<p>(I know this has been discussed here, but a quick search didn’t turn up a concise answer to my questions. I have a lot on my plate right now, and just don’t have the time or energy to cull through scores of CC threads. If you’re offended when people ask something that’s been answered before, here’s your fair warning. 
)</p>
<p>My D is going abroad for 3 weeks. She will be very busy and having fun and we’ve told her not to worry about keeping us posted, so I anticipate that we will have practically zero communication with her. I also don’t think that texting friends back home will be a problem. We’ve put the Verizon International Plan into place: $1.99/minute voice, no roaming charge; $.50 for texts sent, $.05 for texts received. (They don’t offer a package.) I think this will work fine for any communication she has with us back here since I expect little to none. We’re also going to try to arrange a Skype date or two.</p>
<p>What I’m concerned about is her calling/texting the other students with whom she’ll be travelling. Since we’ve always had unlimited texting, she’s not in the habit of being economical with her texts or stopping to think about whether she should text at all. Of course, I don’t have a problem with her calling/texting one of her cohort if she needs to; I just don’t want her chatting aimlessly at international rates.</p>
<p>From what little I’ve researched, these are the options. If it matters, we have dumb phones. </p>
<ol>
<li> Do nothing else, and give her a budget for phone use within country, enough to include a few texts back home and maybe a short call, plus a bit of phone use within country. Tell her that she’ll have to pay us back for any charges over that.</li>
<li> Have her buy a phone once she gets there.</li>
<li> Buy an international calling card.<br></li>
<li> Skype phone?</li>
</ol>
<p>Am I missing anything? Pros and cons?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>