I was wondering the best (most inexpensive) way to call Canada from the US. We will be taking my son to a summer program at the University of Vermont, and while he is there the rest of our family will be vacationing in Canada (Montreal and Mt Tremblant area). I want my son to be able to call us now and then to let us know how he's doing. He will have a cell phone with him (a prepaid T-Mobile phone), but I'm wondering if he'll be able to call us using his cell phone. Would it be better to get him a prepaid calling card for use with his cell phone or a land line?

Also, excuse me for my ignorance, but when calling Canada I understand you just have to dial "1" first (and not 011 like when calling other countries). Is this correct?

Thanks for any help you can give me!
Susan

Canada's area code system is integrated with ours.

I use Vartec as my long distance carrier from my landline phone and pay 5 cents a minute, with a 50¢ minimum. Vartec does provide a calling card, if you subscribe to its long distance service as part of your dialtone service.

You will need to ask about the mobile phone. Those rates are often higher.

Thanks for your response, Bob. I looked at the T-Mobile website and it looks like it will cost the regular call rate plus an additional 40 cents/minute for calls to Canada. I imagine a prepaid calling card will be much cheaper than that. (I assume you can use a calling card with a cell phone, but I've never tried it. I know it's sometimes difficult to find a land line nowadays at most colleges.)

Susan

If you are carrying a US mobile phone in Canada, check your plan. Beware of expensive roaming charges. When working the US, I had a North America one rate plan which eliminated US roaming charges and cost
CDN$0.25 a minute anywhere in North America.

I'm assuming pre paid calling cards are the same sort of deal in the US as here in Canada, so yes it would be much cheaper for him to use one.
My boyfriend regularly calls his family in Germany from his cell phone using a card, big thing to remember is what time his phone is free after, 6pm or 8pm, otherwise I believe some charges will still apply to his phone.

Hi,

Prepaid calling cards (for regular [non cell]phones) are soooooo inexpensive compared with what costs you'd face otherwise.

Ideally you'd buy one or more of them that let you call anywhere in the lower 48 or Canada for maybe 3 cents a minute, and then attempt to call from a HOME/business phone (a NON-pay phone) and talk until you're just sick of talking.

3 hours at 3 cents a minute would be $5.40...

IF calling from pay phones, those tend to add a surcharge of .60 to $1 per call, so best to try to avoid those.

Be aware that some of those don't work FROM canada. (meaning: the same card you bought in the U.S.)

Others have a special 1-800 number that you call for access, FROM Canada.

Calling cards are the way to go...

I apologize for my ignorance, but where do you get a pre paid calling card? I want one that I can use with my cell in Canada during a several week trip this summer. I assume that without it I will get huge roaming charges, even for local (within Canada) calls.

I don't know much about calling cards for CELL phones.

It is just so easy these days to look around local convenience stores to buy the prepaid calling cards you can use from land line phones.

The rates are incredibly cheap, and the savings on calls from the U.S. to Canada are stunning vs. the pick-up-your-home-phone-and-dial-direct rates.

No doubt you've seen the doorways of convenience stores wallpapered with prepaid calling card ads. I am only guessing when I say that similar cards, only for cell phones, must be somewhat common in the most convenient places.

NOT JUST ANY CARD will bring forth the savings that you might want, but stores usually have the rates indexed for each card listed by country you want to call.

FYI - I'd NEVER buy a calling card from the machines in airports. They are horrifically overpriced!!! (like everything else there)

Sometimes the airports have cards where you call for 50 cents per minute... why do that when 3 cents per minute can be had fairly conveniently?

Calling cards are not the total solution if you want to bring your mobile phone with you.

You need a calling plan from T-Mobile which has free roaming charges in Canada.

Otherwise, keep your phone turned off and use a Canadian based calling card to call your mobile phone's voice mail from hotel/pay phone.

It's only 1.9c/min if you buy prepaid calling cards. I use the ones from calltalknow.com and they work just fine.