After months of saving and planning, you are finally getting ready to embark on the travel adventure of a lifetime. You will be gone for a few weeks and plan on visiting several countries. While you are beyond giddy about your upcoming trip and have your passport, clothing and other supplies packed and ready to go, you are also concerned about staying in touch with everyone back home. Your house sitter will be watching your home and your beloved pets and you want to be able to check in regularly. You also want to stay connected with your family members, friends, and even your boss periodically.
There are a number of ways to stay connected to everyone in your life even when you are oceans apart.
Make sure your smartphone plan includes Gogo in-flight service
To get where you are going, you will be spending some long hours on airplanes. To make the most of this time, it would be great to text your friends back home and yes, maybe even get a bit of work done at the same time. Prior to leaving, check with your smartphone carrier to be sure it includes Gogo in-flight service as part of your plan. With Gogo, you can text, send photos or check your visual voicemail while you are 30,000 feet above the ground. You can also stay connected with loved ones back home while flying with an hour of free Wi-Fi.
Download some chat apps
Another great way to stay connected while exploring the world is through chat apps. Chat apps let you make Wi-Fi and internet-based calls and texts internationally for far less than you would usually pay; in some cases, the apps let you communicate for free. Examples include WhatsApp which offers secure texting and talking for free, and WeChat, a messaging and calling app that lets you connect with friends and family across continents. As a bonus, if you are traveling with someone and plan on having some separate adventures along the way, you can also use these apps to stay in touch with each other during your trip.
Buy a SIM card at your destination
Another great way to connect with friends and family back home is to switch out your current SIM card with one that you buy in each new country. To be sure this tip works, call your carrier before you go to verify that your smartphone is unlocked; if it isn’t, ask them to unlock it for the duration of your journey. Once it is, you should be able to easily switch out the SIM card for a local one, which means you will be charged the local rates rather than international fees.
Bon voyage and please stay in touch!
Traveling can be wonderful, but at the end of a long day of seeing the sights, it is nice to hear the voice of your BFF or touch base with other loved ones. Thanks to in-flight services that let you communicate on the plane along with apps and purchasing foreign SIM cards, you can definitely stay connected with everyone back home.
Know about more destinations with 24-hours WI-FI.