Who has never had the unpleasant surprise of receiving a particularly high bill after a trip abroad? Here are some tips to avoid these inconveniences after a dream vacation.
While some operators offer an interesting offer at no additional cost when we travel abroad (such as Free, whose subscribers can have, depending on the destination, 35 days of their package abroad per calendar year, calls, SMS, MMS and 3GB Internet included) this is not the case for everyone. For this, we make sure to scrutinize his contract in the smallest details and we do not hesitate to call an advisor in the slightest doubt. He will be able to inform us about the nature of the offer to which we have subscribed and will allow us to take the necessary measures to avoid a madness out-of-package. In any case, we anticipate:if we want to change the package or subscribe to a “travel abroad” option, it often takes several days, so we plan ahead!
If, in certain countries or in certain places, we do not pick up the wifi, we must admit that it has become rather rare. Indeed, in the majority of developed countries, there is always a way to connect to a wifi spot (hotel, restaurant, McDonald's, etc.). In New York, for example, wifi is even offered by the city. It is spotted thanks to the hotspots located everywhere. And if you have any doubts about your vacation spot, you download the Stav or WifiMap applications, which allow you to find out about places that offer an internet connection near you. If, however, you are in a place completely devoid of wifi and you absolutely have to connect, you can always activate data abroad in the phone settings. But only in this case, otherwise the bill will rise quickly because data is billed by MB (megabyte) and consumption can rise very (very) quickly.
Whatsapp, Weechat, Skype or Facetime, and even Snapchat… There are a good number of free applications to download in order to communicate from abroad via videoconferences or instant messaging, at no extra cost, and which use wifi. Ditto for Facebook:Messenger's video or telephone call system is regularly improved. In any case, we test the apps before leaving, just to be ready when we want to call France.
The prepaid card is THE good plan, especially if you have to make a lot of phone calls. You can usually get it at your vacation spot, for an envelope ranging from 5 to 50 € depending on the destination, or buy it before departure. Depending on the plan chosen, you generally have unlimited text messages. Enough to completely replace our phone.
In any case, we don't hesitate to take the time to be well informed before departure, because if we can avoid unnecessary expenses and do more shopping and visits... We do it!
