You can now top up your Vodafone credit while visiting Italy. All you have to do is buy a 'Ricarica' scratch card from Vodafone - Omnitel available from many authorised retailers across Italy, including cafès, mobile phone shops, some newspsaper stands, tobacco stores.

Carefully scratch off the silver panel on the Top Up scratch card.

Call your prepay Top Up creditline back home:

• UK: 2345
• Germany: 22922
• Spain:133
• Portugal: 1790
• Ireland: 1741

Note that it may take up to a few hours before receiving your credit after topping up.

We walked in a Vodafone Omnitel shop in Rome and they were absolutely unaware of any possibility for topping up foreign phones. But after looking carefully in their shop, you can find a small paper with the documentation.

Cell phone companies in Italy are far more competitive and efficient than land phone companies. With a minimal expense, you can get your new phone and number in less than 5 minutes.

Most Italians, and most Europeans in general, use what is called a prepaid SIM card that they just slip into their handset. This inexpensive chip determines what your phone number will be and keeps track of how much you spend on calls. It also includes features such as voicemail and an address book for storing telephone numbers. Prepaid SIM cards have a predetermined amount of call credit, and when that amount expires, or even before it expires, they can be easily "reloaded". A prepaid SIM card allows flexibility since it doesn't tie you into a contract, offers fair outgoing rates both nationally and internationally, and lets you receive unlimited free incoming calls from anywhere in the world. Some companies even credit your card for every call or text message you receive.

Calls to the US are about 25 US cents a minute, depending on the company and exchange rate. Again, unlike in the US where companies charge both incoming and outgoing calls, in Italy, incoming calls are always free.

Renting Phones
Renting phones make no sense in Italy. The main target is always Americans, because their phones never work outside the US, and because they are used to more expensive service. In this case, incoming calls will be anything but free. In fact, you will probably be paying at least $2 a call whether you are receiving or dialing out. In order to take advantage of Italy's low rates, you need to get a prepaid SIM card specifically intended to be used in Italy. As a side note, although an Italian SIM does allow you to roam to other countries, you will be charged for outgoing as well as incoming calls if you do - and at considerably higher rates than if calling within Italy. Plus, if you run out of time on your card, you cannot easily reload it outside of Italy.

Buying a telephone and buying a prepaid SIM card is a separate process. Some phones are sold with a free prepaid and with some credit, which you don't have to use. Telephones typically cost between $100 and $300, but you can find deals for $50 or high tech units for $1000.