Anyone know the most cost effective method to stay in touch with a family member traveling to France for a month. To get a cell phone here to use there costs 3.00 per day and 1.50 per minute. Can one rent a cell phone in France and use it to call the U.S. for less. The prices seem quite exhorbitant.
How about using e-mail?. There are plenty of internet cafes in France and the cost is quite low to use them.
I’d recommend to buy a prepaid phonecard. There’s a variety of companies specialized on selling phonecards for overseas calls, at acceptable rates. The cards are available at newsstands and small stores; you call a toll-free operator number, enter a PIN you’ve scratched free on the card, and the call is put through. Works fine on any public or private phone.
And of course, internet café always is a good option.
Email and phone cards. Phone cards are available through your long distance company and they’re quite easy to use. Just make sure the family member has the correct international number. I used AT&T. Also you can buy phone cards from newspaper stands and the phone company in France that you just insert into the phone. Again, make sure they know how to dial internationally. Most payphones do have the codes listed though, but it’s always better to make sure.
Email is easier than phoning and much cheaper. Plus you might want to look into internet telephone calls.
When I was traveling, I had to email my parents every few days to let them know I was alive. It was a better alternative than phoning becuase you didn’t always have to worry about the time difference.
That is the easiest solution, for sure. However, my daughter is just in 9th grade and her mother wants to feel that they can be in contact anytime they want. Only a cell phone will satisfy her. I found one web site, www.telestial.com, which seems to be a reasonable alternative. Would it be cheaper to have herfind something to rent in France, or does such a thing not exist
If she’s in ninth grade, I assume she’s not traveling alone; will she be with a host family or a school group? If so, there’s about a 99.9% chance that one of the people in charge will already have a cell phone and that the parents will be given a contact number for this person, so there’s probably no need for your daughter to have her own. (A prepaid phone card would still be a good idea, of course, in case she wants to call you.)
[old fogey voice] Kids these days. first time I lived in Asia, I had one call from home. It took at least two weeks to write a letter and get a reply – usually it was a month. [/old fogey voice]
One quick note – pre paid phone cards ARE fab – when I am back in London I buy them from news agents primarily. But do keep in mind that using them from a private phone (or the hotel, or hostel, etc) is far, far cheaper than using a payphone (BT phones will zap a prepaid phone card very quickly)
Internet cafes are fab, too!
Fret, you don’t know my wife. Yes, there are other kids from her school going and staying nearby. Yes, we have a contact number. She (wife) however wants to feel that she (daughter) is always available. I know it is irrational, but I am not the one who is nagging me. I cringe to think what will happen when she (wife) calls her (daughter) and she (daughter) has turned the phone off or is in the bathroom or something.
You might want to check out getting a prepaid mobile phone in France - you might get a start here : http://www.telestial.com/products/france.php?product_code=france
I recommend using a pre-paid phone card with the cell phone, which will almost certainly make international calls from your daughter to the US cheaper than using the mobile’s international service.