I still remember travelling across the USA 15 years ago, where I had to pay for minutes so I could call people back home at £1 per minute! There was no WhatsApp and we had limited space for photos (before Cloud existed properly) so you had to find internet cafes and upload all of your photos to Facebook so you had a back-up.
Ah how times have changed and this is certainly something I’m glad has changed for the better. Mobiles nowadays are more like pocket computers, capable of extraordinary things. So below are the ways in which I use my phone when travelling abroad, in case it’s useful for anyone else contemplating a big trip and needing to know how to prepare.
Google Maps Offline
Ok, everyone knows you can use Google Maps, I’m not going to explain the app to you, but most people don’t realise you can download entire cities in advance, so if you lose connection, you can still navigate around.
When we were in Interlaken in Switzerland, we didn’t have connection for almost an entire day as we seemed to fall into a dead-zone. This meant it felt very ‘old school’ as we had to guess where we were going and where we wanted to eat, asking locals for directions.
This would have been solved if I was pro-active and downloaded the city map in advance. If you’re flying to somewhere that might have poor connection, then this is a worthwhile task before you get on the plane. Worst case, it’s fine and you delete the download afterwards.
Roaming Options
When I negotiated my phone contract, I demanded that EU roaming was included and wouldn’t change once my contract was rolling, something many popular brands seem reluctant to offer. However, once I leave the EU, the prices for roaming and fees can be exceptionally high.
This is where I get tempted to opt for a mobile data SIM card, such as eSIM Plus. Raquel did this in Japan and I was jealous with my very pricey EE contract (something I’m not using anymore thankfully).
You just choose an eSIM data plan, then you can install it digitally and then you have your internet connection sorted. Plus they have an app which is pretty nifty for checking your usage.
Messy Times
If you’re sitting on a long coach or train, or maybe you’re drinking in the hostel before a big night out, either way, drinking games often seem to play a part of it when backpacking.
Messy Times is an app that includes famous drinking games like Ring of Fire, Paranoia and Never Have I Ever, whether on a single device or multi-device rooms.
This means you don’t have to carry around a deck of cards or a dice to play some games before the big night out. New games are also constantly being launched, so this is certainly worth a download.
Splitting Expenses
This one isn’t worthwhile if you’re a couple or on a family holiday, but if you’re travelling with a group of mates then Splitwise really is worth downloading.
Basically, every time you pay for something, rather than them working out the cost, you add it to the app and who owes you. This keeps getting added by each person through the trip, then at the end of the holiday it calculates it all and works out who owes what.
We’ve done this and found that we almost completely were even, with nobody owing anything to each other, as we had all paid for separate things equally. This meant that we didn’t have to keep transferring money to each other every day, so it felt very useful.
Honestly, I will say that maybe it’s not always necessary, but I am awful for chasing people for cash or finding it awkward if I’ve paid for something, so this makes it a lot more fair and balanced.
AI Recommendations
I love using ChatGPT for everything when travelling nowadays. Step into a new city, it knows the types of activities I like, so I’ll ask it for recommendations and it won’t mention art galleries or skydiving, it will highlight things I truly would enjoy.
Take a photo of a menu and ask it what it recommends, it knows my recent searches and can highlight dishes I’ve already eaten on this holiday, dishes that I might enjoy, but also what to avoid based on foods I’ve mentioned I don’t like. Plus it can help me to tick off local cuisines that I’m meant to try while on holiday.
Whether you use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, it doesn’t really matter, but it really is a game changer to travelling.
Online Banking When Cancelling a Card
I remember having my bank card stolen while abroad a decade ago. I had to call up Santander on a friend’s phone, which cost a hefty price going back to the UK from abroad, while I was on hold for 30 minutes. In contrast, the last time I lost my card, I went on the app, told the AI assistant I needed to cancel the card and it was done within 2 minutes.
