People have become attached to their mobile phones, and going on a trip presents a new set of circumstances with regard to their use. First off, you’ll need to decide whether you plan on utilizing a phone at all. Many travelers decide to have a truly relaxing experience, and don’t want to be pestered by a ringing handset. This is preferable, of course, but in some cases this is not possible.

If you have to take a cell phone with you, here are some issues you need to think about:

1. Your cellular phone carrier may not work in the new country you are going to. This is very common in the case of North American cellular companies. The phone networks do not stretch to other parts of the world. Either that or your particular handset does not have a compatible frequency that is used internationally, which prohibits you from roaming onto other networks. Essentially this renders your phone completely useless (unless it works in GSM mode).
2. Your phone charger is not not compliant for the electrical outlets used in the new country you are trekking to. A simple adapter can solve the problem here, and then you can easily charge your phone wherever you go.
3. Roaming costs can be prohibitively expensive.
4. If you can use your own handset where you are going, the purchase of additional SIM cards so that they can be used in various countries can get quite pricey.
5. Time differences may not make it worthwhile to bring your mobile, since those you are calling may be sleeping. In this case, just send postcards!

Here are some potential alternatives to dealing with this headache if you must stay connected:

1. Buy a Cheap Phone: Mobal is one of the largest outfits of this sort, and you can pruchase a phone for $49 that works in over 150 countries. You simply pay for the per-minute calls and nothing else. And you get to keep the phone for future travel adventures. Now, be warned that you shouldn’t expect the phone to garner a decent signal if you’re in the outer reaches of African mountains or camping in the sticks. In this case, your only solution is going to be a sattelite phone, which Mobal also offers.
2. Renting a Phone: There are hundreds of companies that will rent you a cell phone throughout the world such as CellHire or RangeRoamer to name a few. You can simply rent when you get to your destination with one of the local shops, or you can order your phone in advance of your trip and have it sent directly to your home. This option can be more expensive then buying your own phone, so be sure to compare costs.
3. Phone Cards: International phone cards are still a cheap method for making calls anywhere in the world. Of course, you don’t have a cell phone with you to receive calls, but you can pretty much call whomever you like on any reliable land line, including pay phones or the hotel telephone.
4. Internet Calls: If you want to lug your laptop with you and you’ve got a bit of technical savvy, you could use a service such as Skype to make internet based calls. For this to work, you’ll also need to have internet access, so you should check with your hotel for what web services they may have available before you head off on your trip. Of course, if you’ve got your computer you can email whomever you want as well–which may make mobile calls a non-issue.

Happy dialing!

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