For many people the hardest thing about traveling is being away from family and friends. Luckily, there are plenty of cost efficient ways of maintaining contact with the important people in your life while you are away.
Phone Cards
Local phone cards to call home can be bought while abroad. The drawback is that some of the phone cards can usually only be used in the country you bought it in. In addition to calling home I can use the phone card to make reservation or transportation inquiries that cannot be made by email. When I am traveling I will ask other travelers or inquire at the hostel reception about good phone card options. Each country has different systems and different companies.
Cell Phones/Mobile Phones
Most travelers I meet have a mobile phone. Of course many travelers are from Europe so they are traveling on their own continent. In developing countries many people will buy a mobile phone and then purchase SIM cards (which is like buying time). Different countries have different SIM cards so it may be necessary to change the SIM cards when you cross borders.
Buying Pre-Paid SIM Cards
Yet another option, if you have a SIM card compatible cell phone, is buying pre-paid SIM cards. Your phone must be a tri-band/world phone and MUST be unlocked for pre-paid SIM cards to work.
Charging Your Batteries
Many hostels have outlets you can use to recharge your phone, but you may have to compete for outlet time.
Internet Cafes
With the rapid growth and popularity of the World Wide Web access has become easier to find. In most major cites around the world, Internet or Cyber Cafes having sprung up at an astonishing rate. Prices vary widely, but if you look, you should be able to find an internet cafe with reasonable prices.
Here are some links to help you find cyber cafes for your travel destinations:
Free Email
Hotmail and Yahoo are the two most popular online and free email providers. I have both as I have found that sometimes one company is hard to access in some countries or in some internet cafes. When I was traveling in Morocco I could asses Hotmail only in Casablanca. Hotmail would either take a long time to open or not open, yet Yahoo functioned as at home.
Hotmail
Yahoo
Goggle Mail (2,500 MB account) An e-mail account with lots of storage for files.
Travel Blog Sites
My Trip Journal Create your own 45 day website for FREE! Plot your journey on maps, store & display your photos, stories and experiences, exchange messages with friends and family, and download a permanent archive at the end of your trip.
Off Exploring Get your own personal travel website! Keep in touch with friends & family while you have fun around the world, includes travel journal, photos, interactive maps and message boards. Upload UNLIMITED photos. Will never delete your site from the web. Free two week trial available
Traditional Mail
Traditional postcards and letters are a cheap and easy way of keeping in touch, though not as fast some other options.
While it is easy for you to send mail, it takes a bit of preparation for you to receive it if you are constantly traveling. One solution is to have your family and friends send your letters "poste restante" to the main post office of the city you will be staying in (one very good reason for preparing a detailed itinerary). If you are an American Express cardholder, their travel offices (located in most large cities in Europe) will hold your mail (up to 30 days) at no cost AND will provide you travelers checks for free.
Sending Packages/Parcels Home
The price of sending packages home depends on a variety of factors. The largest factor is weight, since most post offices determine price by weight. If you are sending home books from Europe, then request the "book rate" and you will be charged significantly less than you will be for standard packages. Book rate does take longer to get back to your home destination, so if time is factor, don't choose this option.
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