TravelGuides

(TGA) - I'll be in Barcelona for 8 days with my daughter. I'd like to be able to stay in contact with her if we choose different activities or get separated inadvertently. When we were in Switzerland we rented phones through Verizon in the USA, since our Verizon phones do not have SIM cards and cannot be used abroad. It was an expensive and cumbersome process. I was thinking it might be easier and cheaper to get local phones. I could use suggestions of specific stores. I'll be staying in Hotel Actual on Passeig de Gracia and Rosellon.
I'd also like to know if incoming calls on these local phones are free or are charged by the minute or the call.
Thanks for your assistance.
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I bought a phone from www.mobal.com for, I think, $49.00. You are charged for outgoing calls, but incoming calls are free. It works in all of the European countries. It may not be the cheapest way to go, but I just charge it up right before my trip and am ready to make calls as soon as I land in Europe. I think it is a good option if you aren't going to have long conversations and it is certainly one of the easiest. Your phone number stays the same wherever you are which is also nice. Check out their website and see if it will work for you.
Have a great trip,
Eve
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At this point on mobal incoming calls are not free, though text messages are . But they are offering $40 worth of calls included with phone.
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So this is a phone I order in the USA? I wonder if I can get it in time. I'm leaving in a week. I'll check their website.
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The Mobal phone deal for $49 is extraordinarily expensive to use when you consider how much each minute costs for calls incoming and outgoing and for outgoing text messages. Any other options or suggestions?
I did just unearth an old phone that we used in Europe 2 years ago. I think I bought a SIM card for it at that time. I'm going to see if I can just reload that SIM card. If so, then I only need one more phone.
What about buying a phone in Spain?
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Would e-mailing your hotel be any help, maybe they have had this problem before. How about some kind of walky-talkies, we used them on a long move about 5 years ago, and they were good for about 5 miles, you can get them at Walmart. Just a idea. Good luck
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go to a shop like thephonehouse and get a couple of the cheapest cell phones
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Hey,
What I understood, you just need to buy a starter, right? Or do you need a phone as well? If you need a prepaid card, then I recommend Yoigo - 20Euros. You buy a starter and have 20€ to spend on calling.
Have a good stay!
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Has anyone dealt with Telestial for international cell phones? They seem to have a better deal than Mobal.
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From my point of view here in B, like Gatamaula and LifeSB09 , buying a simple phone -or 2- with sim-card looks the easiest -
if you get a Yoigo pack (phone + sim) , the 5 € credit included will be enough for a week of normal use between 2 with 'tariff/price plan '0' (zero) ' tr_up to 1 hr /num a day for 17 centims per each connection
Unfortunately www.yoigo.com is only in Spanish ,
but if you search the TA forum for ' sim ' you can find about the shops -
there are in Pau Claris , Passeig de St Joan , Travessera de Gracia near yoyr hotel ...
There are other operators options with calls up to 10 minutes for 17 c p c (500 min / nr)
Re: 'unearthed' phone - you can use it if the battery is good , but the life of the number ended after maximum 1 year without reloading , I'm afraid - at least if it is Spanish
(if it was not-Spanish, you'd pay roaming prices ...)
HiH
A
btw, just wondering if in the USA there isn't a way of buying/selling second hand EU mobiles/ cell phones (ebay ?)
the question of ' a phone abroad' comes up now and then ...
Edited: 5:19 am, March 26, 2010
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Yoigo, Blau and few other companies have pre-paid options you can buy. In USA, you can generally find old T-mobile and AT&T phones which use sim cards for quite cheap on craigslist etc. just look that they are unlocked and atleast triple-band.
thephonehouse is a good bet because they have a huge selection of phones and pre-paid cards. the problem is that, if I recall correctly, for non-contract purchases the hand-set costs a lot more. with contract you can get one easily, even with minimal pre-paid service for ~10-20 euros.
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