Travelling from US to Switzerland and Italy - Best Option?

aphexii

The previous two times i've had the pleasure of vising Europe, I was fairly stationary in one place for most of the time (6 months in the Netherlands, 1 month in the UK).

This time were heading back for our honeymoon to Switzerland and Italy and wanted to get a prepaid sim for the journey.

Preferably, this is what I would like;

Low prices to the US (under $0.70/min preferably) - the cheaper the better
Free Incoming
Ability for mobile internet (WCDMA would be nice as my Nokia E61 supports European WDCMA frequencies)

We will only be traveling through two countries, Italy and Switzerland.

What do you recommend?

Effendi · 19-02-2007, 09:39

If you first visit Italy you can buy a Wind prepaid card with the Call Your Country Option (free of charge for new customers) with which you can call the US at 35c€ per minute (normal rate would be 50c€/min). If you plan to use data you can activate one of the several data options like Mega300 (8€ for about 100MB of data per month, in Italy).
While in Switzerland you'll pay 0.80€ to call the US and 0.35€ to receive (all rates per min, billed by the minute) and data will cost 0.0125€/KB. In Italy Wind has 3G coveraga in all bigger towns, and in Switzerland it can roam on the local 3G nets too.

If you want more 3G coverage in Italy you can buy a 3 ITA card which also has a good data offer (Naviga3, 50MB/daily for 9 euros), but higher rates in Switzerland.

Good for roaming could be Vodafone with the Passport option (1€ for incoming calls up to 30 min and 1€ first min plus normal national rate for the following mins for outgoing calls).

andy · 19-02-2007, 12:32

For Switzerland I'd suggest either a Swisscom SIM, on their easy liberty tariff, or orangeclick, depending whether you will call mainly landlines or mobiles

The Swisscom one has calls up to an hour charged at CHF 0.80; this is for Swiss landlines and same network mobiles. Then use it with a calling card that has a local access number, such as Bizon.

Or an orangeclick SIM comes with bonus credit over its cost. Swiss calls are 0.39 per minute

esquared · **Switzerland/Italy also -- what about yallo? -** 13-03-2007, 21:56

I'm going to Switzerland and Italy as well. I'm wondering whether Yallo or any of the more budget-oriented providers are any good.

Thanks!

	(#1)
aphexii (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 1 Join Date: 19 Feb 2007 Country:	Travelling from US to Switzerland and Italy - Best Option? - 19-02-2007, 03:24 The previous two times i've had the pleasure of vising Europe, I was fairly stationary in one place for most of the time (6 months in the Netherlands, 1 month in the UK). This time were heading back for our honeymoon to Switzerland and Italy and wanted to get a prepaid sim for the journey. Preferably, this is what I would like; Low prices to the US (under $0.70/min preferably) - the cheaper the better Free Incoming Ability for mobile internet (WCDMA would be nice as my Nokia E61 supports European WDCMA frequencies) We will only be traveling through two countries, Italy and Switzerland. What do you recommend?

	(#2)
Effendi (Offline) The great Dictator! Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,487 Join Date: 13 Jan 2004 Location: Trieste/Trst Country:	19-02-2007, 09:39 If you first visit Italy you can buy a Wind prepaid card with the Call Your Country Option (free of charge for new customers) with which you can call the US at 35c€ per minute (normal rate would be 50c€/min). If you plan to use data you can activate one of the several data options like Mega300 (8€ for about 100MB of data per month, in Italy). While in Switzerland you'll pay 0.80€ to call the US and 0.35€ to receive (all rates per min, billed by the minute) and data will cost 0.0125€/KB. In Italy Wind has 3G coveraga in all bigger towns, and in Switzerland it can roam on the local 3G nets too. If you want more 3G coverage in Italy you can buy a 3 ITA card which also has a good data offer (Naviga3, 50MB/daily for 9 euros), but higher rates in Switzerland. Good for roaming could be Vodafone with the Passport option (1€ for incoming calls up to 30 min and 1€ first min plus normal national rate for the following mins for outgoing calls). Working Prepaids: IT: Wind, Vodafone IT, UNO Mobile; SM: Prima; UK: 3, Virgin; INT: TravelSIM, Truphone. Deceased Prepaids: CZ: Oskar, Eurotel; SK: Orange; DE: E-Plus, Aldi, Simyo; GE: Geocell; AM: Armentel; PL: Heyah, Plus; LT: Tele2; LV: Amigo; EE: Elisa; UA: Kyivstar; NZ: Vodafone; INT: UM, UM+, ICQSim. GSM/3G Phones: Nokia Lumia 630 dual sim

	(#3)
andy (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Prophet Posts: 2,128 Join Date: 10 Dec 2004 Country:	19-02-2007, 12:32 For Switzerland I'd suggest either a Swisscom SIM, on their easy liberty tariff, or orangeclick, depending whether you will call mainly landlines or mobiles The Swisscom one has calls up to an hour charged at CHF 0.80; this is for Swiss landlines and same network mobiles. Then use it with a calling card that has a local access number, such as Bizon. Or an orangeclick SIM comes with bonus credit over its cost. Swiss calls are 0.39 per minute

	(#4)
esquared (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 1 Join Date: 13 Mar 2007 Country:	Switzerland/Italy also -- what about yallo? - 13-03-2007, 21:56 I'm going to Switzerland and Italy as well. I'm wondering whether Yallo or any of the more budget-oriented providers are any good. Thanks!