I have my cell phone service through Verizon and they have a global travel plan where they'll rent you a phone to use overseas. I know it'll work in Athens, but it's unclear whether it'll work on Crete. Has anyone taken advantage of this service? Or can anyone recommend an inexpensive way to have cell/mobile phone coverage on Crete? I don't really plan on using the phone but I'd like to have it just in case we get lost or need to call back to the US.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If your phone is a quadband phone see if you can get Verizon to give you the code to unlock it, then buy a Cosmote SIM card and extra minutes when you get to the Athens Airport from the Germanos Store near Door 5 on the Arrivals level

You can also buy a phone online that you can use in Greece as long as it functions on these two frequencies: 900 & 1800. There are lots of them for sale for around $50 or less. If you live in the States check Newegg.com, Tigerdirect.com, Geeks.com, Overstock.com, Ebay.com, and dealnews.com. Look for "unlocked GSM quadband mobile phone".

You can also buy a cheap cell phone at the Germanos Store that comes with its own Cosmote SIM card, then just top off the account with more minutes while you're there.

brotherleelove, Verizon will provide the right type of phone, but I was more concerned about the coverage in Crete. Have you had any issues with cell access in Crete?

Internetwiz, you can check the coverage maps for Cosmote, Vodafone, and Wind here: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_gr.shtml. There doesn't seem to be a map for Vodafone's 900 band, but coverage is about as good as the others.

All three networks have good coverage throughout Greece, in Crete, and even in the Aegean Sea. What they don't show you are local dead spots, and that can vary even over a short distance. I venture to say there will be good coverage in populous areas along the coastline. Coverage in the mountains will depend on the terrain, and how close you are to a tower.

Thanks, Heimdall. It looks as though the only US networks are T-Mobile and AT&T. Based on this premise, would you suggest I buy an unlocked phone in the States, then buy a SIM card when I arrive in Athens? I'm also going to France, so I could buy a second SIM card when I get there.

Buying an unlocked phone here in the States and buying SIM cards as needed in the countries you're visiting makes the best sense. For Greece, the basic SIM card costs around 5 euro, to which more time must be added. I bought one from an eBay seller who lives in Greece, asked him to activate it before sending it to me so I could give the number to friends and family before I left home, although this really wasn't necessary. When he sent it to me I realized that the phone number was printed on the enclosed information in plain sight. I could have just waited until I was in Greece to activate it myself. First-time jitters, I guess.

Your US provider may have a roaming agreement with one of the Greek networks, so check on that first. Greek SIMs cost only €5 plus talk time, so they aren't expensive. Another advantage of a Greek SIM is you don't pay for incoming calls, so you can receive calls from the US without using up your air time.

Hi Lee,

Online at the same time again, I see. Just to make you jealous, I leave for Greece again next Friday. ;-)

I hate you.

Hi internetwiz,

Perhaps I'm looking at the wrong page, but it appears that Verizon doesn't have International Roaming in either France or Greece: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roa..._coverage.html

If that's the case, as said before you will need an unlocked phone with 900/1800 bands. You will then need to buy SIMs in Greece and France. One SIM will probably work in both countries, but you will pay more for calls, and probably not be able to top up your minutes outside the country where you bought the SIM. FYI, I just turned on my phone with it's Greek SIM here in the UK, and got a signal on a British network.

Now, now, Lee!

Okay, I've found the Verizon Global Phone page: http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Glo...pe/Greece.html

It appears you will pay $1.99/minute for both incoming and outgoing calls with the Standard Plan. That will be a lot more than charges with a Greek SIM.

Yes, Verizon says it has service in Greece, but I'm not convinced it has coverage in Crete. Like I said, I'm not sure I'll really need a phone as we should have wireless access with Skype, but I want to know what my options are while I still have time to buy an unlocked phone if I choose. Thanks again. It looks like our paths may cross, Heimdall. let's home the fires are contained by then.

Verizon will have coverage through a Greek provider - they won't have their own signal. All three Greek providers (Cosmote, Vodafone, and Wind) have excellent GSM coverage in Crete. I'm not sure what the Verizon arrangement is, but perhaps you could contact them to find out which provider they use.

The other question is cost: Verizon shows a price of $1.99/minute for outgoing <i>and</i> incoming calls, and that, as far as I can tell, includes local calls in Greece and France. If my math is correct, Vodafone Greece charges approximately US 5¢/minute for local calls, and $1.35/minute for calls back to the US. Cosmote will be similar. You won't pay for incoming calls with a Greek SIM: http://www.vodafone.gr/portal/client...uest_locale=en