If you buy yourself an expendable SIM card in a foreign country to obtain cheap internet access for a week or so, request the clerk in the phone shop to insert the SIM and set it up for you, advises German computer magazine c't. That's because local codes may have to be input properly, and you may not know the local conditions or even the language of the instructions.
A nice smile and saying please to the clerk may save you a lot of frustration.
Most vacationers who travel to Europe will avoid using their SIM card from home because of astronomical roaming charges. Buying a SIM card after arrival on your tour has become a day-one ritual of holidays.
In Europe, prepaid SIM cards for tourists generally cost between 10 and 20 euros (13.65 and 27.30 dollars) and come with 1 gigabyte of data traffic. That's more than enough for the standard vacation.
The connection expires after one month, but who cares? You'll be home again by then.
How can your family contact you while you are touring the sights? Easy. Record a message on the voice mailbox of your regular mobile connection to announce that you have a temporary new phone number.
In the European Union, charges for incoming phone calls, which are commonly imposed in the United States and other markets, are unknown. So there's no risk of incoming traffic sucking the value out of a prepaid SIM card.
People who own smartphones with two SIM card slots have it even easier: they can use a cheap European SIM for data traffic and their regular SIM card from home for voice traffic.
Another tip: if your phone has a special tool to open the SIM compartment, be sure to carry that in your wallet. The clerk in the shop will be pleased at the help.
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