Hi, what is the best way to get cell phone service in Europe other than using our US provider which is very expensive. We would prefer to use our iPhones and get hot spot capability. Do any European providers offer travel coverage? We will be there for 6 weeks. Thank you.

Is your iPhone is unlocked? How many countries are you planning of visiting and using the phone?

Cell phone service in the EU is still regional, not universal. If your service is based in France, Spain, the UK, then you'll pay roaming charges once you leave the country and use the phone. There are companies that offer universal service (world coverage at a price), but these services can be expensive and are geared to business travelers. It's best to use a local service provider (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange, etc.) so that you can receive calls for free and outgoing calls are reasonably priced.

As far as using your iPhone in a WiFi zone, data is no problem, but phone calls still cost.

Just buy a cheap phone here or in Europe. If you buy a phone here, get an unlocked phone from ebay and buy a local SIM when you get to Europe. Or just buy a cheap phone at any cell phone store in Europe and pay as you go.

You can also go the route of getting Mobal, but I find that's expensive. Remember that the real use of a cell phone in Europe is to make and receive LOCAL calls when you are traveling for an extended period. If you want to receive or make an occasional international call, pay for an international roaming plan (cheap) that will reduce your costs and don't make many calls (and keep them short). If you need or want to call home, buy a local phone card and use it in a pay phone.

Get a cheap unlocked quad-band phone on e-bay, then purchase SIM cards once you get to Europe (one for each country you visit).

Assuming your iPhone is unlocked, you can get micro-SIMs on a pay as you go (PAYG) basis in European countries, but will need a new one every time you cross borders, or will pay international roaming charges.

Even if your phone is locked you can still use it at wi-fi hotspots without incurring data charges, and can stay in contact with family/friends via inexpensive text messages. If you leave your US SIM in the iPhone while travelling abroad, make sure you turn off Cellular Data and Data Roaming or you may have a nasty surprise when you get your next bill from the provider. You will also pay for incoming calls, so be careful of that.

For what it's worth, I do as others have suggested and bring an old quad band phone to use with a local SIM for calls. Incoming calls are free with European SIMs. I do bring my iPhone for emergency contact, but have an iPad for Internet access.

Which country are you visiting 1st? Meteor Ireland do a roaming charge free tariff. Tesco and O2 UK do an Ireland Bundle. Vodafone do something called Passport? or as mentioned previously wifi and Skype?

a little clarification to what Heimdall said: you cannot use wifi to make or recieve calls with your US based phone number(or send text messages) wifi is a wireless protocol for data transmissions but not voice calling or SMS. you can use free wifi hotspots for jumping on the web however or using apps that utilize cellular data in the background. you can also look into apps like Skype

Assuming your phones are GSM (phones from some telcos are not) get them unlocked and use European SIMS. Use craigslist or kijiji
to find local unlocking services. Cost is 2025 bucks.

We are going to Spain for 2 1/2 weeks and have a US Verizon phone. If your current cell phone has a sim card and you are a VZ customer, simply call their global dept and sign up for $5/month global service (pro-rated) and pay 99cents/minute. If you don't answer calls, there is n/c. We are using it only for emergencies. Your regular VZ charges accrue.

Thanks, tailsock! Yes, that's exactly what I meant. You should be able to use iMessage, though, as long as you and the recipient both have IOS 5 devices.

<i>you cannot use wifi to make or recieve calls with your US based phone number(or send text messages)</i>

T-Mobile allows subscribers to do exactly this at no additional charge. You´ll need one of the newer phones but outbound and inbound calls using a US based phone number are completely free from anywhere in the world where a wireless internet connection is available.

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Thank you everyone.

thank you Sarastro......that's pretty interesting