Tools for Staying Connected While Traveling Internationally
My friend, Tamika, hitting up her friends for local recommendations while we were in San Juan, Puerto Rico in March 2022
While this isn’t relevant for those embarking on a digital detox, there are many travel scenarios where we want to stay connected to family, friends, comrades, and colleagues whether traveling for leisure, organizing, or working remotely.
Crossing borders brings a new set of challenges to remote communication. For example, you won’t be able to make cell phone calls with your home network provider - and if you do you’ll be hit with exorbitant fees. You may not be able to access certain websites and applications. Any accounts connected to your home mobile number are inaccessible because you cannot receive the security text to authenticate the log in attempt, which will likely be flagged since you are away from your typical location.
Here, we share the tools and technology we use to get around some of the separation national borders create.
WhatsApp is a private messaging mobile application available on Apple and Android that works all over the world as long as you’re on WiFi. You can make audio and video calls as well as send messages without changing to a local network provider — for free.
The voice recording and document sending features are better than iMessage in my opinion. The media sent in your chats is also organized in a way that makes locating past exchanges much easier.
eSim
While WhatsApp is a fantastic tool for staying connected internationally, it can’t support us when we are not in the connected to Wi-Fi.
After switching the physical sim in my phone four times in one month then losing my main sim on the fifth change, I decided to look into eSims and I wish I had known about them sooner.
An eSim* allows you connect to a local network and access data, text, and calling.
Roaming charges and international plans with American cell phone network providers are very expensive. Save money with an eSim during your travels. Data, text, and calls are significantly cheaper in other countries. We go with Saily because they service travel to Africa and provide ease of installation.
Arriving in a new country, there is the time between landing and getting to the sim shop at the airport that you aren’t connected. Airport WiFi is becoming more and more reliable but avoid the headache and stay connected as you move across borders with an eSim, for work or safety. You can (and should) set it up before you even leave your home country.
*Your phone must be unlocked to use an eSim. Inquire with your network provider to see if your device is unlocked.
Outlet Adapter and Power Bank
Outlets vary country to country. You can get international adapters that cover different countries but they don’t cover all so double check it is compatible wherever you’re traveling.
Power banks are critical while traveling so you can elongate the battery life of your phone should you spend a full day (and possibly night) away from your accommodations. These are also supportive during power outages which happen often in places like Africa.
VPN
A VPN provides privacy and security by hiding your IP address and allow you to use public wifi safely. They also encrypt the tunnel your date moves through.
I’m still testing out VPNs. I’ve been using TunnelBear but I can’t access Hulu in Africa so I’m going to give NordVPN a try next. I will update this blog post when I feel comfortable recommending a VPN service.
Google Authenticator
I try to connect my accounts to an authenticator when I can to avoid authentication solely linked to my home cell phone number because I often cannot access the verification text messages when in another country. Google Authenticator is an app that allows you to generate a code to validate your identity and access various online accounts.
