I am hearing that the cheapest way to call to U.S. from Italy is to purchase a phone card from a local tabacchi (sp?). Can anyone tell me if these cards can then be used from any telephone, including the phone in our hotel room? Or would we have to find a pay phone in order to use the card?

You can use these Europa phone cards from your hotel room or some of the pay phones out in town. For $10 you can call the states for almost 3 hrs. No problems

The Italian phone cards for use in the pay phones purchased at the Tobacchi are the best way to go you just have to remember you have to break off the top corner to fit and activate them for use in the pay phones. ask the seller how to use it .



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Now I am even more confused. So the best deal are the Italian phone cards purchased from the tabacchi which can be used only on payphones. There is also something called a Europa card that can be used from any phone? Where can these cards be purchased?

The best way to call U.S. is to use the cards from the tabacchi (the kind with a PIN number). However, it is incorrect to say they can be used from all hotel rooms. I've used them from some hotels and not others. At first I thought the card was bad, but the hotel explained to me that their phone system will not accept the cards. Perhaps they have a block on them? This was a nicer hotel also. It wasn't that inconvenient, but just be aware that they do not work from every hotel. I had to go use a payphone.

Also, be sure to confirm, in writing if possible, the hotel's policy regarding telephone calls. The phone card will be either a tollfree or local call, but some hotels will charge either a nominal or large sum for such calls.

Because of this, I found it less nerve-wracking to go to a pay phone. I didn't want to end up disputing charges with the hotel.

I agree with Willtravel. Some hotels will rip you off and you never find out until you are checking out! You do NOT need any coins to 'start' a call as it were with a LD card. Just keep in mind that prices or should I say calling times do vary quite a bit. We used the Italy Telecom cards for calls within the city/italy and the LD cards for NA. They work very well and are extremely inexpensive-a much better deal that those in NA. The good ones are 3-5 cents per minute to the USA. Careful though, some cards will say 60 minutes but when you read the fine print calls to NA are tolled at double or triple, hence time is reduced to 20 or 30 minutes.

And these LD cards are available where? Tabacchi shops? Does LD stand for something? Is it the same as the Europa card mentioned earlier? In any case, it seems that we will probably be able to figure it out once we get there. We only want to be able to use in an emergency and to check in once a week or so.

Boulder:

I'm assuming LD is an abbreviation for "Long Distance."

I actually have a question related to this. We have pretty much planned to buy phone cards to use in public pay phones to call back home to check in every other day or so while on our trip. Are these pay phones plentiful? In the past, there were pay phones on every corner her in the US. Now, with the rise of cell phone usage, it seems pay phones are beginning to go the way of the Dodo.

I don't want to buy a card(s) in Europe only to find that I have to walk a long way out of the way to find a pay phone. We will be in London, Paris, and various places in Italy.

Thanks!
Jennie

Lots of the Hotels Have Pay Phones in the Lobby of the hotel with private area so its not like talking on a phone on the corner of the street.with lots of noise I try never to use the room phones too many hidden charges.

Just a warning to all. I bought a phone card from 1st4phonecard.com over the internet from England. They promised cheap rates from Switzerland to the US but the toll free number they gave me never worked and I never got a refund from them. It was a ripoff. I suggest you get a Europa phone card from the local tabbachi shops in Italy instead of buying one on the internet beforehand. They work great from your hotel room or phone booths. I've learned my lesson- just wait till you get to Europe before buying your phone card to call home. They work well and the prices are a steal.