Using your cell phone from another country can quickly become expensive, even if you're only making voice calls.
That's why it's a good idea to understand your options and make sure you've identified a few ways to save money when traveling with your cell phone. For example, there are ways to sign up for international roaming plans that will save you money on both voice and data roaming. There are also ways to purchase a separate phone for international travel that has fixed, lower rates, or to replace your phone's SIM card with a local one to give you free incoming calls and cheaper outgoing calls.
And last, but not least, there's always good old calling cards. Calling cards provide ways that travelers can use conventional land line phones, pay phones, or even their cell phones (if they have their SIM card localized) to make international calls more cheaply than simply picking up the phone and dialing.
Most airports and convenience stores sell local calling cards that provide relatively cheap international rates, or travelers can obtain an international calling card from companies like AT&T before they leave the U.S. Just make sure you have a list of the local numbers you need to dial into in the different countries you're traveling to before you go.
