Stay Connected with Your Phone

There are many ways to stay connected with your mobile phone. Whether with your existing US number or a foreign sim card.

Most airports offer sim cards with local number and reloadable feature. I get sim card at the airport because it is usually safer and the English speaking staff can better explain how and where to reload if I run out of minutes. However, it is better to utilize free Wi-Fi as much as possible. Places like your hotel/hostel/AirBnB usually has WiFi included, so when you are not out sightseeing, connect to property Wi-Fi.

My family has T-Mobile and luckily it has great International Roaming Services. As soon as we land in a new country, we get a notification text notifying us our numbers are now connected with a local provider and we are free to roam. However, there is only a limited GB of data. Every plan is different. You can modify with T-Mobile before you travel.

Verizon has something similar, they are called Travelpass and Pay-as-you-go option. AT&T has International Day Pass. So check with your service provider ahead of time. Using your current mobile provide is easier for short term travel / vacation, but if you plan on traveling for a long period of time, I'd say get a pay-as-you-go sim card at the airport.