Travel / Unlocked cell phone & SIM requirements for use in Poland / Europe [7]

That's okay Gumishu. I managed to get a SIM called Three UK. It has a UK # and can call like 72 countries. It has 3000 minutes, 3000 texts and 12 gig of data good for 30 days. I will activate it a couple days before I leave the U.S. I can also use Google Voice for calls to/from the U.S. because the US Sim does not include the U.S.

Travel / Unlocked cell phone & SIM requirements for use in Poland / Europe [7]

I am starting out in Prague so I have to get the SIM either there or here first in the U.S. As for a phone, I managed to buy a slightly used BLU Vivo 5 mini for just $25. It works on all bands. gsmarena.com/blu_vivo_5_mini-8541.php

I found a SIM I could buy in advance and be all set. It is supposed to work in all countries for 30 days. It is listed on Amazon as: PrePaid Europe (UK THREE) sim card 12GB data+3000 minutes+3000 texts for 30 days with FREE ROAMING / USE in 71 destinations including all European countries.

It's only $30. I was told in an answer to a question that I posted on the item that it can actually be activated here in the U.S. before departure. Comments/reviews claim otherwise - that it has to be activated in the UK. I have no way of knowing who's right.

Am I likely to do any better than that by buying a local SIM in Europe??!! (the CZech Republic to begin with) Can I call the United States using a local European SIM? Or can I only call within Europe?

The host of the first place we'll be staying said to buy a prepaid sim card after our arrival, saying that Prague is in the European union as well as Austria, Hungary and Poland so that any sim card I get in Prague will work in the three other countries. But again, if this other SIM works fine and I can get it in advance, and it costs the same or even less, what's the advantage of buying it locally in Europe after I arrive?

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

I researched debit cards for use at ATMs in Europe and found Schwab has great card that doesn't charge any foreign processing fees, plus they have a promo now, open account and get $100. Technically it is a brokerage account with a checking account/debit card.

schwab.com/public/schwab/nn/refer-prospect.html

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

I need help figuring out getting currency at best exchange rates or whether it's better to use a certain credit card most of the time - and which one offers best rates as well. Since we're traveling to Czeck, Austria, Hungary and Poland, I think there is either limited or no use of the Euro.

I also need help on using a cell phone for use in Europe. I have a very old T-Mobile phone that is UNLOCKED and takes a SIM card. Would that likely work? Anyone know whether getting a SIM in Prague will be usable in all those other places? Or would I have to get SIM cards in each country?

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

Patrycjait, that site is difficult for me because it's not in English. It's asking me a question I can't answer because I can't understand it. Otherwise it looks great. And Jon, I do use Booking, TripAdvisor and AirBnb. Also just discovered Hipmunk.

Also, Jon, we've decided to head to Vienna after Prague, since it's not so far. After having been on the long flight overseas, we don't want to deal with airports, the layover between flights and a long trip overall 3 days after arrival. Then we'll head to Budapest, then to our cities in Poland. So may fly back to Prague from Gdansk. But thanks for checking those earlier flights to Gdansk. I'd seen them too.

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

Merged:

Prague to Gdansk or Sopot - coming to Poland for the first time

My sister and I have finally gotten our flights. I posted another thread a few weeks ago. We're the two polish sisters in our mid-60s coming to Poland for the first time. We are starting in Czeck. In addition to Poland, we will also travel into Hungary, and possibly Austria.

We fly into Prague on the morning of May 9th, and we come home from Prague on June 1st, 2018. 22 days!
Here are the places we're thinking about:

Possibly Dresden
Possibly Lubin
Definitely Gdansk, Wroklaw and Krakow
Possibly Warsaw
Definitely Budapest (and small town, Edeleny)
Possibly Vienna and then
Definitely return to Prague to fly home.

About a 20 minute ride from Gdansk, there is a fancy and historical hotel we're considering as something to splurge on. It's tripadvisor/Hotel_Review-g274735-d275085-Reviews-Sofitel_Grand_Sopot-Sopot_Pomerania_Province_Northern_Poland.html

I'm thinking we should go to Gdansk first, because I was told it gets very busy there even in May. We check out of our (AirBnB) place in Prague on Friday, May 11th. I was hoping to fly from Prague but when I go to Ryanair, it says they don't fly to Gdansk. Then when I check CheapoAir, it says Ryanair does fly to Gdansk, but it's sold out. This is confusing.

Do you think it makes sense to go to Gdansk/Sopot first from Prague, especially if we want to stay at the Sofitel Grand Hotel? Or is there a better way to do this? And what are your thoughts on the rest of our itinerary? We have 22 days to explore, but we do want time to relax. We don't want to be moving every 2-3 days. Other than this Grand Hotel, we're thinking we can book the rest of our places as we go, a few days ahead, using Tripadvisor and AirBnB.

If we do go to Gdansk/Sopot first, what is best way to get there from Prague? WE DO NOT PLAN TO RENT A CAR.

Thanks for your advice on this.

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

delphiandomine, thanks so much for all your suggestions. I have to take some time to think about them. I'm not sure I want to move around every two days, so we may want to narrow down our itinerary. Kaprys posted that we may want to stay in Krakow for 4-5 days.

Meanwhile, we recently found out that several generations of our family spent a lot of time in Wroclaw. So that's still something to consider. Ultimately I guess, just the fact that we'll be anywhere in Poland may serve our purpose. Sorting through all of our options is going to take some time.

We are definitely interested in getting the contact information for the agent you mentioned.

Today, we may have narrowed down when we want to start the trip. It would most likely be somewhere between May 4th and May 7th and returning in about three weeks. We are flexible because we're both retired. Whatever flight days are least expensive.

We are searching VRBO for places to stay for two reasons. One is to have more opportunities to interact with people socially. Another reason is to keep costs down. We're not interested in a hostel because we don't want to share a room with other people and we want our own bathroom. And we definitely don't want to sleep on someone's couch or just stay in the bedroom of someone's home. Are there any hotels that are competitive in price with VRBO rentals?

Thank you for your offer to help put this together. We so appreciate your time and input!!

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Owell, thank your for that great information. We will definitely look into that app.

Travel / Two Older Polish American Sisters to visit Poland 1st Time [29]

No, Kaprys, I just assumed there was one Mosciska, not five!! And when I look on a map of Poland, I found one Mosciska. How can there be five? We are talking about the entire trip being more like three weeks including Poland and the other countries we decide on.