Comments on: Your Cellphone + Traveling = Big Bucks

By: Julio

Julio — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:46:08 +0000

Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. have absolutely nothing in common when it comes to your cell phone except that you’ll get screwed in all three places when you cross the border. Why wasn’t THAT in NAFTA?

By: Darrin

Darrin — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:33:19 +0000

“even if you just cross the border into Canada…” Sad, isn’t it? I can call Quebec City for about the same cost as Los Angeles on a US landline, but when I brought my cell to Canada, all that chummy telephony dried up. I got screwed by Verizon’s roaming charges when I used my Verizon cellphone there (not somewhere in the boonies getting chased by a wapiti, but right in Quebec City!).

One more vote for verizon’s evilness. I think I’ll skype it next time.

By: tim

tim — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:36:32 +0000

Thanks Nathan, Austin, and Mario for relating your own experiences. And yes, I did go over the SIM card option in the article. It’s your home cellphone’s carrier that will really sock it to you with the bills. And anyone who uses a Blackberry abroad had better have an unlimited international plan or a very forgiving HR department at work…

By: Mario S.

Mario S. — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:34:57 +0000

Yeah, I think the point of the article is that using your OWN cellphone from home is what’s going to kill you. Getting a local one and paying local charges is alot cheaper, even if you’re only there a week or two and need to buy a phone. You can always donate it to a local charity when you leave. Unlike the U.S. phones, it normally won’t be tied to a specific evil company like Verizon. I paid $18 for a basic brand new phone in Honduras.

By: Nathan Shipley

Nathan Shipley — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:44:30 +0000

Oops. That’s what I get for posting without reading the article! Thanks, Jenny.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:52:28 +0000

If you guys actually go and and read the article this is linked to you will see he covers all that in detail! “Alternatives”—get it?

By: Austin

Austin — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:23:52 +0000

I agree 100% with Nathan about getting a SIM card in the country you’re visiting. We’ve done that a bunch of times when we go to Italy, just take along a cheap world phone and you’re set. We wrote a few weeks ago about this same subject, in case anyone is looking for more tips on traveling with their cell phone: http://www.travellious.com/how_to_keep_in_touch_while_abroad

By: Nathan Shipley

Nathan Shipley — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:20:59 +0000

(I’m on an year-long RTW trip and am trying to spend more time in less locations. Was in Peru and am currently in Colombia.)

I’ve honestly found a cell phone to be invaluable just for meeting up with locals and friends I’ve met here in South America. I’ve ended up doing things with locals I wouldn’t have done if they couldn’t have easily gotten in touch with me. I’m just using a cheap phone I bought here. Perhaps if I was just on a short vacation, I wouldn’t worry about it, but I’m glad I’ve got it.

Additionally, it has hardly made a dent in the budget. The phones themselves are cheap and the pay-as-you-go plan from Movistar doesn’t get me in to any sort of contract. No fees for incoming calls or texts. When I get to my next country, I just buy a new SIM card for cheap. If I want to call home, I just use Skype which is silly cheap.

I guess my point is that in my experience, at least, it hasn’t been expensive to have a cell phone and it’s totally worth it to coordinate meet-ups.