Skype while traveling
Use Skype (and an internet connection) to make and receive free voice and video calls—or have your friends and family Skype your cell in the U.K. for 10¢ per minute or $1–$2 per month.
No matter if you rent a cellphone, buy a world phone, or carry your own phone, convince your friends and family to save a bundle by not calling you on it but rather by Skyping you.
Just have friends and family back home call you on your new phone using Skype, which will cost them a mere $2 per month for a flat rate to the U.K., or 10¢ per minute for pay-as-you-go.
(Yes, Skype is normally just 2.3¢ per minute, but that's for calls to land lines; calls to cellular networks cost a bit more...though still usually less than a regular phone line, calling card, or international dialing plan).
Even better, connect to the internet via an internaitonal roaming plan—or, preferably and more cheaply, the hotel's or public WiFi—and use Skype yourself to make free Skype-to-Skype calls—even video calls for free.
Sure, the voice quality is not pristine. It usuually sounds a bit digitally compressed, and sometimes you get a pop or skip—but since it is free (or practically so), who's complaining?
- T-mobile.com - By far the cheapest option for oversaes travel, with inexpensive ($10–$20) plans that will cover data and/or voice beween dozens of countries at no extra charge.Partner
- Att.com - Since it uses the world-standard GSM, all AT&T phones will work abroad—though you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).
- Verizon.com - iPhones, Android, and some other smartphones from Verizon will work in the U.K., though others will not (only some phones use the world-standard GSM technology—or the newer 4G-LTE—while others are still stuck with a dead-end U.S. system called CDMA). However, you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).
- Sprint.com - iPhones, Android, and some other smartphones from Sprint will work in the U.K., though others will not (only some phones use the world-standard GSM technology—or the newer 4G-LTE—while others are still stuck with a dead-end U.S. system called CDMA). However, you definitely should sign up for an international plan before traveling (and even then, calls and data will still be expensive).
- OneSimCard - International Cell phone rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), portable WiFi hotspots, and satellite phone rentals.Partner
- Cellular Abroad - International Cell phone sales and rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), portable WiFi hotspots, and satellite phone rentals. Now parterned with National Geographic.Partner
- Mobal.com - International Cell phone sales and rentals (voice/data or just data), global SIM cards (for your existing, unlocked phone), portable WiFi hotspots, and satellite phone rentals and sales.Partner
Mors on using cellphones
T-mobile offers the cheapest international roaming—it works in 140 countries and costs as little as $10–20 per month for voice and data.
How to use a cell phone (in British: "mobile") in the U.K., whether using your own, or buying or renting one to use while you travel.
Almost as cheap as renting—and probably a better idea if you plan to travel abroad more than once in the next few years—is simply to buy your own world phone with an international plan.
It's easiest—but potentially pricey—to use your own phone to travel; just be sure you sign up for an international roaming plan before you leave to avoid huge data charges.
Keeping in touch while traveling—Cellphones and Skype, mail and roaming fees, and how to call to, from, and within the U.K.
