Oh thanks for the info. I think she'll be able to understand the prompts enough as she has had two full years of Italian and took a couple more classes this summer. She'll have her minor almost completed by the time she's back in the states. I am more concerned about which Vodafone sim to buy and where she should buy it. Thanks again!

I've been all through the menus on the voice system (and I do understand them, and my wife's a translator of Italian) and have never found an option to change the language to English or anything else. We did buy them at an official store, the only place where you can buy SIMs in Italy. I find the prompt voice altogether too cheery, so I wouldn't mind changing it to anything else...

Do you know if she will be able to get a Vodafone prepaid Sim card or perhaps prepaid Tim Sim at Malpensa airport and what other than an Italian address and passport she will need to register her sim card.

Also, any idea how long this will take? I think it makes economical sense to do it this way rather than order ahead thru telestial but I want her to have cell service as soon as possible of course. Thanks. Hopefully I have hit all the important questions :)

Dont know about all airports but I was unable to buy any kind of SIM at either Naples or Catania Airports.

To get a TIM SIM I had to buy a cheap phone, (40 euros inc. SIM), from an Auchan Superstore, (pronounced Ocean), probably because I was visiting out of the way places. Got a WIND Sim from an authorised dealer in Giarre Sicily. Vodafone seem to have dedicated Vodafone shops, so a web search should find them.

Hope this helps

Richard

Quick followup. I read somewhere on this board or another that text messaging may not work between Tmobile in the US and Vodafone. Can anyone confirm this? Is this true with TIM and/or Wind? I would want her to get whatever is more compatable with our Tmobile Family plan in the US.
Thanks again... I keep thinking I have asked all the necessary questions....

Usually Wind and Tim (+ CoopVoce) are the best choices for international SMS. Vodafone (+UnoMobile) and 3 ITA the worst ones...

Yeah I think I may go with TIM but I am leaning toward buying it here in the US and paying a bit more so she has it when she lands and doesn't have to hassle with finding a store that sells TIM and getting Euro to pay for it unless you know of a store at Malpensa airport that sells TIM or WIND.

An international sms with Tim (and CoopMobile) costs 30 cents, the same price as Vodafone and 3.
The only best choice is Wind (starting from 9 cents to 15 cents).

Don't forget that you can use a "Dialoga International" with Wind :cool:

Cheaper international calls

As you can see on the tariff pages, the international tariffs for calling your home-country from an Italian mobile are rather high, everywhere you live! But there is quite a good solution from Wind. Buy a Wind prepaid card at just 10 euros (with 5 euros of preloaded airtime, and there are often promotions on new activations too), then find a Wind "Dialoga International" prepaid international card. Those cards are not sold at Wind official shops (quite weird, isn't it?), but at newstands (Edicole) and tobacco shops (Tabacchi), but it's not easy to find. You could have more chances at airports and bigger train stations. Once you find them, you can choose between € 5.- and € 10.- value of airtime. For dialing from a Wind mobile phone just dial the toll free number: 800 905 500, enter your code and you are ready to go. Tariffs depend on the country and there are usually higher tariffs for calling a mobile phone (mostly in European countries); there is a complete list, in Italian, here. You can use the Dialoga International card also from landline numbers, public phones and mobile phones of different operators, but the prices are higher, as you can see on the table.
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italy.html

So I think that Wind can be the best solution for jlbaer1 :beer:

SMS starting from 9 ct. (Wind 9) and calls to US @ 12.5 ct. (Dialoga International)

The only mobile phone shop at Malpensa Airport is a Vodafone one, but it's in the boarding area.