Rick Steves Claims This International Travel Hack Can Save You Money On Your Phone Bill

If you have a phone plan through U.S. carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile, you likely have access to an international data plan. The thing is, these plans will likely cost you — either in the form of a more expensive monthly bill or via daily usage rates while abroad. For example, Verizon's TravelPass program costs $12 per day, meaning a weeklong trip to Europe can add an extra $84 to your phone bill. However, according to European travel guru Rick Steves, there's no need to pay for such add-on services. In fact, the best way to stay connected while traveling abroad is simpler than you might imagine –- simply keep your phone in airplane mode. Per Steves, travelers can keep their phone in airplane mode and simply connect to public Wi-Fi networks whenever they need to browse the web, make a call, or send a message.

While this might sound too easy to be true, if there's anyone to trust when it comes to saving money abroad it's Steves, who has used his lifetime of European travel experiences to help travelers save money on everything from bus tour tickets to restaurant bills in France. Considering Europe is among the most well-connected places in the world, you can expect public Wi-Fi to be readily available in a host of places including hotels, restaurants, museums, and even some town plazas and high-speed trains. While not necessarily a perfect solution, it will certainly save you money.

As Steves notes, the ubiquity of free public Wi-Fi in Europe makes it easy to stay connected free of charge most of the time. However, he also notes that it's not a fool-proof plan and that travelers should keep an eye out for tourist scams. In cases where free Wi-Fi might not work, Steves points to a few other ways to use data affordably while abroad. For starters, using a local SIM card — which involves removing the SIM from your phone and inserting one purchased in-country — can be a relatively affordable option. They are generally available at international airports and in tourist areas, and can cost anywhere from $12 to $55 depending on how long your trip is and the amount of data you might need. 

E-SIMs can be another option. These tend to be slightly cheaper but do involve signing up for a service and downloading an app or code into your phone, rather than installing a physical SIM card. This can be a particularly useful option if you're planning on traveling across multiple countries and don't want to have to buy a different SIM card in each one.