1) PREVIOUS PLAN

If you know you will be traveling in the near future, start planning for it. Many call providers have special plans for use abroad. If your provider does, you may want to use it. They usually offer a plugin for a small charge per day. If you’re the type of person who spends a lot of time on your phone, it’s probably worth opting for that add-on to your regular plan. Just remember to stop it when you get back, you don’t want to pay that extra charge forever.

If your provider doesn’t have an international plugin or you don’t want to use it, there are still plenty of other options to call your hometown while abroad at a cheaper rate.

Consider buying a local SIM card when you are abroad. This is a great solution if you travel to the same place frequently or if you are going to stay in the same place for a long time. When you buy a local SIM card in the place you’re visiting, you’ll usually pay for a bundle of minutes and the price is probably much cheaper than using your regular phone plan, plus you won’t need to pay for roaming (in most countries).

If you have a locked phone, you won’t be able to use a foreign SIM card without first unlocking your phone.

You can also buy a local calling card which you can then use to call from hotel phones, public phones… Calling cards are not so popular nowadays, but if you need a solution for cheap international calls, then they are a good option. Also here you have the advantage that there are no roaming costs.

2) WHEN YOU ARE ABROAD

When you need to make a call, think about what you want to say beforehand. This will usually make your call shorter and will also prevent you from forgetting to say something and then needing to call back.

Texting is cheaper than calling, so it can be worth it sometimes text instead of calling, if it’s just a short message, you need to deliver it. Remember that text messages are free while calls are not. If someone needs to tell you something, ask them to text instead of calling.

Keep in mind, however, that a text conversation back and forth will likely cost the same as a phone call.

Even if you don’t call abroad, you still have to pay for incoming calls; so you have to pay when people call you and also some services make you pay if someone leaves you a voicemail while you are abroad (depending on the country you are in). in).

You can eliminate at least one of these problems by deciding: do you want people to be able to contact you while you are abroad, or do you want to enjoy your vacation in peace and quiet, undisturbed?

If you don’t want to talk to anyone, divert all your calls to voicemail. This way you will not be charged for roaming. However, you may have to pay if someone leaves you a message.

If you want to keep in touch with people and answer calls, then disable voicemail. This will remove any voicemail charges (if applicable) and when your phone rings you will be able to see who is calling and decide whether or not to answer. If you answer you will have to pay the roaming charge and if you do not answer, there will be no charge.

Don’t listen to voicemail when you are abroad unless you really have to. Calls to voicemail are charged at the same rate as regular calls, so you may end up paying a lot of money just to listen to your voicemail.

3) DATA AND WIFI

For many people, high phone bills when abroad don’t really come from talking so much on the phone, but rather from high data usage. When you’re abroad, your provider will charge you a high fee per megabyte used. If you need to use the internet then use free WiFi when possible, there are many places where you can get free WiFi. Some hotels offer you internet for a small fee, but it will probably still be cheaper than using mobile data. Just to make sure your phone doesn’t switch to data automatically, it’s best to turn off your data for the duration of your stay.

If you are using your phone for GPS and need to download maps, please do so before your trip or when you have WiFi. Many navigation programs allow you to download the map in advance, and once downloaded, the Internet is not needed for the navigation itself.

4) INTERNET CALLS

Many people these days are turning to internet calls when they are abroad, as it offers so many benefits. Internet calls are practically free if both end users are on the same network and as long as there is WiFi. If there is no WiFi, you have to count the cost of data. If both users are not on the same network, then there is a small charge to use VoIP, but it is still much cheaper than using your normal phone plan.

So obviously price is a big factor in why people use VoIP when abroad. But also, VoIP is not connected to a physical location so it can be taken anywhere. Think about business people who want to keep the same number when they travel. With a business phone, this would be impossible, but with VoIP, people can call you anywhere if you have your mobile phone/PC with you and there are no roaming charges.

Also, many VoIP service providers offer features not offered with standard phone plans. These can include video calls, shipping locations, group chats, and more.

There are different types of Internet calls:

• Phone-to-phone calls: If regular phones are used, VoIP adapters are used to connect the phones to the Internet. If both end users are on the same network, the call will be free. If they are on different networks, there will be a small charge.

Calls can also be made using IP phones instead of VoIP adapters to make the calls.

• PC to PC Calls: Using an application to make calls between PCs.

If the person you are calling has the same application on their PC, the call will be free. If the person you are calling does not have that app, you will be charged a small fee.

• PC to phone calls: Make calls from the PC to a phone.

If you are calling a phone on the same network, the call will be free. If the phone is not on the same network, there will be a small charge.

• Mobile to mobile calls: using an application to make calls between mobiles.

If the person you are calling has the same application on their PC, the call will be free. If the person you are calling does not have that app, you will be charged a small fee.

Many apps also allow you to call mobile to PC and PC to mobile.

Regardless of the type of call you use abroad, if you do some planning before your trip, you will definitely save a lot of money in the end.