Ways to Stay Online When Traveling Abroad

In our daily lives most of us are used to being constantly connected to other people either via facebook, text messages, email, phone, social networking sites or direct contacts. However, when we go traveling or move abroad a lot of friends and family might feel like you’re going to be disconnected for a while.

Thankfully, some inventions of modern technology made things easier these days, as there are many tools and hacks to stay connected all the time and don’t spend a fortune on it.

Always connected!

Options for staying connected abroad:

Calling Cards

I remember when I moved to the US for the first time my mom told me to buy a few calling cards. Yes, you heard it right… back in the day we all used prepaid calling cards for public and stationary phones to save on long distance calls. While some people still use them, in the era of smartphones that might not be the smartest form of communication, simply because finding a public phone might be a challenge and it can get annoying.

Roaming

The simplest way of being able to call and text everyone from your smartphone is obviously paying roaming charges. But not every provider is as nice as American T-Mobile which gives people free internet worldwide, and you might be up with some enormous charges on your account. Trust me, I’ve done this before and would never pay for roaming again.

However, one way to pay less for roaming is placing a KnowRoaming sticker on your SIM that can save you up to 85% on data and texts. For just $7.99 you can get unlimited data in more than 80 countries. It’s quite a steal, isn’t it?

Rent a TEP wireless portable wifi device

You can easily rent a portable mobile device, such as Tep, in many countries. You can carry it in your pocket or bag and connect up to 3 devices at a time. I used it in Japan and Mexico and it almost never failed me. The best part is that you only pay local fees and get the device for free.

*** Now you can get 10% off on purchasing a new TEP device if you use “AnnaEverywhere” code at checkout! Happy browsing! ***

Using Public Wifi

Free wifi is perfect if you can get it, but it’s not something that you can always rely on, especially in some countries. Although free wifi is getting better around the globe if you’re heading slightly off the beaten track it’s less likely you are to find it. Moreover, as Snapchat is getting more and more popular if you’re sending your snaps offline and upload them on wifi you won’t be able to place any geofilters.

How to find free wifi in a new city? There is an app called MandicMagic that have been working for me. Check the number of WiFi networks on the place you’re going in advance as this will be dependent on the popularity in each country/region to be safe.

That’s what happens when you finally find wifi!

Unlock Your Phone

Whether you can find free wifi or connect your phone in any way you should try to unlock your smartphone as soon as possible. Unlocking the phone isn’t illegal, so you don’t have to worry about it, this is simply going to allow you to work with other SIM cards on other carriers. Buying a local SIM when you arrive at your destination is the cheapest way to get online.

While many cell phones include GSM, not many are unlocked. A locked GSM phone means you are locked into using your provider’s service, meaning you cannot use an international SIM card. It happened to me when I thought I bought an unlocked phone from Amazon and unfortunately, it wasn’t compatible with a US carrier.

Different Ways of Communicating

After you unlocked your phone, there are various ways of communicating. The most popular apps you might need are:

• Skype: Almost everyone knows Skype by now as it allows you to call between two Skype accounts or spend cents on calling from Skype to landline. It’s totally worth it when your friends live far away.
• Whatsapp: Popular in Europe, Whatsapp isn’t as well known in the US due to free unlimited texts. Whatsapp allows you to send direct messages with anyone who has the app.
• Viber: Viber is similar to Whatsapp, but allows you to make voice calls using a phone number and the app.
  

  I did Insta Stories of our helicopter ride!

Start a Travel Blog?

While you might be traveling or living abroad for a while you can also open a travel blog. It doesn’t have to be your full-time job, but can work as a simple diary for your friends and family. Find out how to start a travel blog here.