When travelling or sailing abroad there's many different logistics to consider including visas, money and healthcare. One that tends to pop up at the most inopportune times is needing to make international phone calls.
In this article we're going to look at 5 different ways you can make phone calls while travelling, including eSIM's, VoIP apps and mobile roaming. Some lend themselves more towards personal calls while others are suitable for your business and remote work needs if you're a sailing digital nomad.
1. CELL PHONE ROAMING
Let's start with one of the most obvious options, using a SIM card from your home country and enabling roaming so that it works abroad.
With some cell phone providers your phone will automatically start roaming when you go abroad while others require you to manually enable it in their system. You'll find a don't offer roaming at all. It's best to check your providers guidelines before departing to see whether they offer roaming coverage in your destination and what the fees for roaming data and calls are.
Pros
Your provider may offer a free allowance for roaming calls
You can keep your original phone number
Cons
Your network may not roam to the country you're travelling to
Roaming fees for some providers can be extremely expensive
Personally we keep our home SIM cards active as we travel because they can receive text messages for free. This is particularly handy for one time pins. The only issue is when you go to somewhere that your provider doesn't have a local partner, which for us was Trinidad. No partner meant no service which left us looking for a new solution.
A note on Google Fi
If you're American you have the option to get an account with Google Fi. Supported by the T-Mobile network, Google Fi can come with some great benefits including unlimited hotspot tethering, international roaming and YouTube Premium. The only problem; it's not great for travel. If most of your usage in a 90 day period takes place outside the US they will suspect your international data, which is problematic if you're planning to be away for long periods of time.
2. BUY A LOCAL SIM CARD
The next option would be to get a local SIM card that has an international calling allowance. When going down this route it's important to make sure you know which countries you can call with the SIM as it generally won't be worldwide.
Pros
The provider may have a free allowance for roaming calls to certain countries
It's usually the most cost effective way to call people within the country you're in
Generally the SIM will come with a data allowance which is useful if you're out and about
Cons
Customer support may not be offered in your language
Roaming or international call fees for some providers can be extremely expensive
Right now we're in Trinidad and have local sims with Digicel, one of the country's major providers. Our prepaid plans come with "Anywhere Mins" which can be used to call local non-Digicel numbers (mobiles & landlines) as well as the USA (mobiles & landlines), Canada (mobiles & landlines), UK (landlines), Venezuela (Telefonica Mobile) and Digicel Caribbean mobiles (excluding Antigua & Barbuda, Jamaica, Haiti and Guyana). Since most of our international calls are to the United States the Anywhere Mins have been extremely useful!
3. E-SIM CARD
An eSIM is a digital version of a SIM card that allows you to connect to a cellular network without needing to insert a physical SIM into your phone. Some phones allow you to install multiple eSIMs and use two or more phone numbers at once.
Pros
You don't need to go out and buy a new SIM card each time you change location
Its possible to swap between plans with the touch of a button
Cons
Not all phones are eSIM compatible
eSIM data allowances can be quite expensive
Some eSIMs are provided by well establish cell service companies while others are sold by companies who deal exclusively with eSIMs. One eSIM provider that's popular among digital nomads is Airalo. They only sell data cards but you can easily team that with Wi-Fi calling or VoIP calling.
4. APPS FOR VOIP CALLING
VoIP, meaning Voice Over Internet Protocol, is a means of making phone calls over the internet. It's generally done using an app, many of which are used by people on a daily basis.
Some VoIP apps limit you to making calls to other app users. Here's a few mainstream examples.
WhatsApp
Facebook Messenger
Line
Skype
Telegram
Viber
Other VoIP apps give you the ability to call mobile phone numbers and landlines. This is a huge advantage if you need to get in contact with a business, bank or government agency back home. These are a few of the companies out there whose services enable you to call external numbers.
Ring Central
Dialpad
Skype
Viber Out
Zoom Phone
KeepCalling
Pros
You don't need to go out and buy a new SIM card each time you change location
It can be the most cost effective way to make international calls
Cons
You need data or Wi-Fi for the calls to work
Some apps only allow you to contact other people who also have that app
5. WI-FI CALLING
Wi-Fi calling is the result of phone carrier companies using VoIP technology to create a way their customers could utilise the protocol without turning to an app.
To use it you first need to enable Wi-Fi calling in your phone settings. Then, when you make a call it will route through the Wi-Fi network (provided that's stronger than your cell network connection).
Pros
Don't need to install a 3rd party app to use it
You can skip buying a new SIM card each time you change country
Cons
You need good Wi-Fi for the calls to work
Not all phones support Wi-Fi calling
Your carrier may still charge you for the calls so make sure you look into this
CONCLUSION
No matter which option you choose each offers a viable way to keep the lines of communication open as you travel the world. Personally we use a mixture of a home SIM, local SIM and VoIP apps, switching between them depending on what we're trying to achieve.
In future we may add a satellite based service to the mix, especially if Starlink or another provider starts offering an affordable, reliable way to get data and make calls from anywhere in the world.
That 4th one... lifesaver! Cheers!!