Im pretty excited.. im touring europe this summer.. it is going to be awesome.. I just realized i dont know anything about it lol.. There plugs are different there right, so do i need to get different adapters for all my electronics like my camera, ipod etc? Also, i have verizon wireless cell phone.. that isnt going to work over in europe right? What should i do? Does att/cingular work over there? If so, can i buy one of those prepaid phones and will that suit my needs?
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Europe?
- Thread starter jer446
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Hey! I'm going to Europe this Summer also! 
You will need an adaptor for electronics. Their voltage over there is 240 compared to our 120.
I'm not positive; but I do not think your Verizon phone will work over there. Verizon is CDMA, and AFAIK the rest of the world is GSM.
I'm not sure about using cingular phones over there (at&t is long gone). You would probably be better off buying a pre-paid phone while you are over there.
You will need an adaptor for electronics. Their voltage over there is 240 compared to our 120.
I'm not positive; but I do not think your Verizon phone will work over there. Verizon is CDMA, and AFAIK the rest of the world is GSM.
I'm not sure about using cingular phones over there (at&t is long gone). You would probably be better off buying a pre-paid phone while you are over there.
You will need plug and possibly voltage adaptors for your electric gear. Apple portable equipment will be fine in terms of voltage but check that any other gear have switching supplies rated 110-240v AC.
Your phone will not work unless it is GSM, and even then unless it is at least tri-band GSM as you Americans chose to run your GSM networks on a different frequency to everywhere else in the whole world!
Roaming charges would probably be outrageous even if it does work so a cheap pay as you go mobile will probably make more sense anyway.
Your phone will not work unless it is GSM, and even then unless it is at least tri-band GSM as you Americans chose to run your GSM networks on a different frequency to everywhere else in the whole world!
Roaming charges would probably be outrageous even if it does work so a cheap pay as you go mobile will probably make more sense anyway.
jer446 said:
Depends on the operator. Some pre-pay phones are barred from international calling. You may well find it's cheaper to use calling cards, which may give special cheap rates for the USA.
jer446 said:
You don't say where in Europe you are going to be. Be aware that there is no Europe wide cell-company (well there are are but not really). If you buy a phone in the UK it is "at home" in the UK and will be roaming anywhere else in Europe (and roaming costs a lot more).
That said you can buy a, for example, Orange PAYG phone in the UK and call the US. The costs are listed here towards the bottom of the page (pay monthly is a contract).
First of all, congrats on your upcoming trip - it's going to be amazing!
You should check out some good tour books for help with your questions. Two series that come to mind are "Lonely Planet" and "Rick Steve's."
They both touch on how to keep in touch with people in the US as well as what you need with regards to electronics.
Good luck!
You should check out some good tour books for help with your questions. Two series that come to mind are "Lonely Planet" and "Rick Steve's."
They both touch on how to keep in touch with people in the US as well as what you need with regards to electronics.
Good luck!
OK, so you start in the UK. So a UK phone is probably going to be the plan. But as you are going to spend most of your time outside the UK you'll end up paying a fortune in roaming charges. Do you really need a cell phone when you are over here? Can you not use calling cards in each country when you want to call home?
jer446 said:this is where im going
im sure the company will tell me more about what to do but its a pain since i cant like text my friends or anything
If you buy a pay as you go phone in the UK, you will find its 35p for a text to anywhere in the world pretty much, I think. Pretty costly.
whooleytoo said:No Irish stop? Booo!
What with the woohoo everytime an american plane touches down in Shannon, who can blame him
Besides I think he may have caught a glimpse of the Irish Blimp or Tánaiste as she likes to be refered to and that scared him off
If the incredible hulk had a sister
OMG look at this smiley
IT's HER!!!
MacRumorUser said:What with the woohoo everytime an american plane touches down in Shannon, who can blame him
Besides I think he may have caught a glimpse of the Irish Blimp or Tánaiste as she likes to be refered to and that scared him off
Fair points both!
Though the planes don't really need to land, even when they just fly over we wave our fists angrily at them! (As for the second comment, I'll just let that one go...)
Seriously it sounds like a great trip though. Funny that I've travelled far more around Asia, South America & Australia but not much closer to home. Barcelona in particular I really would love to visit.
jer446 said:this is where im going
im sure the company will tell me more about what to do but its a pain since i cant like text my friends or anything
Don't use that map to find London or Oxford. It's slightly inaccurate.
Looks like you'll have an amazing trip!! A lot of cities to fit in one month.
Have fun!
I wouldn't use it to find the North Sea, either...EGT said:Don't use that map to find London or Oxford. It's slightly inaccurate.
Barcelona is in a funky place as well.
(oops no its not, me bad, especially since I've been there)
FYI you have to visit all the Gaudi stuff.
(oops no its not, me bad, especially since I've been there)
FYI you have to visit all the Gaudi stuff.
I looked up that tour and $9000 is an insane amount to pay. Im backpacking for two months next year for about half that, should be an adventure.
But go to wal-mart and get the $25 voltage adapter kit. And my verizon phone did not work. It was completely useless.
But go to wal-mart and get the $25 voltage adapter kit. And my verizon phone did not work. It was completely useless.
ha yeah 9 grand not including spending money and airfair lol i know its a lot of money, but i did it last year but i traveled cross country, and its an amazing experience.. You make great friends, not to mention the girls alone are worth the 9 grand
OMG... I did two Rein Teen Tours... I LOVED them. I hope you have a GREAT time. I think Norman is leading your tour - he is AWESOME.
jer446 said:ha yeah 9 grand not including spending money and airfair lol i know its a lot of money, but i did it last year but i traveled cross country, and its an amazing experience.. You make great friends, not to mention the girls alone are worth the 9 grand
Well Im not in your situation. 9000? Id move to Europe. I could pay quite a few months rent until i could find a job with that much cash on hand.