I like to think I’m a tech geek at times. However, I normally only love the tech when it’s practical, helpful, and makes me feel like I’m in on a secret other people don’t know about.
The average person may or may not know about Google Fi at all. It’s basically a cell service from Google. The reason it’s so clutch for travelers is that the phone works seamlessly when traveling to almost every international country AND there are no extra charges for international data!
How it works
Google Fi connects with the networks of the country you are in. You can use your phone from the minute you land without any disruption to your service. I’m not advocating that you switch your cell service. Just use it as needed for your international trips. If you don’t have Google Fi, I would recommend getting an old cell phone and using it for any international travel. I think it’s worth it because you can pay month to month. You only pay for the service when you travel. When you get home, just cancel it.
Full disclosure: I love Google Fi and have an affiliate link. I’m not going to use it for this article because I want you to know that I simply love the service and recommend it for international travel. It has saved so much time, money, and stress. But most importantly, it has led to better travel and fun! (I don’t like those articles that glowingly hype up a product or service. Then you find that the hype is because the website has an affiliate link.)
There are some small charges for phone calls in certain countries, but they are minimal. The data is always the same rate as it is at home. My wife and I have been using Google Fi for several years as our main cell service, but I realized this week that it’s actually incredibly worth it just for your travels.
Back in the dark ages
Many of you might have been like me before I started using Google Fi. I was always scrambling to find good wifi to get information or confirm plans during my travel – sometimes needing to buy museum tickets online or make dinner reservations. I could spend an extra hour in the hotel on wifi trying to find the perfect restaurant with the best reviews and then making sure I knew how to get there. Sometimes it would take me so long to find the perfect restaurant that it would be closed by the time I finally decided on a place!
On longer travels, like when my wife and I went to Spain for 6 weeks, I took an old cell phone and then went to a local cell service to get a SIM card to buy a pay as you go plan. I thought I was being smart, but it basically took a full day to wait in line, get setup, troubleshoot, etc. And it still was very expensive.
Google Fi as a Gamechanger
Here’s a quick snapshot of all the things I can do now…
- Getting an Uber from the airport immediately after landing.
- Getting an Uber, e-bike, scooter anytime during my travels.
- Double Triple checking train and subway schedules in real-time
- Finding out when museums or restaurants close when you are running late
- Buying e-tickets online to skip the lines
- Realizing there is another restaurant around the corner with amazing reviews that will turn out to be one of the best meals of your life.
- Finding out what “Ful wa Ta’meya” is on my menu in Egypt
- Using Twitter to communicate with airlines, hotels, etc.
- Using the Google Translate app to turn Arabic into English in real-time
Things I no longer do when traveling internationally…
- Spending 5 hours before my trip downloading maps or finding travel apps I can use off-line
- Looking up the restaurant after a bad experience to find out it had terrible reviews
- Saying the phrase “I need to find some wifi”
- Getting stuck in Monte Carlo (in 2010) until 3:30am because we didn’t know the trains stopped at 10pm.
- Saying “I’m good” at the rental car desk when they want to pay for a GPS
- Knowing exactly where the gas station is to fill up your rental car on the way back to the airport
Recent Examples
Transportation in Paris. On my first day, I saw people going around on e-bikes. I wanted in on the action! Because I had 5G in Paris, I downloaded an app and started riding an e-bike in about 90 seconds. That turned out to be my favorite thing to do in Paris. I had my own version of “Midnight in Paris” just biking around the empty streets late at night. I also loved that I barely had to pedal and the e-bike would zip me around.
Above: Stopping for a selfie while circling around the Louvre and Pont Neuf at sunset for 45 minutes. =)
I barely used the metro or Uber / taxis because I could simply e-bike everywhere. It was more fun and so much cheaper. I could use the e-bike phone holder, plug in my destination on google maps and get turn-by-turn directions! On my last night in Paris, I spent 45 minutes just going up and down all the bridges looping around the Louvre at sunset!
My trip to Paris was pretty short, so I could cruise around the sites and decide which ones to linger longer. Paris is so bike-friendly that I was getting around faster than cars some days. Plus, I was saving a lot of money and getting to my destinations in half the time compared to the Metro.
This experience of e-biking created some of my favorite memories of Paris. I would not have been able to do this if I didn’t have cell service and free data.
Less stress, save time with on-the-go planning
In Southern France, I was able to compare prices and buy train tickets to Provence and Paris on my phone while eating gelato on the beach! Instead of being in my hotel on wifi, I saved an hour or more each day by getting the day started earlier than normal. Plus, I’m sure I kept myself from missing a train or metro when I arrived in those cities. I could always use google to find my optimum trains and schedule. It was so much easier than trying to decipher a map or translating a schedule in another language.
Staying connected to family and work
The other great part was being able to stay connected to family and any urgent work. By the data being on, I could check-in easily. In Egypt, on the 45 min ride from the Pyramids to Memphis, I could make a couple calls or send quick messages that were time-sensitive. I originally thought it would take away from my travels to be plugged in at those times, but it allowed me to enjoy my mornings and not stay up late at night because I could respond as needed during natural breaks in the day. Since I was traveling solo, it probably helped me feel more connected to people, too.
My Favorite example (above): It was so much fun to make a video call to my son from the Great Pyramid! I could use the video app Marco Polo to have video chats at famous landmarks where wifi would not have worked. I could have taken videos and sent them later, but I saved time from having to do that later, and there was something fun about talking to my wife and son at those locations.
Above: I could video chat with my wife in the middle of nowhere Provence where the movie A Good Year with Russell Crowe was filmed.
Before Google FI, I would stress a lot about planning. How are we going to find a cab? Are there restaurants where we are going? What time do they close? Are they any good? If we miss our train, are there any others? Now, I have all that info at my fingertips. There’s no need to download or save all the info before leaving your hotel.
In Summary
Being plugged in during travels can be a bad idea, but the secret to technology is using it wisely. Think about how reliant we used to be on physical guidebooks or the hotel concierge for information. A book written one year ago doesn’t tell you if a restaurant hours have changed due to covid. Real-time info at my fingertips has saved so much time, stress, and also money. We are so reliant on our phones at home, and that doesn’t have to change when traveling internationally.
I also realize that many people love engaging people for help while traveling. I love doing that too, but I’m also an introvert who loves to research. So, the stress of making sure my French is correct or finding someone who can help me on the spot can be daunting when I just need some quick info.
Here’s the main link to Google Fi if you want to check it out. Like I said above, I have a referral link for Google Fi, but I’m not going to post it here. I want it to be clear that I like this service so much for international travel and give it a big thumbs up. If you identify with the problems I used to have and would love the flexibility and ease of roaming the world with free data, then I recommend setting up Google Fi on an old cell phone and using it it when you travel.
