Cellphone use in Greece
 

Just to let others know that our regular Cingular (ATT) cellphones worked in all our locations in Greece (Rhodes, Samos, Delphi and Athens of course). We were charged 1.29/minute (ouch!) but it was a nice convenience to let the folks know back home we were okay. People were really excited to hear from us so as long as you keep the calls short you can probably just use your regular phone. If you have the need to gab however, you may want to follow the advice of others and shop around for a less expensive option.

You must have had a quad-band GSM handset ... the typical dual-band GSM phone sold in USA would NOT have worked.

Hi
All new att phones are quadband. Used mine last year in germany. To save the $1.29/min. call att before you leave. I think it's $4.99 then .99c/min.

Not a lot of savings from 1.29 to .99

Flip in Greek SIM into an unlocked phone and your incoming calls are free and your calls to the states are under .45/minute.

Cosmote sim cards cost €5, and you can buy talk time for €9 and up, so for as little as €14 you can set up an unlocked GSM phone with 900/1800 bands to work in Greece. I'm not sure how long you would be able to talk to the US for €9, but you can always top up with more talk time. At least it would save you a nasty surprise when you open up your cellphone bill back in the States.

Cosmote coverage is great. Look for a Germano's (phone/electronics) store. You can get top-off cards in tobacco shops and other kiosks.

As for how long a 9E card would last ... the answer is a very long time if they call you ... probably 20 minutes or so if you call out. That's why a call back system works so well.

If I put the Greek SIM card in my Cingular phone, will it work for Internet Access also, as it does on Cingular?

I'd be suprised if it did ... internet access & other features depend on the network operator ... NOT the handset (the "phone") hardware features.

Check with the Greek SIM provider (ie, Cosmote, Panafon, etc) to see what features are provided.

If you don't want the convenience of having your own cell phone, you can buy phone cards which work overseas. You can use them by calling the card's Greek toll free access number from public phones which are fairly easy to find everywhere. You may be able to use them from your hotel phone too, but check with the desk to see if there's any charge for by the hotel for making the call to the toll free access number. The card I use charges US $.51/minute for calls from Greece to the US, and I could probably find a cheaper one if I looked around.

I understand that you can also make long distance calls from Greek public phones with the Telecart, but I've never done this and I don't know what the rates are. Maybe someone could tell us.

I should add that what I do is use the card and a cell phone. Since my card (like I think most) costs nothing at all if you don't use it, there's no reason not to have one. In fact, I have three phone systems in Greece that I use: 1) an international cell phone, which is expensive on a per minute basis but handy for receiving calls (including voice mail) or for times when there isn't a public phone handy (the cell phone also costs nothing if I don't use it, that is, there are no monthly or minimum charges in addition to per minute charges, though of course you initially have to buy the phone itself) 2) a low denomination Telecart for making local calls (cheap) and 3) the phone card for making international calls from public phones. Once these means of communication are set up,it's a lot simpler than it might sound, and I can use whichever method is cheapest and most convenient for a call.