E.T. Phone Home! Sometimes when we travel, making a phone call to the significant ones back at home is almost as difficult as E. T.'s inter-galactic effort to contact his (her? it's?) spaceship.
Here's how it is getting easier:
Cellhire is a new company that rents international phones, datacards ,and anything else you need to stay in touch in the country or countries you will be visiting. This includes an International BlackBerry, which will let you get voice, text messaging, email and WAP service in more than 70 countries.
Cellhire ships you the gadgets you need for your trip, including adapters, in a convenient hold-everything zip pouch. When you get back from your trip, send the pouch and its contents back to Cellhire.
International telephone rentals cost around $4.49 a day. Incoming calls are free, and outgoing calls are between 50 cents and $1.49 a minute, depending on distance. And their technology lets you forward your existing US or Canadian mobile number to the international rental phone.
Telephone networks for Japan and Korea are not compatible with the rest of the world, so Cellhire has domestic phone rentals for those two countries. Rentals include a local phone number, English charachter display, and free incoming calls.
Cellhire also rents satellite telphones, the same kind that foreign correspondents in places like Iraq use to send reports back to their networks. It is much more expensive to rent than a cellphone. But if you are going to a remote region where traditional cellular coverage is limited or not available at all, these will do the trick. We're not just talking about the middle of Mongolia or the top of Mt. Everest, but on a whitewater rafting trip in Idaho or cruise ship in the Pacific.
Beginning in March 2007, National Geographic will offer a Talk Abroad Travel Phone, allowing for affordable calls from over 100 countries, with no contracts to sign and free incoming calls in most international markets.
It costs $199, which includes 30 minutes of free outgoing talk time. Or, rent it at $49 a week. A SIM card, which costs $79, also is loaded with 30 minutes of free outgoing talk time. You add minutes as you go, at a flat rate of 90 cents per minute in most countries.
An important part of adventure travel is the getting away from it all part. So taking it all with you -- in the form of GSM cellphones, satellite phones and PDAs sort of defeats the purpose.
Evelyn Kanter - Ever since I fell asleep in the back seat of my parent's car and woke up at my front door, I have thought that travel is a magical ...
