Do you take your mobile phone (cell phone) with you? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**ajb3000** · 05-13-2008, 04:37 AM

I'm just doing a bit of research here into a project idea I've come up with. Whenever I go travelling I always take my phone with me for the occasional SMS to friends back home or important call to arrange to meet up with someone if I can't find a public phone. How about everyone else though?

**mbo108** · 05-13-2008, 05:11 AM

I just started doing this on my last trip to Europe last summer. I never make enough calls (nor am I ever there long enough really) to neccesitate getting a European SIM card so I just bring along my phone. Its small, the charger is pretty small, and I really only turn it on ever other day or so to look for important texts or VMs. The other thing is/was, I had this super cheap phone for years that I loved. It didn't have any extras I didn't need, it was perfect. Alas, the buttons finally started dying on me. I just upgraded to a new phone, the WiFi BlackBerry Pearl. I made good use of my company's corporate discounts so it ended up being a good deal. I don't use the BlackBerry email services per se but since I can get on any free WiFi networks without paying, I can hit up my email that way. Sorry, that answer was a little too in-depth for your question, its just that I was thinking of starting a similar post about phones and wanted to get all this in. So Yes, I bring my cell. whew.

**aliz** · 05-13-2008, 05:45 AM

I took it when I went to Europe because the plan was to be there a long time. I still have my german and english SIM cards somewhere... It was also useful for those 'urgent' short messages you just NEED to tell someone... like when I woke up my mum in the middle of the night with a text message saying "OH MY GOD I just met Patrick Swayze!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
haha. I sent a lot of those sort of messages to various friends back home while I was in Europe. likewise, they sent me messages. like when my friend and I were cold and miserable and lost in Russia, trudging through the snow, and we get a message "We're at U2!! I can see Bono! WOOOOOOOOO!!!" we hated that friend for awhile. I just realised that, like nearly every conversation I have, I just got completely distracted telling Europe stories. sorry guys.
my simple answer - took it to Europe, used it quite a lot, took it to New York where it didn't work and so I used it to see what time it was in Sydney.

**ajb3000** · 05-13-2008, 06:03 AM

One other question I should have asked. How much does it cost you to send text messages while abroad?

**NitemareHippieGirl** · 05-13-2008, 01:25 PM

I use AT&T wireless and it's typically 15 cents to send and recieve texts. calling out, recieving calls, and checking voicemails on the other hand.... yikes... Let's just say returning home to see a $100 charge for a twenty minute call.... yikes. That was in Guatemala, but I assume it's the same wherever I go. Long story short, I take my phone but limit myself to texts only!

**Elizabeth** · 05-13-2008, 04:33 PM

I brought my cell phone to contact couchsurfing hosts rather than home. I would just pick up a SIM card...in eastern europe they are pretty cheap, like $3. In russia it turned out to be 7 cents a minute on their end for my family to call me from skype. But for most countries it was like 20 cents a minute, so too much.

**mbo108** · 05-14-2008, 07:27 AM

Yeah, my only problem is that my damn AT&T phone is locked to their service. I might try to unlock my older one but since most of the buttons don't work (see newest blog entry) it wouldn't be that helpful.

**simply_angelic** · 05-14-2008, 10:17 AM

I didn't for Europe, but I am using the one I bought here for africa as calling cards and pay phones that are cheap and work are a thing of the past here...it just works out better here. Since you cant go out really in many cities at night you need to be able to call taxi drivers, etc...

**MolsonGirl** · 05-15-2008, 09:24 PM

I have one here in Australia (but I'm here for a year) and my mobile in Canada has a rogers account, but when I'm in Europe I switch to my O2 sim card and use that... and technically using O2 is cheaper for local england calls than rogers is for local canadian calls.

Love it. But I also have a lot of family in England and it's a safety and comfort thing for them to be able to contact me. If I was packing somewhere else I probably wouldn't bring it.

SGRHewitt · 07-09-2008, 09:42 AM

Sitting at work, bored out of my mind. This is where I usually daydream of Australia as it seems haha.

Anywho, who is the cheapest per minute(or I guess per half minute so it seems) for prepaid wireless in Australia? First off, I can't believe how expensive it is... 30-40 cents per 30 seconds. Where here, 30 seconds would be 5 cents on most prepaid plans.

Regardless, I'm going to get a mobile for obvious reasons, trying to figure out the cheapest route. I'll probably bring a GSM phone as well, being that it seems to be universal over in Australia. Unfortunately for me I have Verizon so I don't have a GSM phone, but will probably get a used on regardless.

SGRHewitt · 07-09-2008, 09:50 AM

I think I answered my own question... Seems like the Virgin Mobile 'Bean Counter' seems to be the cheapest. 10 cents a minute to anyone in Oz, 10 cent text, and free voicemail. Sounds like a deal to me. Only problem with it is you have to top up online, which I guess is a convenience and an inconvenience both. Now I wonder if it's free incoming as well.

Anyone have Virgin Mobile in Oz?

snodogj · 08-10-2008, 04:18 AM

I always take it but I never roam. The phone is unlocked and I have a pretty good library of sim cards built up. Somewhere new? New payg sim!

**LostFarmboy** · 08-10-2008, 10:25 PM

When I went around Europe and Central and South America I didn't take my phone. It felt good to be pretty well uncontactable. The only form of communication I used were emails, just to let people know what I had been up to, but apart from that I enjoyed being cut off from everything back home. The last thing I want while traveling around is my work giving me a call. You'd be surprised how resourceful you can be when you really need to get in contact with someone.

**Elizabeth** · 08-10-2008, 10:33 PM

^^^ Ha. My work would so call me. They call me every other day as it is now. "Um I know you're in [insert foreign country] but [insert unreliable employee] called out. Can you come in?"

**BedtimeontheMoon** · 08-11-2008, 05:09 AM

On my trip to Europe, I had my cell phone with me, but it didn't work (phone wasn't programmed for int'l roam). My best alternative was Skype. It was easy to use and considering I had a 2 pound laptop (Asus) that I could easily carry around for a while if I were to be making a phone call on that particular day. For the most part, being disconnected was great. If my mother had a form of reaching me I think my phone bill would have been through the roof! (Overprotective mama)

Makes you have to use your own sense of direction and searching skills without the help of google or gps!