Trying to keep in touch with the folks back home while abroad can be difficult, if not downright expensive. However, with a little bit of knowledge (and the right kind of mobile phone), you can keep your friends and family abreast of your journeys without going broke.
For Americans traveling to Europe, you may be able to use your mobile while on vacation. However, instead of activating your worldwide service through your US phone company (where it may cost you $1 per minute), look into unlocking or purchasing an unlocked phone off of Ebay or our personal favorite, MyWorldPhone.
You will still need a SIM card for your visiting country, so when you arrive at your destination, pop into a local cell phone provider and get one. Many countries don't have monthly plans, and it is quite typical to go in and purchase a new SIM. You may even want to wait to get your phone while abroad, since they almost certainly have the latest models. You can even bring it home and use it with a SIM-based service like T-Mobile or AT&T. Just make sure it's a tri- or quad-band phone, dual-band won't cut it back in the good ol' US of A.
In our experience, we called the US from Italy and it would cost us around $.50 per minute. We quickly learned that using a calling card didn't use any minutes from our phone, and was the equivalent of using the calling card to call home from a pay phone. However, what we found most useful was the ability to make local calls without great expense, as well as sending text messages home.
Thanks mtoz for the photo!
in hong kong you can buy a sim card at any 7-11 convenience store. make sure you tell them you'll be making calls back to the US though as some sim cards don't allow international calls. most of the employees know which one to give you with the cheapest price.
view eec007's profile
You can just wait until you get to Europe and buy an unlocked tri-band GSM phone with a bunch of features for far less than you'll likely find in the U.S. I was in Europe for all of June this year and when I arrived in Amsterdam, the electronics store in the airport had low-end tri-band Nokia phones for 40EUR.
In all the placed I visited on the trip, getting a pre-paid SIM card was as complicated as buying a bottle of water. In Amsterdam, all over Romania, Vienna and London you just walk up to the mobile store, hand over 10 EUR or 10 GPB note and you have a brand new SIM card with minutes. Hungary was a bit more hassle because the government regulations there require you to provide all your personal info: name, address, age, etc.
If you're going to be hitting a lot of countries, it's probably cheaper to buy new SIM cards in each. Otherwise you'll get hit with roaming. I didn't call the U.S. much at all, but I sent a lot of text messages, which cost about .10 EUR each.
view Aaron Binns's profile
i used a razr in paris by upgrading service temporarily and then downgrading it on my return. i was on the phone & texting ALOT & expected a enormous phone bill on my return. very pleasantly surprised.
view abby's profile
You can simply unlock your phone in the U.S. Most phone companies hesitate to tell you it is possible but IT IS!
Then the SIM cards and recharge cards are readily available (usually at airport concession stands). When you land in China, there is booth right in the concourse selling these (and other calling cards) before you even get to the baggage claim. Be sure to bargain ... believe it or not you can get a RMB1000 card for RMB 800.
view crewtag.com's profile