I will be going solo to Italy and saw some web sites for renting a cell phone with a card. It is 55 euro for the week delivered to my hotel with 8 euro worth of calls and free incoming calls, they will give me the cell number to give family at home.

Does this sound like a good deal? I don't
want to bother converting my cell and I have been told it can't be done on mine anyway.

Thanks for any ideas.

For that price or just a bit more, you can purchase a tri-band, pay-as-you-go phone when you get there, which will almost certainly end up being cheaper. You might even be able to sell it to someone else when you return - I believe there are people on Fodor's who have sold/bought cell phones to/from each other.

I, too, was wondering what's the best way to make calls from a cell phone from Italy to the US. We have Verizon, and I was going to call them to see what if any service they provide. I will also do more research with other phone companies. I will share my finds with you all. In the meantime, does any Fodorite have a triband phone for sale?

To StCirq: Where would someone buy such a phone in Italy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Will be going to Italy in May 17-31. Thank you.

Helen:

You can buy one at any of the major telephone companies - TIM, Wind, Omnitel and Blu - that have stores in all large cities and even at the airports. TIM has a website - www.tim.it. The others probably do, too, but I don't have them.

There are also companies like Planet Omni, Telestial, and Cellular Abroad that will sell you a phone here for use in Italy, but I've never used their services. As I understand it, you pay more but you arrive in Italy with a phone that already has the SIM card installed and that can be used immediately.

I'm sure others living in Italy or with more experience than I will have other suggestions, too.

There have been a number of threads here with tons of very detailed information re purchasing a mobile phone in Italy.

A search for "cell phone AND Italy" should pull most of them up for you.

Hi,

You might check into getting a cellphone with international service. Also, check out the calling cards with international access. I used those on my last trip to Europe, and they worked very well throughout Ireland, including the tiniest little places.

Best Regards,
Julia

Thanks for the replies and on the other thread too!
SO, I went into www.220giftcenter.com/motorola.htm
and found a phone for 69.00 and it is SIM unlocked #T2288.

If I buy it,take it with me and buy a card in Italy, I can just start using it?
Anyone know how much a card is?

Thanks for the help, I am cell phone challenged!

If the SIM card has been installed, yes, you can use it the moment you set foot in Italy, but I would advise you to get instructions from the company you're buying it from as to what kind of cards you need to buy to keep using the phone after the first free calls run out, etc. It's basically a pay-as-you-go deal, so you need to go to a tabbacheria or caffé to get a new card - you scratch off the number, turn on your phone, type in the number, and you're set to go.

Thanks again, OK I am going to order it. It is just a little more than renting one and I can take it back with me whenever I go to Italy.

Tell me, I can buy one of the cards just like when I used to buy the public pay phone cards? They drove me crazy, so this will open up a whole new phone world!

I see that you also mentioned I could just buy one at the airport, this might be better. Do I ask for a pay as you go phone with a SIM card?

Sorry to be so dumb about this.