By Lauren Juliff
Student Travel Expert, about.com
As travelers, we're always on the lookout for ways to save money on the road. One of the biggest unforeseen expenses for people traveling through multiple countries on a single trip is using their mobile phone abroad.
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While
traveling through a different country you'll understandably want to be
able to use your phone. How do you do this in a cost-effective
manner? The sheer number of options available can be overwhelming at
times.
First, you need to ask yourself what you're going to be using your phone for.
- Do you want to be able to call your friends and family back home?
- Do you want to check Facebook, Twitter and your email as you're traveling?
- Do you want to be able to keep in contact with friends you've made on the road?
Our first step is to recommend that you call your friends and family back home with Skype and a Wi-Fi connection.
Regardless of which phone and SIM card combination you're using you'll
be making an international call and these can be extremely pricey.
If both you and the person you're calling have
Skype accounts then you'll be able to talk to them over Wi-Fi for free
-- it really is that simple. If your parents are technologically
challenged then set them up with a Skype account before you leave, leave
a set of instructions explaining how to use it, and then you won't have
to worry about paying any nasty fees to keep in touch.
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How about
keeping in contact with the friends you're traveling with, or the people
you've met while traveling? How about getting online to use Google Maps
when you're lost in an unfamiliar city?
There are several options to choose from.
International Cellphone Plans
Your
current cellphone provider may be able to put you on an international
plan for your time away, but this comes with a high level of difficulty
and expense. International plans are often offered based on the region
you'll be visiting so won't work all over the world. The prices are also
extremely expensive. AT&T, for example, will charge you $30 a month
for 15 minutes worth of calls to the US. We don't recommend signing up
for an international calling plan.
International Roaming
This
option is even worse than going on an international cellphone plan.
This involves not speaking to your carrier before you leave, taking your
phone abroad with you and using it as and when you need it. This can be
horrifically expensive -- this person downloaded a TV show while abroad
and returned to a $50,000 bill!
Needless to say, we do not recommend going down this path unless you're
happy to blow your life savings on updating your Facebook status.
Renting/Buying a Phone in Every Country
It's
hard to believe that this could be a cost-effective way to travel, but
it actually usually works out cheaper than the first two options we
discussed. You can rent cellphones either before you arrive in a
country or once you arrive, guaranteed that you'll have a phone that
will work for the country you're in. This works well if you're going to
be visiting one country on your trip and don't want to have to sort out
being connected by yourself.
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You can also buy cheap cellphones in
most countries for around $20. Simply, pop a local SIM card in and then
you're good to go. When you finish up in the country, you can either
give the phone to someone who needs it or recycle it.
Buy an International SIM Card
There
are a few companies that offer international SIM cards -- cards that
will work in every country in the world. This is a hassle-free way to
ensure that you're phone will stay working as you travel through
multiple countries. The only downside is the cost. While not as pricey
as international roaming, you'll still likely end up paying 5-20x what
you would for a local SIM card.
Use an Unlocked Phone and Local SIM Cards
This
is absolutely the cheapest way to save money with your cellphone as you
travel. Simply get your phone unlocked before you leave and then as
soon as you arrive in a new country pick up a local SIM card. You
usually won't have to pay more than about $20 for the SIM -- in Vietnam,
for example, we spent $4 for a SIM card with unlimited phone calls,
texts and 5GB of data.
The only downside to this method is
finding the local SIM cards themselves. Fortunately, in most
countries you'll find a small booth in the airport when you arrive where
you can pick up a SIM card. Unfortunately, this isn't true all the
time. We recommend taking a look at detailed guides on how to find local
sim cards in popular destinations around the world. This post
is the most informative we've come across. It recommends the best value
SIM card in several different countries and details every single step
you need to take to find one. If they don't cover a particular company
then this resource lists the best value local SIM cards for every country in the world.
Still,
going on the hunt for a SIM card doesn't always have to be a negative
-- it gives you a unique cultural experience and will take you places
you hadn't otherwise visited!
Out of all of these options,
we definitely recommend going down the local SIM card route. Hopefully,
you can now see how it'll easily save you the most money.
