International Calling
One thing I learned on a recent trip to South Africa is that I really, really like having a local cell phone that I can use to make phone calls with.
It is hard to predict in advance if you will need to use a phone while traveling. In the end, I had to
- call my hotel to ask for directions
- call my friend who I was meeting for dinner but was not receiving my text messages
- call my travel agent when there was a problem with my flight
It may be worth getting the international calling and/or data plan. Check with your cell phone provider for details.
iPhone
I use an iPhone 4s at home, and I took it with on my trip. I primarily used my iPhone for directions/maps and downloading boarding passes via email.
I did not pay for an international calling plan for my trip because I didn’t think it was worth the money. In Europe, it only saves about $.20/minute. In Africa, it saves $1.00/minute, but I am not likely to make calls even at the bargain $3.99/minute!
However, I did purchase an international data place for $25 for 100MB of data. I did use this on the my trip – although as sparingly as possible.
I was able to send and receive text messages to and from U.S. phone numbers. However, I was only able to receive text messages for international phones — my text messages never got through to a non-U.S. phone number.
Contact your provider before you leave as I was able to get a signal outside the U.S., but other people were not.
Skype
Skype is a great option for calling home if you have a smart phone or laptop. With Skype, you can instant message, call, and even video call. You have to
- Have an account with Skype
- Your friends/family have to have an account (or you call land/cell phones for a small fee, which is much, much cheaper that calling direct)
- Download the free app
- Be on WiFi to use
Blackberry / Sim Cards
I had an old Blackberry that I was able to “unlock” from AT&T. Then I got a local sim card, which costs a small fee for calls. I got a Toggle, which is good in Europe, and I have used a World Sim in the U.K. I also just purchased a sim card at the Vodaphone store in the Johannesburg Airport. You can also get a cheap phone in your local country.