Staying Connected While Away

Abroad or just far away, how to stay connected with your loved ones

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Ok, whose mama anytime you go on a trip says, “check in with me everyday so I know you’re alive!”? I know I’m not the only one! I love my mom to death and I wish she was coming with me on some of these trips, but since she’s stuck at home I need to make sure I give her some peace of mind that I’m safe and having a blast when I’m away. The issue is, my cell phone doesn’t work in foreign countries and it costs an arm and a leg to get that international phone plan.Over the years of travel I’ve had to find more than one way to contact my family and friends back home. Here are some ways to stay connected while you’re out being adventurous!

Mobile apps! 

• Apps are the biggest and easiest way to be able to stay connected with your loved ones at home. I use Whatsapp, and Facebook messenger mostly. Of course you still need to be attached to a wifi signal, but both apps include messaging, phone calls and video chats that work nationally or internationally wherever you are. 

Other mobile apps include: 

• Line which I use consistently to stay in contact with my bestie who lives in Tokyo! 
• Viber I’ve tried haven’t had success with. It was confusing to maneuver for me but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it work for you if that’s something your friends or family use.
• Google Hangouts can be helpful if the majority of the people you need to contact also use Google.
• Instagram message to get a hold of your friends and keep them updated on the crazy adventures and hotties you meet along the way
• Kik is another message app where you can include multiple people in a single chat group. So if you’ve got a rolling group chat at home on your cell, switch it over to kik while you’re away and you won’t miss a beat. 

Imessage

• iPhone users rejoice, you may not need an app if you’re attempting to contact someone who also has an iPhone. Text messages go through on iPhones via wifi so if you’re connected to wifi you have the capability to send texts and FaceTime video chat. That way mom can SEE you’re all in one piece. It made my day to be able to virtually be at my friend’s baby showers and our family dinners while I was abroad. 

International Phone Plan

• You may need to bite the bullet and purchase the international plan. It’s expensive, but if you think you’re going to need access to your phone 24/7 while on vacation (which I highly DO NOT recommend by the way) the international plan is an option. They usually come with costs per minute on calls, as well as data usage. I tell all my travel clients, use this as a last resort. It will eat into your budget for your trip, and having full access to everything while vacationing doesn’t make for a relaxing time AWAY. 

Get a local cell phone! 

• When I lived in Italy I had to have a way to contact the family I was staying with while out and about. Not every store has wifi so I got myself a local cell phone. I had to make sure that I had plenty of minutes and I could buy them at the grocery store if I needed more, but it was a way to stay in contact with the people I was around IN that country. I didn’t get anything crazy, just a cheap phone and a sim card which I sold back to the company before leaving. 

Postcards!

• An old fashioned way to communicate but definitely more fun. It’s hand-written, and a beautiful picture symbolizing where you are. It’s a wonderful overall snapshot of your adventure. You get to say a little something about how much fun you’re having, and send something personal to your loved ones. 

I hope this helped give you some ideas on how to stay in contact with your mamas while traveling. Mamas, I hope this gave you a sense of ease! It’s possible to check in with your babies while they’re out exploring all the world has to offer. As always if there are more great options I haven’t mentioned here let me know! I gotta stay up on the latest tech and travel buzz. 

Until next time Seababes! <3

PS: Unable to travel right now because of COVID-19? Read through my post on What to do When You Can’t Travel! It’ll get you ready to go for when we CAN travel again.