Cell phone companies will charge you an arm and a leg for roaming if you happen to venture overseas and use your phone without telling them. Avoiding these charges is easy.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t need to use your phone and want to rely on Wi-Fi, that\u2019s very easy to do. Just download everything you need for your trip before you leave (don\u2019t forget the maps) then turn off the cellular data on your phone (or just turn on airplane mode). This\u2019ll prevent your cell phone company from charging you roaming fees on incoming calls or texts, and you\u2019ll still have access to the data you need. There\u2019s no need to call your phone company this way, it\u2019ll just look like your phone is powered off to them.
\nIf you\u2019d prefer to still have access to your phone throughout your trip, we suggest going with a pay-as-you-go SIM card instead of signing up for your carrier\u2019s international plan. When you arrive in a new country, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM, put it in your phone, and you don\u2019t have to worry about additional fees because when you run out of minutes or data, the card will just stop working. The only caveat is that you unlock your phone ahead of time (and this only works with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, but check with your carrier to be sure, some Sprint and Verizon phones may work as well).<\/p>\n