Many see a holiday as a chance to get away from it all and disconnect from the pressures of everyday life, but as we continue to rely on our smartphones more and more in our daily life pulling ourselves away from technology becomes increasingly difficult and using your phone abroad becomes less of an option and more of a necessity.
For most travellers, taking their phone on holiday is about more than making calls. Even if you’re not planning to ‘smoast’ about your travels on social media you’ll more than likely log on at least once to check addresses, flight times, read reviews, translate signs or use maps.
Unless you want to be stung with unexpected bills and disappearing credit you’ll need to do your research before you go.
Tips
- Make sure all your apps have their push notifications switched off (you will find this in the app settings).
- Learn how to turn your 3G/4G data on and off so you don’t unexpectedly use any data.
- Stick to Wi-Fi where possible. The handy, and free, WiFi Finder app for Apple and Android will help you find free or paid Wi-Fi spots quickly and easily.
- If your phone is unlocked you could always pick up a local sim card when you arrive in your destination as a local Pay As You Go option may be cheaper.
We look at the UK’s five main mobile phone providers and see how they stack up in terms of cost and services to use your phone abroad…
Three
FEEL AT HOME
If you’re travelling to one of these 16 countries – Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Macau, Norway, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, USA – you can use your standard call, text and data allowance just as you would at home. Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go customers who have purchased Add-Ons can use this service.
If you’re travelling outside a Feel At Home country prices will vary greatly so make sure you check the costs for each destination before you leave.
EUROPE
In the European countries not covered by Feel At Home voice calls between UK and Europe cost 18.8p per min to make and 4.9p a minute to receive while calls to outside the Euro Zone will cost £1.40. Texts cost 5.9p to send and data is 19.8p per MB.
REST OF WORLD
If you’re travelling to a non-European country that isn’t part of the Feel At Home plan you can expect to see a massive jump in the cost of using your phone abroad.
Voice calls will cost £1.40 a minute to make and 99p a min to receive. Texts cost 35p to send and data comes in at £6 per MB.
O2
Wherever you’re travelling to make sure you check the charges on the O2 site and contact their customer service team to make sure you’re all set to go.
EUROPE
- Pay Monthly: So you have an O2 monthly account and you’re travelling to Europe – well, you’re set for a holiday full of internet for £1.99 a day. Phone calls around Europe cost 50p to connect then it’s free to talk for up to 60 minutes and texts are 5p (free to receive).
- Pay As You Go: If you’re using a prepaid phone your data usage will be limited. For £1.99 a day you get 50MB of data (enough to browse basic websites for about two hours), but you’ll find you quickly use it up if you’re using apps and your social networks (especially picture heavy ones like Instagram). But at least you don’t need to worry about an unexpected massive bill – the service will stop working once you reach the daily limit.
REST OF THE WORLD
Prices jump considerably if you’re travelling anywhere outside of Europe for both Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go customers. Making a call will set you back between 80p-£1.50 per minute, texting is 40p-49p per message and receiving a call will cost between 90p-£1.25. At £6 per MB of data it’s best to switch off your 3G and stick to Wi-Fi.
Vodafone
Whatever country you’re going to make sure to check the changes on the Vodafone site and contact their customer service team to make sure you’re all set to go.
EUROPE
- Pay Monthly: Vodafone’s EuroTraveller lets you use you UK minutes, texts and data all over the Europe Zone for an extra £2 a day on top of your standard monthly fee.
- Pay As You Go: The standard daily rate for using mobile internet in Europe is £8 a day for up to 100MB of data. Don’t worry about going over as there is an automatic monthly spend cap. Vodafone has a list of 40 ‘Passport’ countries where you can save on texts and calls. There is a 75p connection charge plus your standard home rate to make calls and a 75p connection charge with no further charge for up to 60 minutes to receive calls. A text to the UK costs 8p.
REST OF WORLD
- Pay Monthly: For an extra £5 a day Vodafone WorldTraveller lets you use your monthly plan in 9 countries outside the Euro Zone: Australia, Brazil (until 31 October 2014), Egypt, Ghana, India, New Zealand, Qatar, South Africa and the USA. For everywhere else, Vodafone Data Traveller gives you 25MB for £5 for 25MB (enough for an hour of surfing the net) with an automatic monthly spend limit of £42.50 (ex VAT) on using the internet abroad.
- Pay As You Go: The standard rate for going online outside of Europe is a massive £25 a day for up to 100MB so best stick to Wi-Fi.
EE
Make sure you check ahead to see the costs from each country you’re planning to visit on the EE website.
EUROPE
- Pay Monthly: EE doesn’t offer as much as the other networks when it comes to Pay Monthly customers travelling to Europe. Get unlimited calls and texts in Europe for extra £2 a day on top of your usual plan and for data you can purchase various add ons: 20 MB for 24 hours for £1, 100 MB for 24 hours for £3, and 200MB for 30 days for £35.
- Pay As You Go: Get 100 minutes to make or receive calls to or from the UK and selected EU countries for £10 (valid for 30 days). For data you can purchase various add ons: 20 MB for 24 hours for £1, 100MB for 24 hours for £3, and 200MB for 30 days for £35
REST OF WORLD
For data there are various ad ons you can buy – 10 MB for £10, 50MB for £40, 100 MB for £75 and 200 MB for £140, but at these prices you’ll be better served sticking to local Wi-Fi. Calls cost £1 per minute to make and receive and texts are 40p.
Orange
EUROPE
Make sure you check ahead to see the costs of using your phone abroad on the Orange website.
- Pay Monthly: Buy the Orange Travel Saver 30MB, 50 minutes and 100 texts for 7 days for £15 and the Travel Saver Talk and Text 100 minutes and 200 texts for 7 days for £15. You can also get unlimited calls and texts in Europe for £2 a day and 100MB of data at £3 a day.
- Pay As You Go: Orange has no PAYG add ons so the costs are 18p to make calls to the UK and Europe (4p to receive) and 80p for all other countries (also 4p to receive). Data is 18p per MB and texts are 4p to send.
REST OF WORLD
- Pay Monthly: Orange offers a selection of bundles to Pay Monthly customers travelling outside the Europe Zone. Armenia, Australia, China, Colombia, Croatia, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and the USA: £6 per day for 30 MB of data. Botswana, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Montenegro, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, UAE and Uganda: £9 per day for 30 MB of data. Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Morocco, Netherland Antilles, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine and United States Virgin Islands: £15 per day for 30 MB of data.
- Pay As You Go: No specials for PAYG customers unfortunately. £1.75 per minute for calls and 70p per minute to receive, £8.00 per MB for data and texts are 50p to send.
Featured image by Salva Barbera
