Beware roaming data charges!

[Ming the Merciless]

Watch out on cross channel ferries as well as they often have their own local ship mobile service which will incur roaming charges. Best is to disallow roaming on data and then only turn it on purposefully if absolutely necessary (which it very rarely is).

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The only issue with that is that nobody can contact me by phone or text on my usual number (email, WhatsApp etc work as normal) and as these are often business trips, this can be a problem

There are ways around this, but as I would be advertising a business service I suggest you google/investigate incoming numbers.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

In countries not free to roam, if I'm staying more than a couple of days I usually buy a local sim. The only issue with that is that nobody can contact me by phone or text on my usual number (email, WhatsApp etc work as normal) and as these are often business trips, this can be a problem

If your mobile is on BT then you can install the smart talk app, login with your BT credentials, and it lets you make and receive calls on your BT number over the Internet. So just like the way your email and WhatsApp communicate.

 

[Svendo]

Unless you are visiting a country that your current provider regards as "free to roam" the answer is "yes". Given roaming costs from UK network providers can be in the region of £6/MB, it is always cheaper to get some local sim data deal

In countries not free to roam, if I'm staying more than a couple of days I usually buy a local sim. The only issue with that is that nobody can contact me by phone or text on my usual number (email, WhatsApp etc work as normal) and as these are often business trips, this can be a problem

Cheap dumbest handset your uk sim will fit, or good enough dual sim smart phone?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Will have a go, that could be useful.

Osmand is not the most user friendly, at least in the beginning, and it tends to be a bit slow to plot a route, especially offline, but it is worth persisting with, not just for its offline capabilities.

In countries not free to roam, if I'm staying more than a couple of days I usually buy a local sim. The only issue with that is that nobody can contact me by phone or text on my usual number (email, WhatsApp etc work as normal) and as these are often business trips, this can be a problem

Would a dual-sim phone not solve this? Local sim for data and your own for receiving calls, albeit with the roaming charge?

 

[fossyant]

My wife bought a 'package' for Morocco, and we did similar for my son in San Francisco.