For me, there are 3 solutions for using a phone on one of my small group tours to Paris or Italy.

Global Calling Plan:  Essentially, this turns your smartphone, as is, into a phone that can be used overseas to call the US.  These plans vary by cell phone provider, but basically they work the same way.  A global plan is purchased for a set fee for a set time, usually a month.  However, when returning from overseas, the global plan may be terminated leaving a pro-rated charge for the month.   In addition, the caller is charged for each call, text message and megabyte.  The per-minute charges, data, and text messaging charges are not cheap.   A Verizon plan that I recently subscribed to charged $1.99 per calling minute, 50 cents per text message, and $10 per megabyte of data.   The advantage of this plan is there is no need to change phone numbers and it is relatively simple to sign up with a provider for this service.  This is the easiest, most versatile, and most expensive option.

Viber:  This is a free app I downloaded on my iPhone on my last tour to Italy.  It allows free calling and texting to anyone else with Viber on their phone.  I found the advantages to be simple installation, ease of use, no cost, and excellent call quality.   The disadvantages are that a data connection is required and the other party needs to have Viber on their phone too. 

Skype:  This is another free app for download to a smartphone.   If calling someone else who has Skype enabled on their smartphone, there is no charge for calls.   It is possible to call any non-Skype phone at a charge of a few pennies per minute.  Same basic rules apply for texting, but I never use Skype to text.   A data connection is needed to use Skype.  Call quality can vary.  I need to make a conference call to the US during my next tour to Paris and I will use Skype.

So, which cell phone option do I use in Europe?   All three of them.   I usually activate a global calling plan but use it only when absolutely necessary because of the high charges.   Whenever I have an internet connection and I need to call home with someone who does not have Viber, I use Skype.

Solutions I don’t recommend is getting a SIM card or a European throw-away phone.  A SIM card is a small card inserted into a cell phone that turns it into a phone for use in Europe and to make/receive calls and texts to/from the US.   The issues I’ve had with SIM cards on my Apple iPhone are that it was extremely frustrating and time-consuming to setup, I had to use a different phone number (some cards assign European phone numbers only), and it was much more expensive than I anticipated.  In fact, it turned out to be more expensive than a global calling plan from my cell phone provider.    I found the SIM card option to be virtually useless.  With throw-away phones, foreign telephone numbers need to be used and upon arrival in Europe, you need to run all over the place finding a place to purchase a phone and then figure out all the options, usually not spelled out in English.

For more information on The Traveling Professor's tours to Paris, Italy, and Spain, see www.travelingprofessor.com