So, you’ve just stepped down from the ramp and you’re waiting for your luggage. With nothing to do but wait, you quietly peruse the crowd of tired bedheads from your plane. And you think: what is it that makes some travelers look like lost tourists and gives others an air of well-travelled elegance?

It’s the fact that having just set foot on the other end of the earth, they’re already using their smartphone!

While you’re avoiding your cellphone altogether—past sky-high roaming bills have left a bad taste in your mouth—they’re actually on Whatsapp™, Skype™, Facebook™, or Outlook™ telling everyone they’ve landed.

You don’t have to be rich… to use the internet abroad!

But it does mean you have to anticipate… So here are your options:

1. Using only public Wi-Fi – Sounds good, but often very frustrating in real life.

For starters, it’s not always available. When it is, it’s not always free… If it’s an open network, you get bombarded with advertisements. If it’s semi-private, you get asked for never-ending logins, requested in a foreign language, sometimes practically undecipherable.

Oops.. you just got disconnected… must register yet again!

Last, whether open or semi-private, public Wi-Fi is a hacker’s paradise… Hmmm… Just a question—do you really want to go there?

2. Buying a pay-as-you-go SIM card from a local reseller

Yes, the prices can’t be beat, but the same goes for the hassle…

How much time (and energy) will you need, once you’ve landed after many long hours, to find that reseller with good prices, install the SIM card, and –will you really manage to top-up when you can’t even read the installation booklet?

And what happens if it doesn’t work, or if you need an explanation? Does the customer care speak your language? Let’s hope so…

3. Relying on your usual service provider

Here is the lazy man’s option. There are no additional steps, but the freedom comes at a price.

You will be charged expensive roaming fees for both outgoing and incoming calls, texts and data usage. If you’re a little more inquisitive, however, you can check with your provider to see if they offer international plans, most importantly for data.

They often do, but the prices are never very attractive… Why? Because roaming costs are mobile operators’ bread and butter… And it’s not a free market! A lot of national/regional legislation frames transactions in the telecom market. So a ‘good deal’ is really hard to find…

This option is best for… the ill-advised! Or for people who either rarely travel, or can’t bother (rich enough not to have to look at price tags). But we don’t think they’d be reading this article if they fit this description…

4. Buying a global data SIM card sent to your home and installed before you leave

This is the smart traveler’s move. The great advantage is that you install it once and for all.

These SIM cards come charged with credit or data bundles and can be topped-up via the brand’s website. They give you secure, permanent internet access with good prices for data. But there again, people ‘in the know’ compare prices before they press ‘buy’.

Mainly because the companies offering the greatest coverage (number of countries covered with the data plan) also carry the highest comparative prices, country per country. Last, the networks made available in every country vary in quality. So if you know where you’ll be travelling mostly, make sure you look at which network you’ll be using upon destination.

If you want to avoid the lengthy research, just stick to our recommendation: Transatel DataSIM is the one you want! This universal SIM card for data is easy to order, install, use and top-up. It offers the best available connectivity in over 80 destinations and is adding new countries to its network every month… But they offer the advantage of never having to be swapped.

Definitely the best option we know of, for frequent travelers, business travelers, tourists and families alike.

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