Title: The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe | USA Today
Headings: The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe
The Best Ways to Get a Cell Phone While Traveling in Europe
Travel Tips
Buy a Phone In-Store
Buy Prepaid Mobile Online
Auction Sites and Secondhand Stores
Travel Tips Video
Rent a Phone
Alternatives
SIM Card for International Travel
Travel Tips
GSM Technology
Locked vs. Unlocked Devices
Country-Specific Cards
International SIM Card

Content: Auction Sites and Secondhand Stores
Pick up used cell phones from European auction sites and secondhand electrical stores. You'll need a postal address in Europe for the former unless you want to pay shipping fees to receive the phone before departing on your trip. This is a good option for those who don't want to travel with their fancy smartphone and are equally adverse to shelling out for a new prepaid handset. Travel Tips Video
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Rent a Phone
If you don't want to shell out for new prepaid handset, you can rent one from firms such as Cellhirein the UK, Me Mobile in Spain and Thrifty Car Rental in Ireland. Alternatively, borrow cell phones in the US before you depart from companies such as CellularAbroad, TripTel and TravelCell. If you're staying in Europe for more than a month, renting could be more expensive than buying a pay-as-you-go device. Alternatives
Download a mobile VoIP application such as MobileVoip for Windows Phone, Skype or ooVoo to your US phone and only make calls when you're connected to a free Wi-Fi hotspot. Just make sure you turn data roaming off on your device before you travel. If you have a quad-band or 4G handset, have your phone unlocked and buy a prepaid European SIM card. This will involve calling your network provider and asking for an unlock code.