Travel Smarter With Your Smartphone
If you travel a lot internationally you more than likely wouldn’t dream of leaving your smartphone behind. It is a handy tool as you can quickly get directions in a foreign city, or alter your plane reservations. The only problem is, using your smartphone internationally can get extremely expensive.
The pain of international texting
The New York Times' Frugal Traveler blog recently covered the excessive costs that smartphone users might encounter when traveling abroad. Among them? How about 50 cents for every text message you send out or receive? Then there are international roaming rates that could soar to $2, $3, or $5 a minute. It could set you back $15 to retrieve a megabyte of data through your smartphone, according to the blog post. Thankfully, there are ways travelers can save when traveling. And the Frugal Traveler blog was kind enough to list a few of them.
Stay disconnected
Of course, the easiest way is to stay disconnected to your cell phone throughout your trip overseas. The issue is, that's easier said than done. As the blog indicates, many international hotels no longer have in-room phones. And pay phones have become scarce across the globe. A more sensible solution might be to rely on your hotel's free Internet connections or on Wi-Fi networks to check emails and send messages. Obviously, even if your web browsing and email activity is free of charge, phone calls can still be a problem. A solution? Set up an account with an app such as Skype or Google Voice to help you make your calls. This won't be free, but as the Frugal Traveler blog says, it's far more affordable than making standard roaming calls on your cell phone. Generally, expect to pay one-tenth the price of a standard cellphone plan when you're relying on services such as Skype and Google Voice.
International SIM Cards
If your cell phone company allows you to use other providers, you could always buy a SIM card. The Frugal Traveler tried two out, Telestial's Passport card which costs $19 and OneSimCard's Standard card costing $30. They reported that both of these work effectively and give you a main phone number that is not from your home country.
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