We have decided we need to buy a cell phone (mobile) that works in France as we will be there for so many weeks.


Question: can you buy these phones at the CDG airport???? We will be on the way from the airport to Giverny our first night and would like to have one with us.

Or when would we be able to find one?.

Buy one before you leave. Do a web search for unlocked GSM phones and get a phone that covers 900 and 1800 bands. You can also find good used deals on eBay.

You can buy your SIM card here or there and recharge it as needed.

I haven't priced phones at CDG, but my guess is that they'll be much pricier there.

If you have time before you go I also suggest you buy one here. I just got one on ebay for $45. What you need is an "unlocked" "triband" (or quad band) phone. It took me a few weeks to find one for under $50 but I know lots of people who have done so. I was originally searching for "unlocked triband cell phones" and not getting much till someone suggested I just search on "unlocked cell phones" and then check to see if they are tirband.

I would definitly wait till you get to France to buy the SIM card though, it will be much cheaper. I didn't buy one at CDG but I think you can. Search on this forum, there have been tons of threads on the subject.

Actually, you can save a little bit of money and get a dual band phone provided it is 900/1800 for use throughout most of the civilized world (except the US and Canada, Japan uses a different technology and parts of Central and South America)..

If you already have a US phone, check with your service provider to see if it may work in France - if it is GSM tri- or quad band it probably will - and the per minute cost. Taking your US phone means you keep the same number as at home, which may or may not be desirable. If you buy a SIM card in Paris you will have a French phone number that you will not know until you buy the SIM. You can purchase one online in advance but pay a hefty premium for doing so. With a French SIM anyone calling you from the US will pay international rates, but usually you pay for only the calls you dial, not those received.

I just got a new quad band "for cheap" when switching from AT&T to Cingular, and they are offering a free triband Motorola camera phone online. Previously I used a triband that I got on E-Bay that worked fine in Europe and China. After lots of research, I opted to keep my US SIM when traveling, as the small cost savings did not seem worth the hassle.

We bought a mobile phone that works both here in California and in France, using different SIM cards. The big advantage for us is that we don't need to subscripe to any service here at home, just buy a card and use up the minutes at our leisure. If you don't make a lot of long-distance calls it's a very good deal.