How to Travel Without Roaming

Roaming, travel sim, or local operator SIM card? The best solution is the one that suits your needs. It is worth considering use cases to avoid accidentally going broke. And for this, it is helpful to ask yourself a couple of questions.

How long will the trip be?

If you are having international travel to a familiar country again and you still have a local SIM card from your last trip, check its expiration date: usually, mobile network operators cancel cards that have been inactive for more than six months. If the card works, there is a great chance to find a data plan that is more profitable in data usage. Even more so for long trips. But if you are going to a new country for yourself for a short time, a local SIM card is hardly your option: it costs money itself, and not everywhere there are weekly rates. In this case, roaming is more profitable.

How many countries do I plan to visit?

If the trip covers several countries, using the universal travel sim options is beneficial. Local operators are also available in different countries: for example, there is no roaming for mobile data within the EU.

What do you need – calls or Internet?

If you need a phone just to call your mother, there is no need to overpay for the Internet: connect the package for voice calls. If you need a little Internet, pay for it upon use through a travel sim without going broke on a daily subscription fee, or find the local Wi-Fi with a small signal. It will be enough for messengers, mobile applications, and emails. And if you need to post videos to your blog constantly, you should immediately organize unlimited Internet so that you don’t have to pay extra later.

Often travelers overpay simply because they did not check the settings before the trip. Many operators have unprofitable tariffs by default: if you set up roaming for the destination country, you can retain all your money the first time you connect to the network abroad. To avoid senseless spending, it is worth preparing your trip in advance.

Roaming

The main plus is the minimum of difficulties: you already have a SIM card, you don’t need to compare options from operators and rearrange the SIM card, the number remains the same, just select a package of minutes and gigabytes and connect additional options. The main operators have offers for individuals and for business clients. The disadvantage of roaming is the daily subscription fee: for a short trip, it is ok, but for a long trip it is unprofitable. It is important to understand the settings and connect the tariff for trips before departure – otherwise, a round sum may be automatically debited upon arrival. Do not forget: in roaming, not only outgoing but also incoming calls are paid.

Travel sim

These SIM cards are designed specifically for the data connectivity of travelers: they are designed for use in different countries, so they are convenient for those who like to explore new destinations. For long trips, they are more profitable than roaming: tariffs are close to local ones. But if you are traveling for just a few days, remember that the amount of expenses consists of the cost of the SIM card itself, the cost of services, and the minimum payment for activating the SIM card. Also, allow time to order and set up your card in advance.

Travel cards are supported in many countries, and they are not tied to a specific operator and automatically select the most stable connection. Incoming calls are free, and there is even free call forwarding from a Russian number. Different from local SIM cards, travel cards are not blocked for a long time; just one operation every couple of years is enough.

Plastic or eSIM?

An electronic SIM card is a chip built into new models of smartphones, tablets, and watches. You do not need an additional slot for a second SIM card, and you can use eSIM simultaneously with a plastic SIM card from your home operator. If your phone supports eSIM, it’s definitely more convenient than plastic.

Check if your phone has an embedded chip. If so, just download the settings from the selected mobile operator. You can set up multiple email profiles from different carriers. For the duration of the trip, you can turn off your home SIM card and set up mobile data usage from an eSIM using esimway.com. Or use one of the cards for calls and the other for the Internet.

Purchasing roaming services from an operator is only sometimes profitable. Often this can result in extra write-offs or a negative balance on the main number. To avoid risk, issuing a separate package through eSim without additional expenses and hidden fees is better.

Of course, someone will be able to find a better offer from their operator, and someone will buy a local SIM card in the host country with a cheaper tariff. However, if you leave your home, you will only find such a simple and convenient way to buy an eSim.