Verizon International Plan

sallysue66

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
DD will be doing a study abroad in Ireland for 2 weeks. Can anyone tell me the most economical international calling plan for her? We have Verizon. I know they have a $10 per day add-on that will allow her to use our regular data, minutes, etc and there is a $40 per month plan but it only includes a small amount of data. I'm not sure which is the best way to go.
TIA.
 
My son went to Australia for 3 weeks and used the travel pass that is $10 a day and used our data. He only used it about once a week to check in with everyone. The rest of the time he was able to use wifi. We told him to only use it once in a while and he did fine with it. I also used it while on a cruise. I used it 2 different days. It worked out great for me too.
 
I live in Ireland. Depending on her location and what she will be doing, many places have free public wifi. Public transport, hotels, bars resturants, Starbucks, Mcdonalds etc. Also if she will be on any college campus they will have free Wifi for the students. Also I know some citys like parts of Dublin city have free public wifi. If you as a family are not already using using it I suggest you set up WhatsAP on both your daughters phone and your phone. That way you can text and make calls for free when connected to the internet.

Also maybe look into getting a pay as you go Irish SIM card and just switching out her SIM card when she is here
 
I live in Ireland. Depending on her location and what she will be doing, many places have free public wifi. Public transport, hotels, bars resturants, Starbucks, Mcdonalds etc. Also if she will be on any college campus they will have free Wifi for the students. Also I know some citys like parts of Dublin city have free public wifi. If you as a family are not already using using it I suggest you set up WhatsAP on both your daughters phone and your phone. That way you can text and make calls for free when connected to the internet.

Also maybe look into getting a pay as you go Irish SIM card and just switching out her SIM card when she is here
If you have iphones you can send imessages(texts) free over wifi
 


I agree with PP about the WhatsAp. My mother and her friend in Germany use it all the time to communicate. My mom will be in Spain in April so she suggested I download the app in order to talk to her. You need to be connected to Wifi, so that's the only downside.
 
If you have iphones you can send imessages(texts) free over wifi

Same with a Galaxy (message+).


No. If your smartphone/laptop can connect to wifi, you can send messages using apps for free.

I used my stateside phone in Asia to let my spouse know I arrived right after landing. It was like $.50 per text back in 2010. After than, after getting my luggage and through customs, while waiting for my bus, I connected to the airport wifi and got on Facebook. This was using my laptop since I didn't have a smartphone back then. LOL. Within a day, I got a local phone since I was being stationed there. Sometimes you can rent a local phone at the airport. A lot of military just use Skype, ooVoo, Facetime, or other services like a voip device. In 2010, I had a MagicJack that gave me a stateside number my family could call me on while I was overseas and vice versa.

Oh, and make sure whatever device he/she plans to use, that you also plan to take a charger (110/220) that can be used in that country at the airport and hotels.

Two weeks is such a short time, if Verizon offers something that works for OP, I would be inclined to go with that because the person wouldn't have to learn a new phone system, etc. for just two weeks. If it like my Verizon plan, I have an international roaming where it only charges me on the days I am in an international area making calls/texts. Mainly, when we are in Canada which is only once every couple years. But when we spent a week in Niagara, I added it to my plan.

I wouldn't imagine the cell service or wifi would be good in Ireland in the countryside. So she may want to ask more specifically on the wifi options where she will be lodging.

I know on DisBoards on Adventure By Disney, there are some Ireland locals that gave me some great advice when planning a trip to Ireland (haven't went yet) and told me about the roads and lodging, etc. I bet if you ask there, someone could tell you what the Internet service is like where her lodging is.
 
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If you have an iPhone turn on WiFi calling. It allows your phone to work as normal on WiFi with regular texts and phone calls no need to use an app like WhatsApp. I did this last year when I went on a cruise and didn’t want to buy an international plan since I had already paid for WiFi for the cruise.
 
Thanks everyone. I think we need to go with the $10 per day travel pass plan. The data included in the $40 plan wouldn’t cover a day of her normal usage and she is connected to WiFi on campus most of the time.
 
DD will be doing a study abroad in Ireland for 2 weeks. Can anyone tell me the most economical international calling plan for her? We have Verizon. I know they have a $10 per day add-on that will allow her to use our regular data, minutes, etc and there is a $40 per month plan but it only includes a small amount of data. I'm not sure which is the best way to go.
TIA.

I used the $40 per month plan. I canceled it upon arrival back in the US, so the cost was pro-rated for the 12 days of the month I was actually away. Then I used free wifi whenever possible, which was frequently, and I actually had to consciously use the minutes/data I was paying for. The only other complication I recall was that my time away happened to span two billing cycles, so that meant the minutes/data included also had to be split between the two periods, for the number of days I was away in each billing period.

But from above post, it sounds like your DD can regularly use a lot of data even with free wifi, so those overage charges can get high quickly!
 
Most of my kids have the $10 travel plan ($5 in Canada and Mexico, ds just used it last week in Montreal). Since you are only charged the $10 if you use it that day, I’ve just left it on their phones for years. We have unlimited texts, talk and data, and my kids have been overseas without me several times, and I feel better giving them easy access to it.
 
When my son was traveling overseas I got the $40 international plan. He was careful to monitor his calling minutes, and he mainly used wifi. In 3 months he never went over his data allotment because wifi was so available. You have to be careful when you start/stop the plan because her travel dates may not line up with your billing cycle. In this case, I would pay the $10/day for the odd days.

He mainly used FB to communicate with friends and family, using free wifi on FB messenger.
 
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I have a question about the International Plan. If I am in Grand Cayman and have the $10 day a plan, and my normal plan includes unlimited text, talk and data, does that mean I can call and text people back home at no charge, and no long distance charges?
 
I have a question about the International Plan. If I am in Grand Cayman and have the $10 day a plan, and my normal plan includes unlimited text, talk and data, does that mean I can call and text people back home at no charge, and no long distance charges?
Yes for $10 you access your regular plan allowances
 
We just spent two weeks in Costa Rica. I used an older iPhone (5) and when I got to Costa Rica I got one of their SIM cards ($4) and loaded it with $20. Between using WiFi on my regular phone and that phone for calls/data when WiFi wasn't available I spend $24 for the two weeks and came back home with a small amount of time left. If you have an older smartphone that might be an alternative to $10/day.
 
We have new iphones, so I don't think that would be an option. We will only use them a few days so I am not too worried about the $10/day. I was just worried about every call back to the states being charged at long distance rates. We made a few calls TO Grand Cayman scheduling activities and the long distance charges were pretty high!
 
We have new iphones, so I don't think that would be an option. We will only use them a few days so I am not too worried about the $10/day. I was just worried about every call back to the states being charged at long distance rates. We made a few calls TO Grand Cayman scheduling activities and the long distance charges were pretty high!
I'm not trying to be repetitive but it really works perfectly. $10 a day for 24 hours. I was billed an extra $20 after my cruise. No hassles at all and no surprises.
 
I'm not trying to be repetitive but it really works perfectly. $10 a day for 24 hours. I was billed an extra $20 after my cruise. No hassles at all and no surprises.
Thats what I am planning on using now. Just seems the easiest and most convenient. :)
 
I was very happy to use WhatsApp (free) just last week when daughter went to Italy for spring break.
We have Verizon and didn't want some change to our plan just for a week use.
As long as she had WiFi (kept phone on airplane mode), she sent me text and pictures:D. Also a video chat. She learned about it from international students at her college. Also a co-worker has siblings overseas and uses it all the time, she said she loves it. That was very assuring to me, as I was trying not to be the nervous mom as she traveled to another country!
Good luck!!
 
We used WhatsApp when our daughter was deployed last year. Did not cost us anything extra on our phone bill.
 

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