If you regularly travel abroad, you’ll be aware that sometimes, your trip can involve extra hidden costs that perhaps you didn’t consider in your budget. If you’re saving up for your next adventure or planning a special holiday there are various ways you can save money. Firstly, if you want to book your trip for less, wherever you’re headed, there’s a Virgin Holidays discount code for you to use to get a great deal. Plus, you can avoid paying a hefty phone bill by following these tips for using your phone abroad:
- Get informed
The first thing you can do is to find out exactly what your mobile phone provider charges for calls, texts, and data so you’ll know what to expect. There are usually different rates for international and European destinations, and they may vary from country to country. When you explore what your provider charges for your selected country, you may discover that they offer special packages or bundles that you can purchase in advance to make using your phone while abroad less expensive.
- Switch off data roaming
If you have a smartphone, it’s usually best to switch off data roaming in your phone’s settings before you go. This means that you can avoid extra costs which you may sometimes incur without releasing it since many apps update and download data automatically, so they’ll continue to do this while you’re away unless you turn it off.
- Use wifi
Using a free wifi connection whenever possible, is one of the best ways to make sure you don’t have to pay extra for staying connected. These days, many hotels, bars, restaurants, and other locations offer free wifi so make sure you ask for the password and get online straight away. You can take advantage of free internet access to completely avoid any charges if you choose to use your mobile with wifi from one of these locations.
- Plan your trip well
Unless you are staying put in one resort where you remain connected to their wifi for your entire stay, the chances are you may find it necessary to use your mobile phone when you’re out and about. This could obviously be for some kind of emergency situation, but more likely travellers need to use maps and navigators to find a particular location, translate something, or check restaurant reviews for the area they find themselves in at dinner time! Planning ahead means you can work out your itinerary with these details either before you leave home, or at times when you can take advantage of a free wifi connection.
- Download your entertainment
If you’re the kind of person who likes to use your phone to listen to music, watch films and TV programs, read books or listen to audiobooks, then it’s a good idea to download all your media before you go, so that you don’t have to pay unnecessary fees to use it while you’re on holiday. You’ll still be able to listen to your favourite album while you relax on the beach, but it won’t cost you anything!
With these tips and tricks, you should be able to reduce or completely avoid any charges or costs for using your mobile phone abroad, so you’ll have more spending money for your next adventure. One last tip is that if you’re travelling within Europe, it may be useful to know that regardless of your provider, all roaming costs within the EU are regulated by the European Commission. If you want to learn more, you can take a look at these regulations on their website.
