BootsnAll Travel Community

(also posted in Central America forum)

Hello,

I am planning to travel to Central and South America this fall, for Spanish study, volunteering, etc., for as long as I can afford to (months? a year or two?). I will probably start in Guatemala, then make my way through Central America and down into South America.

I do not currently have a cell phone, but was considering getting one to keep in touch with my family back home in the States, and with other travelers I meet along the way. However, I'm having a hard time finding useful information online about whether or not this is a good idea, what the requirements would be, and how much it would cost. Does anybody have any ideas?

I know that I would have to get a quad-band phone in order to have any hope that it would work in all of the countries I will be visiting. But I can't tell whether it would be cheaper to purchase an international plan in the States (anybody have any recommendations?), or to get a SIM-unlocked phone and buy a new SIM card in each country I visit.

Or, would it be cheaper and easier just to make calls from internet/phone cafes along the way, and skip the cell phone altogether? The most obvious downside of this option would mean that people back home or new friends wouldn't be able to contact me by phone if they needed to.

My friend wants to get all our friends to contribute to buying me an iPhone as a going-away gift, but I'm hesitant to accept it because it would be such an obvious theft-magnet.

Does anybody have any advice on phones (or alternative means of keeping in touch) while traveling? Thanks in advance for any insights!

smiles,
Lacey

Ah....mobile phones outside of U.S./Canada...

I've been there, not having a clue - no understanding of what means what, but here's the deal..it's not nearly as complicated as it might seem.

First place you get to just walk around the main shopping area of town, there will likely be dozens or more vendors selling phones/SIM cards - there should be one or two prevailing networks. Buy a phone - just look for the features you want. I bought a cheap Motorola - no fancy stuff, just a phone. It was very cheap. Then buy a SIM card from one of the prevailing networks, and top up as needed (hopefully it will still work as you cross borders). Claro appears to have an extensive network spanning central/south America - this doesn't necessarily mean that a SIM card purchased in Guatemala will work in Peru, but it might. It's really that easy, and I like the convenience of having a mobile phone, however from a budget standpoint it is often cheaper to go to an internet cafe or other place offering cheap phone calls back to the states.

If your main goal is just to be able to talk to friends/family back in the states, skype is a wonderful option, but it is dependent upon an internet connection.


The SIM cards marketed to travelers have some distinct advantages
1) you can buy it before you leave.
2)you will know what the rates will be in each country
3) you will have the same phone # throughout your travels
but, they are usually quite a bit more expensive than SIM cards purchased on the street

I'm not sure if you need to buy another phone.
In your case, if you live in the US, dual or tri-band should be enough.
My mobile (cell) is on European GSM 900/1800, which means I need tri-band for both North and South America, where it's 950/1900.
You need your phone with on-locked sim, and buy a new sim card in every country.
Apart from all that, you can't be sure whether it's going to work in all areas. The GSM net and accessibility in South Am is very poor, so it's not unusual that you'll be out of reach, moving between places.
There are other tricks, that you won't be able to figure out they work. For example, you might be able to send sms's, but won't be ablt to receive any. That also varies, between areas.
In short, you can't have a phone or a solution that will work everywhere. But, you'll be usuing internet in any case, and that's the easiest way to stay in touch. Internet cafés are everywhere (except really small remote towns), and even if it's very slow at times, it's still the most reliable way to stay in touch.

Hey there.

Not sure if this is useful, but I bought a SIM in a market in Santiago for CLP$5000 with CLP$5000 call credit (service provider Claro). I used my quad band GSM phone and it works fine. Well in Chile anyway :-)

I also skype (PC to PC) with my parents as the interweb in Chile is pretty fast (faster than in parts of Australia!). But I am staying with a friend here, so I can't comment on the quality or price of the millions of internet cafes throughout Santiago city and suburbs.

Thanks for the responses, everybody! It sounds like my best bet will be to buy a phone and cards when I get there. I appreciate the reassurances that it will be cheap and easy!

Lacey

I lived in South America last summer, and like has been suggested already, bought an el cheapo, basic Nokia phone and a pre-paid card (with xx number of minutes). Got a pretty good deal at a sale that a Best Buy/Circuit City type of place was having. They set it all up and got the phone working, programmed the help screens in english, etc. etc. If more minutes are needed, it's as easy as going either back to that same store, or to the phone company's stores. (In Argentina, it was the company called "Personal" and they have stores EVERYWHERE).

While you should never turn down an iPhone, it isn't wise for the trip. Better they give it to you as a welcome back gift. Sadly, Latin America sucks on repair service for any Apple product.

Follow the suggestion about buying a cheapie and topping off the minutes with cards.

You'll be fine in cities. Most Latin American cities are pretty high density and it's surprising how many folks of even low economic levels have a cell. Of course in those countries with state run phone networks a land line can be near impossible.

The countryside.. in particular the Andean nations, will be another matter. The mountains mean outside towns you are out of luck.

As an alternative, cyber cafes are dirt cheap and everywhere. Skype is available all over. I'm finding an increasing number of backpacker hotels with free Skype.

A slightly off track warning. Used to be you would see phone booths in tourist towns offering free collect international calls. Cells and Skype have cut down the number but they are still out there. They are free to those making the call.. but horrendously expensive to those accepting the charges.

A note about 800 numbers. I just discovered this last December. If you haven't already been told be sure you let your bank know where you are going. If not, their security department will freeze your account when they detect transactions from down there. I had Bank of America. Every trip I call and let them know where I am going. It often doesn't work. I went to Guatemala on a wholesale shopping trip. Many of my vendors are around Lake Atitlan. Since I ended up buying more than planned the last few days I needed extra cash. I was in Panajachel and started pulling cash out of the one working ATM. Sure as hell, B of A locked my account. No problem I figured, I had an international 800 number. Went to a cybercafe with Skype and tried to call the bank. No luck. I finally reached an AT+T operator in Guat. who told me that 800 numbers could only be dialed from areas with advanced switching equipment. That meant Antigua and Guat. City. Rest of the country SOOL. The banks huge website fails to list phone numbers. After about 8hrs. I was able to use the internet to reach a B of A chat board... in India. I later found out that this situation exists in other countries. So take some none toll free numbers along. I've yet to see mention of this in any guidebook.

quote:

Originally posted by GoodtimeBob:


A slightly off track warning. Used to be you would see phone booths in tourist towns offering free collect international calls. Cells and Skype have cut down the number but they are still out there. They are free to those making the call.. but horrendously expensive to those accepting the charges.

you know, I was just thinking, it's been a long time since I called my ex-wife

Ooh, excellent advice! Thanks for the tips on non-800 numbers. I do have a list of all my bank information and contacts, but will add a non-800 number just to be safe.

Lacey, that list you have. Email a copy to yourself in addition to carrying a hard copy. Scanning your passport and saving as a PDF to mail is also a good idea.

More excellent advice, GoodtimeBob! I was definitely planning to email all of my important lists and documents to myself (and/or put them on my Google Docs), but I hadn't thought to scan my passport - that's brilliant! Now I won't be quite so worried about losing the paper copies of it.