International Cell Phone Rental
 

I will be travelling from NY to the UK and France this summer for 2-3 weeks. My cell is a dinosaur and is not capable of being used for international services. Can you recommend a reliable company to rent from, hopefully one with rates that are reasonable. If you have any other suggestions, please share them, too! Thank you.

Take a laptop and check your emails where you can get wifi.
Get a no contract phone at a cell phone shop in the UK if you feel you must have a cell that will work in Europe.

any other ideas out there? I would like to have the phone prior to leaving the US.

Try Telestial.com.

Telestial is a good bet but their cheaper phones/plans are just good for emergencies, per-minute charges and connection fees really add up. On some plans your incoming calls are free in UK and France, just tell people to call you back.

thank you. will investigate this. has anyone had any experience with mobal?

Yes, I couldn't remember the name. My son and DIL got a mobal phone a few years ago, and have used it in many countries.

do you find there is a difference between Telestial and modal?

Do you want to be able to make local calls and the occasional emergency call back to the US, or do you want to keep in constant contact with the US?

If it's the former, you're really better off just buying a cheap cell after landing in the UK (you can do this at the airport or at any cell phone store). Alternatively, buy an unlocked cell on Ebay and replace the SIM with a local one once you arrive; you can do this at any cell phone store in Europe, where it's much easier than in the US. For a trip of 2 to 3 weeks, I think this is the better plan for you. The real usefulness of this is the ability to make local calls without having to pay 99 cents or more per minute. You will likely never have to add more value to the SIM, but you can do that easily enough.

If you are planning to make a lot of calls to and from home, then you can buy an international cell phone from a company like Mobal. I don't think the company matters. Rates are expensive.

Or simply replace your personal cell with one that will work internationally and have your international service turned on for the rare emergency call to or from home. You can turn it off on your return.

I agree with everything Doug said. In addition, when we're overseas (we just got back), we try to make calls home (non-emergency) using Facetime or Skype when we have a WiFi connection, rather than using cell service at all.

I have an unlocked flip phone I bought several years ago on ebay when we went to Ireland. We just purchased the SIM card in Ireland. We first went to a cell phone store and had them show me where to put the SIM card--you are probably not as technologically immature--but then you could buy any additional SIM cards at grocery stores and gas stations.

All my friends still borrow it when they go overseas. You use this phonw for local calls.

We used the internet to contact our family and work back home.

Even if you don't get your phone or SIM until you arrive in your destination, you can immediately text your loved ones back home with the number.

thank you!