Hi guys,

I am going around Europe this summer for a month. Not too sure which countires yet, but I plan to visit around 8.

How can I use my iphone 6 (EE network) to browse sites, Facebook, whats app etc without being in a wifi spot? I dont want to come home to a massive phone bill.

Will I have to buy another sim card?

Thanks

Your best bet is a SIM from 3 currently - but this may need an unlocked handset (depending on current network)

Several European countries - BUT *NOT* all!!! - are included in the "Feel at Home" scheme - where UK allowances apply.

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/Phon...e-destinations

With EE, any attempt to use data abroad will result in a 'landing page' on the browser inviting you to buy a fixed allowance package. The cost, time, and allowance will vary according to your EE tariff, and whether the country is in the EU or not. Therefore Turkey, Switzerland, and Norway (for example) will be more expensive. You could try logging on to the EE portal here, and seeing what it says for your account, but actually in my experience, what the portal says is different to the actual rates I get. Attention to detail is everything at EE towers <rolls eyes>

Or, as I often use outside of the EU, an unlocked MiFi and local data SIM (make sure
the SIM allows tethered data, so don't leave the shop until you've proved it works)

This.

There is an EU directive that stops you being charged excessively for data now.

OP, how long are you spending in each country? EE will sell you a bundle of data/calls for each country when you get there.

The alternative is to turn off roaming completely and just use local wifi.

This CAN work - but is a pain and does not work for all countries!!! You simply cannot buy a local data SIM in Canada for example,

Oh, yes, I'm sure. However, when it does work, it can be brilliant. In South Africa, the SIM gave us over 1GB of data for the week we were there (for just 9 quid) , and my three colleagues shared the connection, I just walked around with the MiFi in my pocket. We even used it for navigation via Google maps at one point. The only surprise was it still working on the day we left, despite the meter saying we'd used 1.15 GB

I agree it CAN be brilliant! However in many countries you can hit (one or more of!) language problems, SIMs needing local residency or suitable ones just not being available!

Very true but there is an easy work around my friend uses one of these for canada works fine for him

http://www.dataroam.co.uk/pages/canadian-data-sim-cards

I've used the German one as well.

So the best bet would be to see what the network Three have to offer?

The other thing is, if you are a BT Broadband subscriber (or have access to a BT Broadband login), you get access to FON wifi hotspots (aka "FonSpots") - unless you've opted out, that is.

You can take a look on the FON website to see if there are any near where you might be.

The BT WiFi app only works when accessing BT WiFi hotspots (including BT WiFi-with-FON) in the UK, but you can use the FON app instead (also available for Android)

I wouldn't rely on a particular FonSpot working, or indeed still being there, nor would I expect a fast connection, but it's something that just might come in handy when you're in need of getting hooked up.

Pretty expensive - £14.99 for 50Mb!

When I was in Canada in 2013 our style of PAYG seemed unheard of (their "prepaid" means a prepaid rolling contract!) . A cheaper solution might have been to start a monthly contract with a local operator and cancel after just one month - but I never quite got round to trying that!

Turkey is in Europe? That's news to me. It's nearly all in Asia.

You pay a lot for original SIM than is like 6 p a mb very cheap. I'm getting one for Dubai

Turkey is partially in Europe expect by 2020 they will be in EU.

I thought that, like Switzerland, SOME (but by no means ALL!) operators just grouped Turkey into their "EU rates" group. Definitely one to check carefully!

Some?

Which network other than Vodafone includes Turkey as EU?

You will be correct! I thought there was AT LEAST one and you have reminded me which one!

For Switzerland it's the other way round. Most networks class this country in their EU rates - except EE!

If you're traveling to France, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Sweden or Switzerland you can use your UK allowance in those countries at no extra cost, its the cheapest option to take.

so for example if you have 500 minutes 5000 texts and unlimited data in your UK allowance then you can use this in those countries (subject to a 20GB mobile web limit)

Remember with Feel at home though foreign calls are not included though in fairness in EU calls aren't anywhere near as much as they used be.

You do have to watch out for this in places like the US! Phoning the UK might well be free but a local call to a restaurant down the same street won't be!

that's why it may be good to have a cheapo £5 phone with a local sim card aswell.

If part of your travels round Europe take you to the UK, then you can pick up sim cards almost anywhere you can typically find them in 'pound' shops
The main Networks ( Carriers) are EE ( part owned by T mobile/Orange France Telecom )
O2, Vodafone, and Three.
If you get a three sim card you may be able to continue to use it at UK prices in a handful of other European countries