Thanks for all of your great help! This is my first post so bear with me. My daughter is participating in a semester abroad in Florence and leaving in a couple of weeks. What are the options with regard to cell phones? Buy it there, rent one, get one here and take it along, what kind of plans are there? Any information you can provide is very much appreciated.

Buy it there. No contract. Add minutes as needed. And (for transatlantic calls)use it chiefly for calling "home", and then asking you to call her back; incoming calls are typically free, and you can find plans for calling TO Europe that will be much cheaper than anything she can find for calling FROM Europe.

And "sell it forward" here, on this forum, when she gets through with it.

Best wishes,

Rex

Rex is right on. I am in Itly 2-3x a year and I bought a Nokia with no contract for 59 Euro in January and add minutes when I visit. It is much cheaper than the Worldphone options I have researched.

I use WIND as a provider and have had good luck.

She can buy the recharge cards in any Tabacchi or phone card store. Just be aware there are different cards (and prices) for domestic vs. international calling.

Dear Little,

You may want to take a look at this very long thread it will provide sooo much helpful info for you.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34539594

xyz123 has helped me and many others out quite a bit. With his/her help I now have a tri band cell which I can use when I go to Italy simply by putting an Italian sim chip in when I get there. Happy browsing & Happy New Year.

Eileen

Well the story goes that Italians can't use cell phones because they have to use two gesturing hands when the talk!

PalQ, all Italians do is talk on their cell phones!!! Take their cellphone away and it is panic time! #-o