Using Your American Wireless Carrier While Traveling

While there are trips that I've taken to disconnect from my wireless device(s) and not stare at a screen all day, most of the time I still need my phone looking up directions, restaurants, or bars while wandering through a new city.

For a long time I would use an iPod touch and hope that there was WiFi nearby or take screenshots of my map before heading out. It was needless to say, pretty primitive. I sometimes even used a paper map to supplement it and almost always had to ask for directions. It always made things a little more interesting, and is the source of some of my favorite stories to retell that I've written through the years (like trying to find my friend in Japan or a chance encounter with someone who was friends with my AirBnB host).

These days I find myself simply doing what I would do at home in NYC - pull my phone out of my pocket and check the map. I never thought I'd ever be saying this, but thankfully I'm a Sprint customer (I've been my whole cellphone owning life) with unlimited data. This means that I can take the same iPhone SE I use here at home and use it pretty much anywhere in the world without paying an extra penny.

In the last few years Sprint changed their policy from requiring users to pay an extra fee to use their phone abroad to allowing customers with unlimited data to continue using unlimited data from pretty much anywhere in the world as well as unlimited text messages.

The caveats? Well the cellular data is 2G, primitive and slower then molasses at times so while it feels like you're back in 2006 it does work. The slow data is why I still will purchase a local SIM card. You also have to pay for calling, but with FaceTime you can do voice calls with other iPhone users or Google Hangout calls on Android.

I'll still often use a second (unlocked) smartphone and buy a local SIM card. This gives you a local phone number, access to high speed mobile internet, and is very inexpensive overall. I use the Moto G Play as my local phone while traveling. For things like buying bus tickets or paying for things online on the go it really requires a high-speed mobile connection which is where the local phone comes in. It also  never hurts to have an easy way to call local businesses.

Overall I'd say that despite the slow speeds having a local phone that I can use abroad, unlimited and without additional fees, has become one of the most invaluable tools in my wanderlust kit.