<p>I will be traveling to Paris for a week and am looking for the most inexpensive phone option. I spoke with Verizon with whom I have my current plan and the costs (even with a temporary plan) are ridiculous. I will have an iphone to connect to Wifi for skyping and facebooking but what should I do for actual calls?</p>
<p>Will you really have to make a lot of calls?</p>
<p>No - very few calls - maybe check in with home a few times, call locally for information?</p>
<p>If you only want to call from the hotel, sometimes purchasing (online) an international phone card that can be entered from the hotel line and only billed as a local call, if that, is a good option. I have heard of hotels that don’t allow this, but it did work consistently for me in years past, though I have not tried it recently. If you actually want to use the phone you have, it will not be cheap. It all depends on your needs for actual phone calls, vs. skype or emails. Some people suggest buying a SIM card and/or cheap, disposable phone upon arrival. I am not sure if this option is as widespread as it once was due to security issues, but you could look into it. Calling locally for information shouldn’t be bad from hotel and the concierge can often do that for you. Have a great week.</p>
<p>The last few apartments we have rented have ALL had free internet based phone service for local and international calls. Some hotels, if not most, have the same…be sure to check. Many just list “free wifi” from the rooms----so you can skype away for no charge.</p>
<p>Wherever you have wifi you can iChat free. You can also Skype if you have wifi. My D had her iphone 4s unlocked and bought a prepaid sim card when she got there, which gave her a French phone number (required by program). But she was there a month…don’t know if that’s worth it for a week.</p>
<p>Just don’t make any phone calls - problem solved.</p>
<p>Really, it’s possible to live a week without making phone calls. I used to do it all the time in Europe and elsewhere in the days before cell phones. </p>
<p>You can just use your wireless to Skype with your family if you really want to and/or send texts if you really want to. The texts s/b adequate for checking in with home/letting them know you’re still alive, etc. and they’re fairly cheap if you don’t go nuts with them as some people do.</p>
<p>If you try to live without it, be sure to block the phone from receiving phone calls so you don’t end up getting charged ridiculous fees (assuming a Verizon iPhone will work with Europe’s GSM phone networks).</p>
<p>We do quite a bit of traveling - few times a year internationally, and my husband travels to Europe for business. We never really had to make phone calls. We often just talked via Skype. Since we didn’t speak any foreign language, there was no point in calling anyone. We had the hotel make reservations for us. We communicated via emails with people at home. FYI - it’s free to receive international text messages, but .50 to send one. If our kids weren’t with us, they would text us if there was an emergency and we would call them back.</p>
<p>Why not buy a burner phone with a set number of minutes? You can call home, give your family the number if needed and know you have a way to contact them if you so choose.</p>
<p>“Really, it’s possible to live a week without making phone calls.”</p>
<p>not for everyone! I have my own business and it’s ESSENTIAL that I check in. If only for my own piece of mind. Not really all that complicated</p>
<p>We always turn our phone service off and only have wifi on to avoid roaming charges. You’ll get charged if someone tries to call you even if you don’t pick up the call.</p>
<p>
The context of my statement wasn’t for a business traveler but rather, a student spending a week in Paris or most vacationers.</p>
<p>If you have your own business, depending on how it runs, you might always be a ‘business traveler’ when you’re traveling - even on vacation.</p>
<p>No…I am speaking as a vacation traveler. Life goes on while I am out having fun.</p>
<p>If you have an unlocked phone you might be able to buy a SIM chip in France. I know you can with ATT, not sure about Verizon. If you are calling workers, you might do better with emailing so you can do details back and forth and everyone can respond at their convenience.</p>
<p>
You’re not a typical case - all bets are off when you have your own business (as I’m sure you know). Most people don’t need to make phone calls when they’re vacationing in Paris for a week.</p>
<p>I realize not making phone calls for a week can be a culture shock in itself to the current college generation - probably a bigger cultural shift than visiting another country. Moreover, they should try to avoid a lot of text and FBing while they’re at it and go see Paris.</p>
<p>I rarely speak to people on the phone now, even when I am home. I find myself texting and emailing people more.</p>
<p>You can buy a cheap SIM card in France but your phone has to operate on GSM. I had an old unlocked T-Mobile phone last time in Paris and I just picked up a SIM card at the airport kiosk. Enough minutes to survive the week, but I mainly use it to call locally to my family members in Paris. Did not use it for international calls. Good thing is incoming call is free so the minutes are only used for outgoing calls. Be aware that as soon as you pop in the card, everything will be in French. You better be very familiar with the phone or be very fluent in French!</p>
<p>She has Verizon so she’s out of luck unless she has a new iPhone, Galaxy s3 or 4 or one of the few that will take sim cards. Verizon uses a different system than most of the world.</p>
<p>I’ll be in Europe this summer so I’ve chosen to buy a new sim card when I arrive. Luckily I do have one of the Verizon phones that can operate abroad. We have a business and that’s the only reason I’m not using a burner.</p>
<p>When we went a few years ago, Verizon shipped us a phone to borrow for up to 3 weeks. It was great for the few times we had to check in with elderly parents at home, and very reasonable. I think they still do this - [Global</a> Travel Program - Verizon Wireless](<a href=“http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global/globaltravelprogram.html]Global”>http://www.verizonwireless.com/wcms/global/globaltravelprogram.html)</p>
<p>My daughter is in France right now. She removed the SIM card from her iPhone, and is using an app that allows free texting and phone calls whenever she has wifi. So far that is working great for us.</p>