When we travel overseas for a vacation or a business trip, we always want to stay in touch with our loved ones and friends. Thus, we keep our phones in our pockets wherever we go.
When you take your phone abroad, your domestic SIM card allows you to use international roaming, but you have to be careful in activating this as this could leave you a huge amount of bill once you get home. You will be charged outrageously even when you only sent a few texts or use only light data when browsing the internet.
Of course, you want to take your mind off things during your trip, so here are some tips that might help you have a stress-free travel.
Switch off your mobile data
When you’re not using your phone’s data, it is best to switch them off. Using it abroad will cause you big amount of roaming charges. Your boarding pass, hotel booking, location services are some things that require your data connection. Before you travel, it is best to take photos of your boarding pass and hotel information and save an offline google map, so you will not be tempted checking them online.
While overseas and when there are circumstances that leave you no choice but to be online, there are free Wi-Fi hotspots in public places and in the hotel where you’re checked in. Use them to update your family, post photos on social media, or other work-related necessities.
Avoid making calls and text
Phone SMS and voice calls can also add up to your roaming bill especially when you don’t have a messaging plan activated on your devices. You may be charged for the calls you make. Luckily, there are other options you can avail to have that cheap calls experience.
Before leaving home, tell your family and friends that contacting you via email or on social media may be better. But again, when you do this, keep in mind that it is always advisable to connect with free Wi-Fi in your location. Switching your phone on an airplane mode or leaving it in the hotel will also be helpful for you to avoid temptations.
Buy a local SIM card
One best solution is to buy a local SIM card in your destination country. It is much practical than availing roaming services. You can purchase them at the airport once you arrive. Although it’ll seem costly, rest assured that you can save more money with this. However, you will not be reachable with your former SIM anymore. So inform everyone back home that they can always contact you online.
Conclusion
Planning ahead before leaving your country will help you avoid paying big phone bills abroad. When you can’t do the aforementioned tips and you still choose to avail roaming services, it is always best to contact your local service provider back home. Talk to them about all the charges and data limits that may apply while using them.
