Most of us travel with our cell phones these days. But if you do not make a few adjustments to your normal cell phone use regime when traveling, you may be in for a shocking cell phone bill upon your return. Fear not, there are a variety of strategies available to you that will keep you from having a heart attack when you see the roaming charges on your bill.
The simplest and cheapest option is to simply turn off your cellular data option on your phone and not place any “phone calls” via your normal calling method. Instead, rely exclusively on the availability of Wi-Fi and use an app like WhatsApp for your communications back home. WhatsApp offers video, voice-only calling and texting over Wi-Fi. I’ve used it extensively both when overseas and when communicating from home with friends and family in other countries.
A word about using public Wi-Fi: in most of my travels, I have found Wi-Fi readily available in hotels and restaurants as well as various public facilities. I always make sure to have a VPN service enabled when using Wi-Fi as another layer of protection.
The downside of relying exclusively on Wi-Fi is that if you are out and about, you may not have access to tools on your phone that are important while traveling (e.g. mapping tools; translation apps; etc.). If you want to always be able to use your phone (assuming cellular coverage) you will need to make use of a data package. Some folks purchase a ‘burner phone’ for the locality they are visiting and buy a SIM card with a small data plan. This isn’t a bad option if you are staying in one country but can be more challenging if your travels involve multiple countries.
You can check with your cellular carrier about international plans they may offer. For example, I use T-mobile, and they offer a 30 day pass with 15GB of data and unlimited calling for $50. For my 38 day trip, I’d also need to add on a 10-day pass (with 5GB) for $35. So for $85, I would have passes to cover my entire trip and with 20 total GB of data. Another option available to me with a Magenta plan is unlimited data and texting and calling at 25 cents per minute. That works out to being even with the $85 option as long as I don’t make more than 9 minutes of calling per day.
In my experience, the best option is to purchase an eSIM card. This is a virtual SIM that lets you use local cellular providers. These can be purchased online ahead of time and then activated when you reach your destination. I use a company called alosim. They offer a Western Europe card that works in Spain and Portugal. I can purchase a 30 day/10GB card for $25. Not knowing how much data I’ll be using, this option seems preferable to me, as if I find my utilization is higher, I can by another 10GB and still be in only $50. If I need a smaller increment, I can get a 30 day/5GB sim for $15.