Mobile Phones – Travel Tips

Using a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA or Blackberry when travelling abroad could a bundle.  Using them outside the EU for data services, sending photos, videos, etc. could also result in phone bill shocks. 

Fans travelling out to watch the World Cup in South Africa will need to be smart and investiage their phone options before they depart.

 Tips and Suggestions – in a Nutshell

• Ask contacts to send texts (free to receive) rather than call
• Use an internet café or hotel to Skype or email/update social networking
• Check the EU roaming cap is activated
• Disable ‘automatic updates’
• Ask your phone provider to turn off Voicemail while you are away
• Password-protect your phone or device
• Inform trusted contacts you are going abroad – and avoid unnecessary calls
• If unsure, check with provider re available bolt-on or cap
• Purchase a local or worldwide (global) SIM

When travelling abroad remember that it will cost you to receive mobile phone calls as well as make them.  It is normally free to receive texts, but there will be a charge for sending them.  In case your family or friends need to contact you, arrange ahead of time for them to text you and then find an internet café to respond.

For backpackers and those going to far-flung places it may be best to turn off the phone and forget using it - except in absolute emergencies.  Instead, find an internet café or use your hotel to send emails and update your Facebook and other social networking accounts.  Another option is to set up a Skype account before you go and make sure family and friends are also set up.    

If you have a smartphone or cell phone with internet connection it will automatically roam the internet when switched on and continue receiving updates - costing a fortune when overseas.  It might be wise to disable ‘automatic updates’ when travelling.  Consider having your provider turn off the voicemail service altogether while you are travelling.  Another potential money-trap is additional costs for services you did not know you were getting, such as automatic call-backs each time you receive a voicemail message – which will rack up bills for nothing.

Contact your provider as soon as possible if your phone is lost or stolen, otherwise you could end up paying for any calls (keep a note of provider contact details).  Consider using password-protection.   During the summer holiday and other peak times providers may offer packages to tempt new customers – so keep your eyes open for the latest offers and deals.

Inform your regular (trusted) contacts that you are going abroad and avoid receiving unimportant and costly calls.   However, costs to receive calls within the EU are not outrageous (at the time of writing).   

Before you go, contact your mobile phone provider to check your plan and ask about the best options available for your destination and whether a bolt-on or cap is available.  This should  keep costs down, or within a certain fixed limit.  Ask how much calls, texts and internet use will cost and if they have a better package - even a temporary one. 

Another option is to wait until you reach your destination and purchase a local or global SIM card – especially if you plan to make a lot of calls.  A global SIM card is worth considering when setting off on a backpacking trip involving several countries. Again check with your provider before you go to find out if this will require having your phone ‘unlocked’.   Alternatively, ask if there is an option to temporarily upgrade your account to an international package.

From March 2010 all European mobile phone providers are required (under EU roaming rules) to offer a cap of €50 (approx £45) for accessing the internet on your mobile phone.  Services vary between providers, and you may need to ‘opt-in’.  Discussions are currently underway for changing this to an automatic €50 cap – unless you opt out. 

Connecting to the internet when overseas is likely to entail huge costs – and forget sending data, especially photos or videos, unless you have money to burn!  Using your phone to connect to the internet from popular destinations like S. Africa, Turkey, Florida, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean is likely to entail wallet-whittling charges. 

Check for the latest deals and offers as some providers have special plans for those travelling abroad (such as the Vodaphone Passport service) which will help keep costs down.  

The Directgov website includes useful information – click here.  The Communications watchdog Ofcom website also provides useful advice, as well as advice for World Cup fans - click here.   

Tip:  If you have an old pay-as-you-go mobile phone with credit remaining you will need to use the phone now and again to make a paid call (usually within six months) otherwise the account may be automatically closed – and you stand to lose any unused credit.

If you have any updates or useful information for other travellers re mobile phones please leave a comment!  We will publish comments as long as they are not obviously spam!

To obtain a quote for travel insurance clickhere. For Backpacker insurance click here.

Flickr cc Image:  Gonzalo Baeza Hernandez (iPhone sunset in the Andes)