The best phone plans for roaming and travelling overseas

‘Roaming’ is the name for the service provided by your phone company which allows you to take your Australian phone overseas with you and leave the SIM inside it. When you’re ‘roaming’ with that SIM, you can make and receive calls overseas. Of course, to people visiting Australia, ‘Roaming’ could well mean buying a phone plan in Australia and using it to make International Calls. We also explain how to do that below in this article.

The key risk people are worried about when it comes to roaming (overseas from Australia) is getting an enormous bill when they get home.

Your four main options on roaming are essentially a trade-off between the risk (of getting that large bill) and complexity (of figuring out what to buy). Luckily, your key options are nice and clear.

• Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone all offer ‘Daily Roaming Deals’:
  Around 70% of Australians are with one of the major phone companies – Optus, Telstra or Vodafone. If you are one of these people, you can get a ‘Daily Roaming Deal’ from any of them. Daily deals typically cost between $5 and $10 per day. They entitle the user to receive and make as many calls as they’d like and include a small amount of mobile data to use overseas. We outline the details of the key ‘Daily passes’ below and, of course, are shown in the table above.
• Roaming options from smaller phone companies:
  The offer details from each of the smaller phone companies differ regarding roaming. Below, we have provided an overview of key roaming information from MVNOs in this article. Smaller phone companies will let you roam, but you may have to pay in advance. Overall, we recommend Moose Mobile as having the best roaming deal among the smaller phone companies we compared.

And if you want a simple, low-risk solution to the problem of finding a SIM to roam with overseas, (and will accept the inconvenience):

• Get a SIM in the country when you get there:
  Many people purchase a local SIM, when they get to their overseas destination. People who do this often opt for a prepaid SIM. This allows them to make calls and send SMSs within the country they’re visiting although, their number (the one associated with the SIM they use at home) will appear ‘dead’ to people calling it. If you’re a visitor to Australia, and you want to call home, see our ‘International Calls’ section below.
• Avoid any type of roaming and use WiFi / communication apps:
  If you know you will have access to wifi for most of the time you’re overseas, you can avoid any risk, unexpected charges by taking the SIM out of your phone before you leave Australia. Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and countless other ‘chat’ apps will allow you to make voice calls OTA ‘Over the air’ – i.e. across those wifi networks at no extra cost.

Since you can do the last 2 of these options without a SIM Plan, we will focus on the first two roaming alternatives in the following.

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According to a survey of 128 Fortune 1000 companies concerning their global mobile roaming expenses (carried out by CCMI,) 37% of the companies reviewed paid an average of $1000 per month for international roaming bills for a single user. 12% of these companies pay as much as $3500 per month on average per user! Global research results published by Amba Hotels show that average US business traveller spends an average of $15.10 for roaming charges per trip.

In short, roaming can be expensive for the people who don’t plan for it – but becomes far more financially manageable when they do.

Here’s how to minimise the costs when you’re roaming overseas from Australia.

• Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone all offer ‘Daily Roaming Deals’ on their ‘post-pay’ plans:
  The only complexity is establishing whether the daily roaming deal covers the country you travel to. Around 70% of Australians are with one of the major phone companies – Optus, Telstra, or Vodafone. If you are, you can get a ‘Daily Roaming Deal’ from any of them. This option isn’t free. A few dollars a day might add up. For example, a 2-week holiday at $5 per day is $70 (on top of your usual monthly plan spend). However, at least this way, you know you won’t get one of those scary $10,000 phone bills which are sometimes in the news.
• Vodafone offers the simplest, and perhaps the best plan of the three ‘Daily Roaming Deals’:
  Vodafone provide an option for their customers on postpaid mobile and tablet plans which cost $5 per day (in addition to your standard monthly plan) for unlimited national and international voice and SMS, and usage of your SIM plan’s data allocation. The plan can be used in over 100 countries, many of which are also on Optus’ roaming plan, and New Zealand travellers are exempt from roaming charges. Perhaps the most interesting part is that the $5 roaming plan allows customers to use their actual phone plan’s included data while roaming. For example, if you are on a 40GB plan, you can use that 40GB of data while roaming overseas. But take note, because if you exhaust your plan data, Vodafone will automatically charge an additional $5 for 1GB of roaming data. If you choose to pay as you go instead of a roaming plan or pack, Vodafone will charge you $1 per 60 seconds for calls and $1 per minute for data. Vodafone also offer three 1 to 7-day expiry prepaid roaming plans, ranging from $5 to $35 for 25 to 200 incoming/outgoing call minutes, 30 to 300 texts, and 200MB to 2GB data.
• Optus ‘Daily Roaming Deal’ is also known as ‘Travel Pack’ and ‘Optus $5 Roaming’:

  Optus’ postpaid roaming offer costs $5 per day for Choice Plus, Optus Plus Family, and Optus Plus Promo plan customers, and includes unlimited calls and texts, along with 5GB of data that also uses 5G wherever available. This plan can be used in over 100 countries, and it reactivates automatically every 24 hours unless you decline this option on your My Optus app. Keep in mind that your unused roaming data will not roll over to the next day, so be sure to use it all up. One of the best parts of this plan is that your $5 roaming 24-hour plan will apply even if you are traveling from one Zone 1 country to another. For example, if you travel from the UAE to Qatar, the roaming plan you bought while in the UAE will remain active when you get to Qatar.

  Postpaid customers who are not eligible can roam for $10 per day, which includes unlimited talk / text and 1GB data, or roam on a per-minute basis. Prepaid customers can choose from two roaming plans ranging from $5 to $35, one travel plan for $10, or one data only plan for $20. Optus roaming covers over 100 Zone 1 countries.
• Telstra’s ‘Daily Roaming Deal’ is called an ‘International Day Pass’:
  The Telstra International Day pass costs $5 per day if you’re traveling to New Zealand and $10 per day if you’re going to one of the ‘over 70’ countries they’re partnered with. Telstra also offer a roaming data top-up pack which costs $10 for 1GB and is valid for 31 days. Telstra’s Prepaid plans are not left out – there are 3 prepaid roaming packs available, ranging from $10 to $25 and including 15 to 50 minutes, 15 to 50 texts and MMS, and 400MB to 4GB data.
  
• Smaller can also work – when it comes to cellular providers with the best Overseas Roaming Deals:
  Smaller phone companies, known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), provide access to the network coverage offered by the major phone companies. Because they serve a smaller array of customers, they provide SIM Only plans that are often much cheaper than you’ll get from Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone. Generally, rates for these providers are in the region of $1 to $2 per minute of call made or received overseas. Data charges are also high. We recommend Moose Mobile if you want to use a smaller phone company’s SIM overseas, but Boost Mobile also offers a very good International Roaming plan.
  
  Smaller phone companies, known as Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), provide access to the network coverage offered by the major phone companies. Because they serve a smaller array of customers, they offer less-complex plans that are often much cheaper than you’ll get from the likes of Optus, Telstra and Vodafone. Generally, rates for these providers are in the region of $1 to $2 per minute of call made or received overseas. Data charges are also high. We recommend Moose Mobile if you want to use a smaller phone company’s SIM overseas, but Boost Mobile also offer a very good International Roaming plan.

We’ve all seen the news stories explaining why one poor individual received a roaming bill in the tens of thousands of dollars. It certainly pays to be aware of potential hazards before attempting to roam and reduce your mobile expenditure when traveling.

The best advice is to try as much as possible to limit your use of roaming services to absolute necessities or emergencies. When using a roaming service, consider turning off your data completely. Even a simple background app or a regular app update on your phone can rack up hefty data expenses.

• Getting roaming wrong can be extremely expensive:
  We’ve all seen the headlines; there have been numerous incidences where visitors accrue mobile data costs to thousands of dollars for trivial things like downloading a soundtrack online or posting a video on social media. The cost of roaming services varies from country to country, even with the same providers. Even local providers who offer highly competitive rates for users at home can slap ridiculous prices on tariff plans for travellers. For instance, you can obtain a small data bundle in Australia from Vodafone for a low rate. However, using that same amount of data from that same provider while roaming in a country like Egypt without the daily plan can cost you over 1000 times more!
• Roaming charges are not likely to change quickly:
  The truth is that phone companies have created a circumstance they are happy to keep in place. For the last three decades, they have each charged each other a great deal of money for voice and especially data services when people visit them. For example, if you leave Australia and go to the UK, taking an Optus SIM with you, your phone could connect to the O2 network in the UK. O2 then charges Optus in Australia hundreds of dollars to provide data access. The same happens in reverse if someone with an O2 network connection in the UK visits Australia. That means that when you get a huge bill from Optus because you’ve been roaming, they HAVE to charge you for it – or they will lose a lot of money. They have to pay O2. Of course, underneath that is the fact that O2 and Optus could very easily just agree on lower rates between them; they just choose not to because they love the roaming rates. To consumers, however, these big bills feel unfair, which means that over time, we’ve become a little worried about roaming and a little wiser about managing it.
• Not all handsets will work overseas:
  In the section below, we cover the GSM standard that underpins the mobile networks you will encounter as you travel the world. Most phones will work in most countries, but technical challenges may cause the opposite. To ensure your phone works, check that the frequencies your phone uses are available on the network you will roam on overseas.
• Coverage is not guaranteed:
  Whichever ‘daily deal’ you buy, you’ll be in a foreign country over which Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone have no control. You may not have a signal from the phone company you roam on when you’re overseas. Similarly, 4G and 5G plan coverage might not be as prevalent in many countries as it is back home in Australia.
• The billing information you’re given can be restricted:
  Loose agreements between our phone companies and those overseas can limit the detail you’re offered on your bill – a frustrating experience if you’re trying to figure out where the money went when you return home.
• If you’re on a cruise ship, there can be even more complexity:
  Check with your cruise ship staff before you turn your phone on. Even with an overseas roaming pack (a ‘Daily Deal’), cruise ships can treat you differently than you’d expect. Many have a satellite connection to which your phone will attach itself rather than a network local to your geography.

For those traveling Within Australia, Is It Cheaper to Buy a SIM Before You Leave Your Home Country?

You can buy an Aussie prepaid SIM right in your home country from a host of retailers, including those on eBay, Amazon, and other online SIM card vendors like FindMyPlan, and then activate it online before stepping on the shores of Australia. However, given the shipping costs and additional costs associated with selling an Aussie SIM to a consumer abroad, buying an Aussie SIM card in your home country will likely be more expensive than buying it at the local retail price in Australia.

Is it cheaper to buy a prepaid SIM in the country you’re visiting?

When you buy a prepaid SIM, you automatically set yourself up for the mobile phone charges that apply to locals, which is great. Compare this to roaming plans which will charge you differently from residents.

Is it smart to buy an eSIM plan for the country you’re visiting?

Similar to buying a prepaid SIM, buying an eSIM plan for the country you’re visiting is a great way to save time and money. Because eSIM plans can be purchased and activated online from, you don’t have to wait for a physical SIM card to arrive in the post or buy one physically at a shop. This also means you can purchase your eSIM plan and activate it in a matter of minutes even before you travel.

For travellers who are visiting Australia: What should visitors to Australia do?

While there are yet to be regulatory bodies that can keep Telcos from trying to outdo themselves in charging international users, you can protect yourself from literally thousands of dollars in exorbitant roaming fees by using roaming plans minimally to ensure they don’t get the best of you.

Our advice is to pick up one of these SIM plans with International Calls – and use them to call home.

Of course, you can use apps over any available free Wi-Fi networks instead of calling or texting home on your roaming plan. Avoid turning on data; even background apps and automatic app updates can accrue huge data expenses.

While phone companies may be guilty of charging disproportionately for specific mobile services, the onus ultimately falls on you to ensure that you do not become the next roaming fee rip-off victim.

You can take advantage of the range of choices you have to remain connected when traveling to Australia. You can switch to MVNO SIMs when you touch down to take advantage of greater flexibility and control.

You must research these options carefully and ensure you tread lightly when working with international roaming plans. For instance, the EU has scraped off roaming plans within all parts of its territories. However, you still need to carry out a comprehensive review of the roaming plans you choose, as there may be hidden charges that could significantly impact your finances.

The Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a product of the concerted efforts of EU member states to adopt a unified, efficient, and cost-effective system for wireless cellular networks. It’s the standard behind almost every phone in the world and the reason you can go overseas with your phone, and it will connect to a network there.

By 2014, 23 years after it was first used commercially in Finland in 1991, the GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communication) had already emerged as the most dominant cellular network technology, taking up to 90% of the global market share. It has retained this pole position in the international markets despite competition from alternative technologies such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Code Division Multiple Access — the predominant technology in North America.

For years, the mobile phone technology infrastructures deployed in the U.S. were incompatible with those deployed in most parts of the world, including Europe. However, two major U.S. mobile carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile, decided to build the first GSM networks nationwide in recent times, bridging the gap in cellular technologies between the US and other parts of the globe.

Today, GSM is deployed across over 219 countries and provides Global Travellers with highly streamlined and impressively powerful connectivity solutions.

Travellers now have far more features and functionality in their phones to enhance their traveling experience than they did a decade ago. Source.

The powerful communications solutions GSM provides travellers have taken a quantum leap within the past decade. Today, with the impressive capacity of algorithms integrated into GSM phones, travellers can connect with a wide array of multi-media tools, take GPS-guided tours around unfamiliar places, keep up-to-date with currency exchange rates, and install an endless variety of apps for a multitude of purposes.

These days, the utilities GSM offers users across the globe have become indispensable for day-to-day living. Users can now travel to various parts of the world without being deprived of these critical utilities. With the ever-expanding array of functionalities integrated into GSM phones comes the problem of choice — finding the most suitable, budget-friendly solutions for you. It’s imperative to diligently research travel phone plans before jetting off on your next trip abroad to avoid the nasty surprises cellular technology has notoriously pelted many travellers with.

While on trips, you have options to either obtain GSM phones based on contacts – in which the phone is locked to a particular network provider, and the cost of the phone is spread out in a 24-month instalment payment schedule – or based on an outright sale, which gives you an unlocked GSM that allows you to switch between Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards of various cellular carriers.

When you’re comparing plans, you can check if:

• there are extra charges for call connections
• call duration is calculated in different ways to what you are expecting
• rates vary according to the time of day

The costs of mobile data overseas significantly exceed the rates you are used to pay in Australia. These higher IMR charges go into effect as soon as your phone makes its presence known on the overseas network. Even if you are careful to avoid streaming online videos and other well-known data-consuming activities, simple actions such as accessing a mapping app cost much more than you expect.

To keep costs down, you can:

Turn data roaming off overseas if you don’t need it.
After leaving Australia, turn off data roaming on your mobile device (how to do this varies between mobiles).
Smartphones and 3G and 4G-enabled tablets continually try to update their apps online. If you forget to turn off the mobile device’s data roaming function before leaving Australia you will have to pay for this automatic uploading.

Buy an international data pack.
If you must use mobile data, buy an international data pack from your phone company. Although it will cost more than data use within Australia it is still cheaper than the alternative.

Use Wi-Fi hotspots where possible.
Accessing the web via Wi-Fi hotspots saves on roaming costs. However, it is not advisable to enter bank account details or other sensitive data if you use a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Beware of unexpected charges.
Find out if you will be charged overseas for receiving calls, or other services that you get free in Australia.

The Local SIM card Alternative
Alternative options to IMR are well-worth exploring. For example, if you plan to make many local phone calls while you are abroad you can save a great deal if you buy a local pay as you go (PAYG) SIM card, but you only have this option if your mobile is unlocked. Another point to consider is that you cannot use your family mobile number with the local SIM card.

Roaming with Optus

You can use your Optus mobile device in 180 countries. Their IMR rates on a plan, and prepaid roaming rates divide into two geographical zones. For example, the following charges apply to calls made in the UK, but if you made these calls in Brazil they would cost twice as much:

• Calls: $1.00 per minute
• Sending SMS: $0.50 (receiving SMS is free)
• Data: $0.50 per MB (charged per 10KB)

The company also sells pre-paid Optus TravelTM Packs. These cost you $10 per day. For this price you get:

• Unlimited talk and SMS
• 50 MB of data for use in Zone 1 countries
• If you need a larger data allowance you can purchase packs for multiple days.

To make sure that you cannot run up a huge IMR bill unawares, Optus keep you informed of your bill status. For example, customers on plans receive alerts when they use up 50%, 85% and 100% of their allowance.

Roaming with Vodafone

Vodafone offers their customers a $5 Roaming deal. For a $5 daily fee you can use all your call minutes, text and data in 47 countries. This offer only applies to their Red Plan customers.

For countries outside their $5 Roaming zone Vodafone charges:

• $1 per minute to make or receive calls
• $1 per MB of data used
• 75c per for text message

$5 Roaming sounds likes a good offer, but you need to investigate how quickly your mobile allowance will be consumed in a foreign country. On their FAQ page Vodafone asks

“How much will roaming cost?”

The answer provided is

“Pricing depends on the country you are travelling to and the pricing option you select – so make sure you familiarise yourself with the full details before you travel.”

Presumably they are telling you that you cannot expect just to pay only your Australian mobile rates plus an extra $5 a day. Instead you need to inquire how much calls, data and text are going to be charged for the specific country you are visiting.

Roaming with Telstra

Telstra divides their overseas travel path offers between mobiles on a plan, prepaid mobile data packs and mobile broadband devices.

The travel pass for mobiles on a plan gives you unlimited calls and SMS to standard phone numbers plus small data allowances. The Zone 1 rates (only apply in New Zealand, Indonesia and Thailand) are half the Zone 2 (35 other countries) rates. For example, a 14 day pass to a Zone 1 country costs $70 and includes 700MB of data. The same pass costs $140 for a Zone 2 country.

Prepaid mobiles travel pass. Telstra automatically activates roaming on prepaid mobile phones. You can buy data packs for:

• $29 for 100MB
• $85 for 300MB
• $160 for 600MB
• Additional data costs $3 per MB.

Travel data packs for mobile broadband devices include the same data allowances as the prepaid mobile phones, but you can also buy a large 1.5GB allowance for $350.