Need advice on phone cards for Europe?

My daughter is travelling to Europe in June from Australia. I believe that we can purchase a prepaid phone card for her to phone home. I don't know anything about them and have tried searching the internet and am now more confused than when I started. Does anyone have advice on what is a good card to purchase that is easy and economical to use? Would appreciate the help. Thanks

Need advice on phone cards for Europe?
I think a cell phone would be easier. With a cell phone, you can call her to check on how things are going and she can call you.





If you have a tri-band or quad-band phone-GSM phone, she can purchase a 20 Euro SIM card :It will give you.10-.29 Euro per minute rates (depending on whether I was calling another cell or a land line.) Buying SIM cards is easy while on the ground in Europe, you can go into many phone shops (they are **everywhere**) and buy one quite cheaply and in a matter of minutes. Incoming calls are FREE with every mobile provider in Europe(When you phone her, she doesn't pay when receiving calls)





Here are some sites that will be of help.


Purchasing a cell phone from this site I would highly recommend. It is easy to use.


http://www.ekit.com





You can also purchase a new, unlocked GSM tri-band phone online (http://www.myworldphone.com) for about $89USD, and a SIM card.





Here are other sites


http://www.slowtrav.com/europe/cell_phon...


http://www.cellhire.com/


http://www.pingo.com/en/mobileusers.do


http://www.united-mobile.com





For calling cards


Calling cards


http://www.icallabroad.com/international...





Also, purchasing calling cards are easy. She can go to a newstand or a tabacco shop in Italy and purchase them. I would recommend that she purchase one for at least 20 euros. She must specify which country she would like it for.





Skype would be a great option as well. http://www.skype.com


Most internet cafes have the Skype service. Just ask and it is free to use and they have the headsets. This program allows you to call anyone in the world for free. If I wanted to call my mom's cell phone or land line, it costs 1.2 cents a minute. Translation. That is $1.12 an hour!! This is a good option for her to keep in touch with you , but a cell phone will help in case of emergency etc. So, I would use this option as only another alternative to talking to you when she is writing e-mails to friends. You need a high speed internet connection to use Skype.





Here are some Cybercafe links so that you can find the nearest one to you on your travels.





http://www.thenetgate.it/





http://cybercaptive.com/





Note:


Free Internet Access at Libraries


In many places internet access is free at public libraries with, on average, a 30 minute time limit. . Ask the hotel desk where the local library is located. So rather than waste a lot of money in an internet cafe or on an expensive phone card you may want to go to a public library instead. Most likely will not have the Skype capability , but she can write e-mails.





I highly recommend the cell phone as her way as well as yours to keep in touch.It is good for emergencies, making reservations, calling ahead to hotels , etc, If she will be traveling to several countries, she may have to purchase a separate sim card for that country. I would recommend that she ask the clerk at the store where she purchases her sim card in the first country what other countries can she use their card in. Anyway, I have given you some options.
Reply:Wow, lots of answers.. Um let's make it simple. AT%26amp;T Worldwide card. It's about as cheap as it gets and can be used anywhere. It also has the country code for the US on the back so as not to be forgotten.
Reply:Agree 100% with festblue .......................she should have the best answer
Reply:Every where in Europa you can buy phone cards for the public phone. You can buy this almost every where, and some countries has special deals on phone cards for certain countries. This depends the country where your daughter is.


A normal card will last for about 10 minutes and cost around 4 Euro, for calls within Europe. I don't know the price for calling outside of Europe, but this is also why they have made special deals for come countries.


Your daughter just have to go to a new stand etc. and ask for a phone card to Australia.





If you are looking for a phone card for her mobile, I have no idea how this works. It also depends which country she will go to.
Reply:Which countries your daughter will visit? The calling rate is a little different if you call from different countries. Generally, some cards are often used in Europe to call to Australia, like FastWorld, Tiger etc.





For example, calling from UK to Australia.


Check http://www.eecalling.com/p/?id_from_coun... to compare and find the best deal for calling cards.





Hope the above is helpful to you.