how to call Ireland from Philly
 

at the risk of sounding stupid .i'll sound stupid.i have BnB's booked but i would like to call and and re-confirm them . i have the appropriate numbers but i would feel more comfortable with an experienced caller giving me advice(re: area codes,country codes ,etc). please keep in mind that you are dealing with a life long under -achiever. thanks

Dial 011-353 and then the number that they give you, dropping off any leading zero they might have.

If it's Dublin, and the number is 01-555-1212, dial 011-353-1-555-1212.

anyb gives you some good advice for calling from the U.S.
If you're thinking about buying a phone card when you get to Ireland I recommend buying an Eircom phone card (i.e., NOT one where you have to dial an 800 number). Sometimes you can buy them at the shop behind the escalator in the arrivals area at Shannon airport. Sometimes they try to sell you the 800-number kind.

I'm in NorthEast Philly and have made trips to the Irish Republic at least a dozen times in the last 10-years or so. I usually fly Continental Airlines out of Newark.

well neighbor -i'm originally from Bristol(sort of the northeast) now i reside actually near Amish country.i've seen your screen name on here frequently and just assumed that you were an Ireland native

Eagle 1: You are asking about FROM the United States TO Ireland, right?
For the best economics, you can call your phone company and get an overseas plan. This can be temporary and you can drop it when you get home. IT's been awhile since we've done it, but it was about $5 per month and gives you good rates direct dial from your home to Ireland. It's good to have also if someone wants to call you from your home phone while you are traveling overseas.

If you call without this plan I believe it will be a lot more costly,,but you can check this with your phone company. amyb has told you correctly, I think, about the correct way to dial..........and yes, it's good idea to check with the B&B's if you would feel more comfortable. OR they can email you a reconfirmation.


IF you want to call back to U.S. while in Europe you can just take a calling card from here that you buy at WalMart, Sam's etc. Instead of one minute for about 3 cents, it will cost about 6 or 7 units per minute from various countries,,,but still a pretty good deal.
OR buy a local one after arriving as someone else suggested.

Sometimes Americans have a hard time understanding the beautiful Irish dialect...especially on the phone, but certainly worth a try.....and remember they are about 6 hrs. ahead of U.S.
AND, by the WAY.........there is NO SUCH THING as a stupid question!!!!!

For one call to a B&B there is no need to sign up for an international calling plan. Simply use Ira's technique

Dial 1016868 first, then the phone #.

This is a "dial around" number. It costs 10 cts/min to call Europe, no connection charge.

Check out http://www.onesuite.com. I've been using it for several years now. You prepay a minimum of $10, but then it's about $0.03 per minute with no connection charge to almost anywhere in Western Europe, and about $0.25 per minute to a mobile phone. There are also toll free numbers in most European countries that you can use to call the US with for the same low rates.

eagle1 wants to make one (1) call to a B&B in Ireland. No need to sign up for a calling plan with a $10 minimum!

J62...you may be right....however please notice that eagle1 said B&B'S,plural , and said "numberS", which would mean several places they wanted to call.

I don't see "Ira's technique" on this thread, as you mentioned, j62! What is missing?

eagle1 writes: "... i'm originally from Bristol(sort of the northeast) now i reside actually near Amish country.i've seen your screen name on here frequently and just assumed that you were an Ireland native"

Next to it: born to Irish immigrant parents in NYC; the Irish Republic recognizes me as an Irish Citizen. I have a Republic of Ireland Passport and when I travel anywhere in Europe I use it. Many Europeans dislike Americans but everyone loves the Irish ...

My daughter used to live in Honey Brook, just across the road from Lancaster County. That's close to Amish Country

As for phoning, I disagree with j62. You'll be calling more than one B&B when you are in Ireland. You may want to call each of your pre-booked B&B's a day before your arrival. That's a reason to buy an EirCom PhoneCard

many thanks for all the thoughtful suggestions. actually i was planning to call 6 B&bs to re-confirm and i was planning on calling the next in line(b&b) while i was in Ireland ,so i received some excellent advice -thanks again

I once made the mistake of calling a friend in England by using my regular house line. It ended up costing something in the range of $90 for less than an hour! Now I buy a $10 AT&T calling card from WalMart, which gives me approximately 45 minutes of calling time. MUCH better on the budget!