands. But they all have quad band phones and more and more of them. If yours is not quad band and you are due for an upgrade just be sure to pick one that is "QUAD BAND". You can also buy one on ebay relatively cheap.

But the other thing is that it must be "unlocked". Verizon (and ATT, etc) all " lock " their phones to their service which means if you take out the sim card and put in another one it won't work. I don't know about Verizon but ATT is pretty good about giving you the "unlock" code. It can be frustrating and time consuming - you give them your phone's serial number, etc and they send you a code which you enter but which often doesn't work the first time, etc. But after a few trys I have successfully unlocked four phones over the past few years. If you buy a phone on ebay make sure it's "unlocked".

Once you have a quad band unlocked phone it's easy. You either buy a local sim card when you get there or buy an international one on line before you go. If you are going to several countries they may all have sim cards that only work (cheaply) in their own country so an international one is better for multi-country travel. United-Mobile.com is what I use. Incoming calls from within Europe or from the US are free, and outgoing calls within Europe are cheap. Now when I travel with a companion I take two of our unlocked quad band phones and the two United-Mobile sim cards and we can call each other when we separate, plus my family can call me from home.

logos999

Isabel, this is bad news for you, but united-mobile is bancrupt for quite a while now, your money on the SIM cards is lost.

Robespierre

Reid, I have two Europe phones that I loan to Fodorites that I will be happy to let you use. They've made three trips so far. The only stipulation is that you deposit the fair market value of the phones with me as a security deposit. I return it when I get everything back. Email me at that Yahoo thing if you're interested. My handle is <b>paristransfers</b>.

Robespierre

Surge protectors (for laptops) are a useless expense and just add weight to your suitcase. They don't enhance the protection built into modern power supplies. And if the power supply can't handle a surge (big spikes get through surge protectors anyway), it will act as a fuse, sacrificing itself to save your computer. Greater love hath no circuit.

Carry a plug adapter and (optionally) a lightweight power strip if you have multiple chargers and stuff. I found one made of plastic that's perfect for lugging.

nancicita

I would just buy a prepaid SIM card at a local mobile phone store upon arrival. It'll be too expensive with the roaming charges if you use Verizon in Europe. Make sure your phone is unlocked, though.

singfree

Verizon only has a very few phones that can be used in Europe. One is (I think) the Blackberry and the other is the Samsung Renown (I own this model). I plan to use it on my next European vacation. You must contact Verizon to enable you to use your phone in Europe.