Using your Mobile Phone Abroad

If you choose to use your mobile phone whilst on holiday abroad you will connect via an overseas network. This means that any calls are routed via their network as opposed to your usual network provider and this will greatly increase the cost of your call. This is what they call "mobile roaming".

We are happy to provide you with some top tips to try and keep the costs of mobile roaming to a minimum:

• It's free to receive texts

As it is free to receive texts anywhere in the world, ask your family and friends to text you; not call. It will still cost you money to reply via text so condense your messages to include all the relative content which will keep communication a lot cheaper than making phone calls.

Alternatively, get your friends and family to text you if they need to talk. This will then allow you to find the cheapest way to give them a call back.

• Cut the costs of using your mobile phone

Using the internet from your phone abroad can cost you a fortune, so switch off ‘data roaming’ before you go away. Alternatively, make the most of free wifi to check e-mails or check information on the internet.

Switch your voicemail off as it will cost you money to retrieve the voicemail in the EU. Worse still, if you are outside of the EU you may have to pay to both receive a voicemail and to listen to it.

• Speak to your current provider

Not many people know that some UK network providers have hidden packages for those wishing to use their mobile phone abroad so ask about bundles for ‘roaming abroad’. There may be a monthly fee associated with this type of bundle but it will offer you access to cheaper calls, but remember to cancel any add-on when you return from your holiday.

• Make calls abroad for free

If you have a smartphone or access to the internet on your phone, simply download an "internet-to-phone" calling such as Skype before you go on holiday. This means that if the person you are calling also has access Skype, you'll simply need to find a free wi-fi spot to enable you call them for free.

• Talk is NOT cheap

If you know in advance of travelling abroad that you will be making a lot of calls, or talking for long periods of time then the best thing to do to slash your call costs would be to switch SIM cards.

There are two options available to you. The first is the cheapest and this would be to pick up a local SIM card for the specific Country to which you have travelled. Secondly, you can get one international roaming SIM which will work in a whole host of countries which will still cost you less than you would pay your provider for your calls abroad.