Is it worth it to bring a phone and if so, which ones would you recommend that are
1) cheap
2) can get coverage in many places
3) etc..
I'm wondering if I should bring a phone with me on my travels (Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East). The benefits are obvious. However, I tried this in India... bought a phone actually, which really didn't work after I left Mumbai due to the various carriers that do not seem to work with each other.
Is it worth it to bring a phone and if so, which ones would you recommend that are
1) cheap
2) can get coverage in many places
3) etc..
Thanks.
Reply to this I use a U.S.-based world phone with Verizon service. It works well but is expensive. I use it for emergencies. It won't work in Japan, but does work in Mexico and is supposed to work in many countries.
Reply to this Hello Tomas 😊
I never carry a phone when I travel. I just communicate with those at home via the internet. There is internet just about everywhere these days and it is generally inexpensive.
Mel
Reply to this I think it would be very useful to carry a phone, even a simple one.
You know, it's good for emergency situations.
I would say get a phone
Reply to this I have T-Mobile which gets roaming service around the world. Brought it to India with me and it worked. They say it's one of the cheapest options but obviously its still a touch expensive so I only used it when essential and even then limited it to text messages. I think the rates were 45 cents a minute and up for calling or 35 cents per text message.
Reply to this I always carry a phone. You need a tri-band phone, which will work everywhere except Japan. I never use the roaming services because they are far too expensive. If you make sure the phone is unlocked then you can change the SIM card in your phone to a local network in nearly every country in the world. It means that your phone number keeps changing but does that matter?
An additional benefit of a mobile phone when traveling is that I find it makes a very good alarm clock for catching those early morning buses!
Reply to this I always carry a phone as well. Agree with Stuart - make sure you have a tri-band, UNLOCKED phone. it's so easy to pick up SIM cards, in most of Africa it costs less than a dollar for the card itself. I basically gave the sim cards to other travelers when I crossed each border. Too easy, and this way you have the security, convenience if you feel like texting for holidays or birthdays etc. It's also great to get in contact with travelers and locals you meet in the region, you'll end up doing more bc you can meet with others that much easier. calling hostels, bus stations, airlines, etc. Going on your home network will be ridiculously expensive.
This also depends of course how long you spend in each country. I usually didn't buy a card unless I was going to be in the country for over a week.
Reply to this Thanks everyone!
A tri-band phone sounds like the way to go. Does this work with phone cards, or do I have to sign up for a service? If it's phone cards, do I need to get specific ones?
Reply to this Usually you buy pre-paid cards or vouchers with scratch off numbers to reload the phone. If you are not in the country for that long you may not need to buy any top ups. The SIM cards usually come with a small amount of credit already loaded, if it doesn't the person selling the SIM card will tell you that you need to buy a top up card at the same time as you are buying the SIM. The situation can vary slightly from country to country. The person selling you the SIM will tell you how to top up the phone if you ask. Don't ever sign up for a service as this will tie you down to the network for an extended period of time.
You can pick up very cheap unlocked tri-band phones.
Reply to this Unlocked Nokia 1100 - All time fav for travelling :P 15pounds phone with integrated flashlight and assembled in India - go figure lol. Works like a charm 😉
Reply to this phone is well handy if you intend to be a Flashpacker - great for alarm calls, spontaneous photos, calling ahead to hotels (really cheeky if you're on a busy backpacker bus and you borrow someone's guide book, call ahead and avoid the scrum!). My unlocked Nokia has 8gb and Fm radio on it, allowing you musical diversions and local news and music.
I dont have an Iphone but with wireless all over the place now, it makes it even easier to get online than using virus riddled, slow PCs - i even heard of a Skype application on your iphone so your foriegn calls are virtually free.
Plus, swapping numbers with local people, new friends and the like is fun.
Get a spare battery off ebay...
Reply to this Hi all - really hope you can help please, I am going next week so need some urgent help please! I just bought a phone from a phone company in the UK - asked the guy on the phone if it was quad band and he said it was, it arrived, checked on the internet and called again and its tri-band!!!! Now ive got to try and arrange getting a quad band before its too late (and post this one back!)
I am in the UK, getting the phone in the UK travelling to Mexico then throughout central america - belize, guatemala, el salvador, honduras, nicaragua,costa rica, panama then into colombia then around south america and then Australia. Can you please tell me if tri band will be enough for these regions or will it need to be quad band?
Thank you!!
Reply to this Hi,
There is a new call diverter for landline and cell phone
through skype free. the name is
your incoming calls from your landline and cell phone will follow you for
free anywhere you travel, to another internet connection,
and you can make calls from your original landline anywhere
In the world as if you are near your landline.
Reply to this I travelled last year to China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Didn't rent a phone because I thought it would be too expensive. Found out that skype couldn't be used most of the time because the internet connections were costly too! Hotel phones cost me a fortune. And no one could call to me.
I heard about an international cell phone company but personally never used them. Anyone check out www.talknsave.co.uk? How do their rates compare? Service decent? Need to travel to the US in early November and want to take a rental on this trip!!! Recommendations anyone?
Reply to this There is no need to rent anything. The easiest option is to take your existing mobile with you and buy a local SIM card when you get to the airport in the States. Make sure that your phone is unlocked before you do this. If it isn't there are many places which will unlock your phone for you. You do need to ensure that any phone you take to the States is a tri-band phone as they use a different frequency for their networks than is used in most of the rest of the world. If the phone is only for travelling then you can pick up very, very cheap unlocked pay as you go tri-band phones. I checked out the service you mentioned, they are cheaper than the normal roaming charges but its still usually cheaper to just switch to a local provider by switching the SIM card. When you switch you just use the local providers pay-as-you-go service.
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