There are a ton of options that you can look into. In fact there are so many options that we’ve created an entire site on this topic! That being said, a data plan for international travel can be your best ally or your worst enemy. Depending on how you use the amount of data that you have. Sticking to your regular plan can be an option depending on where you travel. That is something that we’ve explored on this site, but maybe not enough. You’re also going to have the option to look into a ton of different coverage options. It’s hard to say that one option happens to be the best data plan for international travel. That’s why we’re going to break down multiple options.
If you’re looking into getting a local SIM card should you get a data only plan as your data plan for international travel? Can you go on without a plan at all? That’s another option that you could look into. Just look for wifi hotspots around the city that you’re going to be visiting. From there, you’re going to be able to use your apps to make calls or text people back home. This is essentially the cheapest option, but it can be the riskiest. Since you’re going to have to go through your trip without having actual coverage abroad. There’s a ton of things to explore so let’s get going.
- Main options when searching for a data plan for international travel
- Beware of Roaming Fees
- Local SIM Card Option
- How much data do you really need while abroad?
- What is the cheapest data plan for international travel?
- Keep your number active with a day pass
Main options when searching for a data plan for international travel
We’ve explored the options that the main US wireless service providers offer. Ultimately, what we found is that there’s really not one plan from a particular service provider that works best for travelers. For example, all of the premium unlimited plans that Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T offer are going to give you great coverage in Mexico and Canada, as a US customer. There are a couple of things to keep in mind here though. As long as you don’t get hit with roaming fees you’re fine. The best thing that you can do is monitor the amount of data that you’re using. Also, your phone is only going to be active for 30 days when you’re abroad. If you manage your data and you travel within North America you can pretty much use your regular plan and you’ll be ok.
What we’ve been essentially amazed by is that virtually any trip that you take outside of North America with US service providers means that you’re going to have to look for ways to get better deals on coverage. If you want to keep your regular phone number when you’re abroad you can explore the travel pass option. Essentially the travel pass is going to cost you 10 dollars for each day that you’re abroad. You’re going to be able to enjoy service from your regular service provider during that day. It’s still a good idea to monitor your data usage. The last thing that you want is to fall under the roaming rates. With most service providers roaming rates are insane.
Beware of Roaming Fees
This is something that we’ve talked about already. Still, we think it’s a good idea to let you know how much you can expect to pay on roaming fees. So that you get a good idea of what’s going to happen when you just turn your phone on when you’re abroad and you want to use it like you do when you’re at home. Let’s look at T-Mobile for example, on paper they have one of the best roaming policies out there. You’ll have unlimited data! The thing is that data is going to be at 2G speeds. In this day and age that’s going to mean a lot of crashed sites and blank screens.
We are not going to sugarcoat this, the company strategy is to have people travel abroad without a plan, and essentially force them to buy international travel passes from T-Mobile to be able to get real coverage. If you’re lucky though and you can do something with the 2G speeds it’s the best roaming policy. When it comes to AT&T you are going to have direct rates for data roaming. Without the unlimited 2G speeds that T-Mobile offers. You can pay north of 2 dollars per MB of usage on the AT&T roaming fees! These are some of the highest prices on the market. Do yourself a favor and find out how much data you typically use in a day. Then you’ll realize that traveling under the roaming rates is the worst idea that you can have! Texts, and calls also could blow up under roaming fees.
Local SIM Card Option
Throughout the site we promote this option virtually above all of the other options that you’re going to have when you travel abroad. That being said, you need to make sure that you find a rate that you’re comfortable with, and coverage that fits your usage. We talk a lot more about data these days because that’s basically the most important type of coverage that people use these days. Really with most local SIM card options you’re going to be paying way less than you would to your regular phone company. You can pay 30 to 40 dollars max for a ton of data with a local SIM card virtually anywhere in the world, that’s going to last for a month. Yes, there are more expensive options out there. You need to make sure you choose the right local SIM card option.
If you wanted to get the same amount of data with your regular service provider that could cost you 10 dollars per day on the travel pass. Essentially it could make sense to just stick to your regular service provider if you’re going to be abroad for 2 or 3 days. If you’re traveling from the USA to Europe though or even viceversa there’s a good chance that you’ll be abroad for more than that. Those 10 dollars a day could start adding up. When it’s all set and done if you’re going to be abroad for 5 days or more this could be the best option for you. Even in Mexico and Canada things can get expensive after the week abroad!
How much data do you really need while abroad?
This seems like a hard question to ask. Certainly, it may not be as easy to come up with an accurate number off the top of your head. What we’ve seen is that people have gotten so used to unlimited plans that the amount of data that they use isn’t really a number that they worry about at all. If you try and use up the same data that you use locally when you’re abroad you’re going to be in for a surprise when your phone bill comes in.
A good quick exercise that you can do is look at the amount of data that you’ve used in the last month or in the last two weeks. However long your trip abroad is going to be. Then look into how much it would cost you to use up the same amount of data if you’re abroad. For roaming rates, that’s pretty easy to multiply 2.05 per MB of usage. Around 2 dollars per MB is what you can expect to pay for roaming with AT&T and Verizon.
Remember that where you travel could alter the rate. That 2 dollars per MB rate though is essentially the worst case scenario. Once you have that number down, we feel that you’ll be more than ready to explore different options to get coverage abroad! Generally it’s a good habit to look for free Wifi when you travel. That’s essentially going to lower the amount of data that goes directly on your plan. Even if you are buying a local SIM card. Using Wi-Fi coverage when possible can be a great way to get the most out of the local SIM card that you buy. Another obvious answer could be to spend less time on the phone while abroad.
What is the cheapest data plan for international travel?
This could seem like a simple question, but there are some many layers to it when you really break it down. For example, the cheapest thing that you could do is to not get a data plan for international travel at all. You keep your data off when you’re outside and you just use free Wi-Fi. Make calls and text through apps, and you won’t have to worry about the hefty bill when you get home. Naturally this option is going to come with a lot of no phone time. That’s certainly something that isn’t acceptable to some people. Plus, calling landlines is going to be virtually impossible, and not necessarily free.
When it comes to the plans that are available we would say that the cheapest plan for international travel is T-Mobile’s roaming option! Essentially you can get unlimited data in many countries throughout the world. The catch though is that you’re dealing with 2G speeds with that data. You can add an international day pass to bump up the speed. When you do that though it doesn’t become the cheapest option. You’re looking at paying at least 5 extra dollars a day for faster coverage. Taking all of this into account you can probably start seeing why we are heavy proponents of local SIM cards on this site.
Now, in that option you need to make sure that you find decent coverage at the right rate. It’s not odd to be able to find monthly coverage for about 30 to 40 dollars in most countries throughout the world. With some countries offering coverage for much, much less. You’d spend that amount on 3 days of the data pass. In short, the cheapest option is no plan and just get wifi coverage. T-Mobile roaming though could be an interesting one to look into. With Verizon and AT&T don’t even think about roaming! The day pass is a much better option with them.
Keep your number active with a day pass
Many people don’t like the local SIM card option because it essentially means that their local number is going to be inactive. There are two solutions to this. One, go and get a dual SIM phone. That’s literally why those phones were made. You can have both SIMs active at the same time. So for example, you won’t have trouble not getting your messages on Telegram or Whatsapp. The other thing that you’re going to be able to do is just take your regular number abroad with an international day pass. Long story short, this is a service that you can book through your service provider. It typically costs around 10 dollars a day and gives you data talk and text. With folks who have an unlimited plan the data is unlimited, but the speed drops off if you use too much of it.
We’ve talked about the day pass option a lot on the site. What we’ve essentially come up with is that this option is perfect for people who are going to be abroad for just a couple of days. Yes, some people are not going to be too happy to have to pay 10 extra dollars a day for converge on top of whatever their regular plan costs. However, you essentially get to keep your number and use it as normally as possible when abroad. As you can probably tell by this point there are pros and cons to each option. Hopefully you’ll be able to choose the option that fits your needs best.
Data Plan for International Travel – Conclusion
There’s no one plan that we feel towers above the rest when it comes to international travel. As we mentioned, if anything the best data plan for international travel is the one that T-Mobile offers. Although you have to be very careful. What you’re doing is opening up the roaming possibility. As we’ve also mentioned on this site, roaming is usually something that you don’t want to get too comfortable with. T-Mobile uses their plan as a bit of a bait for people to buy their international day passes to get faster data speeds. If you want to go full savings mode you can do most of your talk and texting through apps on wifi. Knowing that when you’re out on the street you’ll have coverage. Yes, slow coverage, but coverage none to less.
In saying all of this we clearly understand that although that might be the best data plan for international travel that doesn’t mean it’s going to work best for everyone. The length of your travel and your destination could heavily influence the types of options that are going to be on the table for you. We feel it’s important that you understand what type of options are on the table for you.