If you plan to do a lot of traveling, hitting more than one country or maybe even more than one continent, look into getting an international cell phone (or “mobile” if you want to be English about it).

When you’re traveling for a short time you can get by with email and phone cards, but if you travel far and frequently, having a phone that works everywhere and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg can be a lot more convenient. Besides all the time you’ll save shopping for calling cards and punching in long codes, it will also save you the hassle of figuring out how to get in touch with the people you meet and travel with while you’re on the road if you have a permanent number.

Say you meet some Italian hottie at a backpacker bar one night. You want to get together at the beach a few days later, but how are you going to organize anything if the only way you can find each other again is by stalking each other’s rooms and hostel lounge areas? It’s just not a smooth way to operate.

ISIConnect has been providing student backpackers with communications tools for years now, and they can get you a good deal on a phone that will work for your travel habits. Note that I didn’t say that the phones were super cheap, but if convenience is important to you, then this would be a great investment.

To learn more about how international phones work, start with ISIConnect’s Buying Tips.

Happy chatting and traveling!