FLORENCE, Italy – It’s a sure-fire way to dampen the holiday cheers: Spend a week on a dream vacation abroad, then come back to find an additional several hundred dollars on your cellphone bill.
Although some U.S. phone plans cover international travel, especially to Canada and Mexico, many don’t. Leaving your phone off isn’t practical these days . But you don’t have to pay a fortune if you follow these tips. You might find some of these steps annoying, but they’re surely less painful than an unexpected data bill. Start planning well before you leave.
GET A PLAN ABROAD
This is the most economical choice, but also the least practical for many people. With the exception of Verizon , carriers typically block your phone from other carriers’ plans until you’ve paid off the hardware, typically after two years. They might make a temporary exception if you’re traveling, but it’s on you to get that set up. You might have an old phone to use instead, or you can rent or buy a cheap one for your trip.
This route gives you a lot of data at competitive prices. Upon arrival in Bangkok, for instance, I got 2.5 gigabytes of data for just less than $13. Two more gigabytes would have cost just $3 more.