As you’re planning your exciting trip to Israel, you’ll need to find a good way to communicate while you’re there, and that most likely means a cell phone. You can use a cell phone in Israel for phone calls and SMS messages, just as you can in the U.S.
With a smart phone, you can email and send pictures from Old Jerusalem and a video of you serenely floating on the Dead Sea or snorkeling around Eilat’s coral reef. Luckily, there’s free WiFi all over Israel.

You’ll want to optimize your time in country by finding more about the areas that you’ll be visiting and searching for reasonable accommodations, such as a private home, hostel or Kibbutz, on the Internet. That alone could justify an Israel cell phone rental.

Taking your own phone with you
One way to have a cell phone along is to take your own phone with you, but there are some things that you’ll need to be aware of. For instance, if you have an iPhone, you’ll be able to send and receive texts all over the world with WiFi, but you’ll need an internet connection.

To get that will take some planning. You’ll need an unlocked smart phone, so check to see if yours is locked or unlocked. Most phones sold in the U.S. are locked. Even if yours is locked, there’s still hope. Some providers allow you to unlock your own phone and even furnish directions about how to do that, so you can unlock your phone before leaving for your trip.

Other locked smart phones require unauthorized third party software to unlock, and using those could void your warranty, so that may not be the right choice. Check with your provider to get specific information about your particular phone. Keep in mind that Israel requires the use of the 1800 MHz band, so be sure that your phone will support that band, also.

If your phone is unlocked and can operate on the 1800 MHz band, you’ll be able to rent an Israeli SIM card, in standard, micro or nano size, to use in your own phone. The advantage is that you’re probably already familiar with your own phone and more comfortable using it than a different one.

Companies that rent SIM cards may require you to order one for your phone before you leave, sometimes as long as a month before your trip, and it should arrive about three days before your departure. Then you’ll have to figure out how to change the SIM card. For some phones, there’s a tray that needs to be popped out with a special tool. You can get that tool if you mention it when you order your SIM card. SIM cards in other phones are located behind the battery, so you’ll pop out the battery, slide out the regular SIM card and replace it with the one for use in Israel.

At least one other company allows you to get a SIM card delivered to your hotel or apartment when you get to Israel, and you can return it conveniently at any hotel desk.

Renting a phone in Israel
Israel cell phone rental is another choice that may be right for you. You have a couple of choices. You can order one in advance to be sent to you at your home, or you can arrange to get one delivered to you in Israel. If you order one in advance and have it shipped to you (at extra expense per each item), be sure to mention when ordering if you’ll have a stopover, say for a week, elsewhere.

You don’t want to be charged for the week that you’ll have the phone, but be unable to use it. Well, you’ll technically be able to use it in other countries, but you’ll incur expensive roaming charges, which makes that not such a good choice. If you order one in advance, you’ll get a prepaid envelope to return the phone when you get back home.

For cell phone rental in Israel, get a recent model of phone that’s unlikely to break down. Some companies that rent phones have older models, and if it breaks down you’ll not only lose the use of it, you’ll use some of your valuable vacation time waiting by a different phone, possibly for hours, for a technician to figure out what’s wrong, such as whether it’s broken, needs a new charger unit or has the wrong SIM card in it.

If that person doesn’t speak English, as sometimes is the case, then the task becomes even more difficult. In the meantime, your tour proceeds without you, and you’ve maybe missed one of the key spots you wanted to see while in Israel. If it’s a charger unit that’s wrong, and it happens to be after hours or during an extended holiday, you’ll lose the use of the cell phone and may not be reimbursed for that lost time.

Some companies rent only new phones, which should eliminate the problem of breakdowns. When you rent a phone, it should come with a charger for both U.S. and Israel and an included SIM card for no additional cost. It will be already configured, and you’ll be able to use it immediately after you pick it up from the desk at your hotel. It doesn’t get much easier than that, does it?

The best companies offer world-class customer service and put their customers first. That’s the kind of company that you need, so be an aware buyer by checking out websites and reading reviews there and other places on the web as well. The best company to have when things go south is one that offers support service in Israel in person, by phone and by email, rather than one with only an email contact. A company that focuses on customer satisfaction will make sure that you have no hidden costs or unwanted surprises.

Typical plans and costs for cell phone rental in Israel
Equipment is rented per day in Israel. The longer you rent a cell phone, for instance, the less money it will cost per day. If you’ll need a week’s rental, then it could cost about $6 per day, but if you want to rent it for longer than a month, the cost will be $4 a day. Blackberries need a special RIM data package to work, and that rents for an additional $2 per day.

When you rent a cell phone, your SIM card rental should be included in the price. Your phone plan typically will come with unlimited voice for Israel and landlines and mobiles in the U.S. and Canada. International SMS and each extra GB of data cost extra. SIM rental is about $58 per week. A value added tax (VAT) is added to all rentals.
Consider getting insurance against the theft of your rental phone. Convenient accessories that you can rent priced per week are: adapter, $3; phone charger, $8; and USB cord, $5.