Should You Buy a Local SIM Card?

The first time I left the country by myself, I visited Central Asia for a month. It was a big jump into the deep end. I flew into Kyrgyzstan and traveled there, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. I had tons of questions, made lots of plans, and knew I’d learn a ton about travel & adventure.

One thing I had zero experience with was using a local SIM card in my iPhone. In fact, it made me a little nervous to take out my fragile little SIM card and replace it with one that would give me local cell service. I was kind of hoping I could just rely on WIFI while traveling. I’d be mostly in guest houses with internet access, right (wrong)?

Well, I want to write this short guide to using local SIM cards (which I’ll update as I travel to new places) for my own records, and for you to learn. I don’t want to forget all the lessons I learned, and what I would do differently. And I want to share them with you, of course!

When you should use a local SIM card

Here’s the short and sweet on getting a local SIM card. Firstly, don’t ever use your domestic cell network while overseas. The fees can be outrageous. Drop that thing in airplane mode and don’t look back. Now, download WhatsApp and tell anyone you want to keep in touch with to download WhatsApp, too. WhatsApp is just like texting, phone calls, and video chats, but without using your cell phone data plan.

Download WhatsApp. Drop that thing in airplane mode. You keeping up?

Now that you’ve got the ability to keep in touch with people, ask yourself this question…”Can I rely on WIFI (emotionally and logistically) or do I want cell service everywhere I go?”

If you’ll have WIFI every night and can pop into cafes during the day, maybe you’ll answer Yes to that question. “Yes, I can solely use WIFI.”

Nice! Good for you. Maybe you don’t need a local SIM card.

But if you’ll be calling taxis, communicating with hotels & drivers, or want to surf the web for museum recommendations, you should get a local SIM. That way you’ll never be left without bars, in a foreign place, struggling to navigate. Ah yes, navigation! If you’ll be using Google Maps, get a local SIM card.

Using Google Maps while abroad is a great reason to get a local SIM card and tap into local cell phone towers.

We didn’t always have cell service in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, but even up there my iPhone would save the location of my photos. One of my favorite parts of being connected while traveling! Pictured here wearing my Ombraz armless travel sunglasses.

For Safety, Get a Local SIM

This is probably the best reason to get a local SIM card. It’s especially relevant if you’re traveling alone, or will spend any of your trip alone. And if you’re a lady traveling abroad, this really matters. If safety is a concern, get a local SIM card when traveling overseas.

Picture this: you step out of your hotel or homestay and hire a driver. Or maybe you go for a walk. If you don’t have a local SIM, you may have memorized directions to a local restaurant (since you’re leaving WIFI behind). As you’re walking, you notice someone watching you, following you, or taking pictures of you.

Crazier things have happened, right?

Or if your driver starts making you (and any friends you’re with) uncomfortable. It happens. I’ve seen it happen (luckily we were in a group and removed ourselves from the situation). With a local SIM, you can call your hotel, host, or another local contact and make arrangements for assistance. With WhatsApp, you’ll be able to contact anyone you need to contact, including local authorities.

Travel is just safer when you’re connected to cell service.

Breakdowns and generic help

Safety isn’t just about dodging shady people, though. If you end up on the side of the road, you’ll be glad to have cell service. Twice in Kyrgyzstan some friends and I were left on the side of the road when our drivers went to fix a broken down car. Once, all of our gear and clothes were taken–good thing we had trustworthy Kyrgyz tour guides.

A phone can always come in handy for generic safety situations–broken down cars or needing directions, for example.

Geolocating Photos–Get a Local SIM Card

My iPhone maps out all of the pictures I take. It shows them on a map with coordinates. It’s an amazing feature for travelers. If my phone is in airplane mode, my iPhone doesn’t mark where photos are taken. So get a local SIM card if your phone keeps a record of where photos are taken. It’s worth the memories and zooming in on all the cool places you’ve been.

For this reason (and using Google Maps), I personally like using a local SIM card while traveling. I can usually rely on WIFI for talking to friends and family back home, but navigation and saving photo locations is a big deal for me.

Where to buy a local SIM card

Local SIM cards can be bought in most towns and cities where there is a commercial area. Markets, malls, and strips of restaurants and shops are great places to look. Airports and train stations may have cellular companies, too.

When I was in Kyrgyzstan, I learned that Beeline is the major cellular provider in the country. There were Beeline storefronts everywhere (just like Verizon or AT&T here in the United States), but I actually got mine from a generic cell phone store. I can’t remember the exact price, but I think it was less than $5 for the amount of data I needed.

I’ve never visited Afghanistan, but I pinged their cell towers while driving through the Wakhan Valley–on the Tajik side of the border.

In Tajikistan, a fellow traveler I met went into another major cellular company’s storefront: Tcell. They helped him get set up, just like the cell phone store in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan helped me.

If you ever have questions about where to get a local SIM card, ask your hotel, host, or driver. Or walk into a cell phone store or retailer and ask for help!

You’ll save a lot of money if you use a local SIM card.

Do local SIM cards work everywhere?

Local SIM cards work just like your cell phone at home. They work everywhere, except where they don’t. Cell phone coverage in the United States is pretty dang good, but if I’m in the mountains or rural areas, I may lose reception. Foreign countries are no different.

The less infrastructure a country has, the less cell phone coverage you’ll have. In rugged Kyrgyzstan, I usually had good cell phone coverage, but I’d lose it if we were far from a city. I only expected to have it when we were in cities.

What happens when I take my SIM card out?

Good question! And this made me pretty nervous the first time I used a local SIM. What would I lose? Would Verizon be mad at me? Would all my messages and contacts disappear?

Rest assured, getting a local SIM is not catastrophic. It’s actually painless.

When you take out your phone’s SIM card, your phone no longer gets a cell signal. But guess what? Your contacts, messages, and photos remain in your phone. Your camera will still work, too. I got a message saying that if I didn’t replace it within 30 days, I would no longer have my Verizon plan. Yikes! Luckily I was only in Kyrgyzstan for 2 weeks, so no worries there.

But nobody is just taking their SIM card out without putting in a local SIM card.

So what happens when you put in your local SIM card?

Using a local SIM card

First of all, keep your old SIM card safe! Don’t let that thing out of your sight. Bury it in your luggage in a safe place.

Okay, got that out of the way.

A local SIM card keeps you connected while traveling abroad. It’s an easy swap if you have a SIM card tray opener. When you (or the store you buy your SIM card from) puts in the new SIM card, your phone will be connected to a local cell network. You’ll have bars! You’ll also have a new phone number, so your friends and family won’t be able to reach your old one.

Oddly enough, some of my contacts carried over to my new SIM, and some lost their names. Others actually had their names change to more simple versions. I kept all my photos and messages. My email accounts were intact, too. And now I could use WhatsApp and check my email on the move!

And WhatsApp is what you’ll use from now on. You can communicate with locals, friends, and family on the app. It’s very useful! Don’t just text or call back home from your new phone number, you and the recipient will be charged for international service! Stick to the app, email, or social media for all communications.

SIM card FAQs

I’m making a list of all the SIM card questions I had when preparing to travel abroad for an extended period of time. While it’s a pretty painless process to use a local SIM, it still feels a little weird to take out your phone’s current SIM card.

Here are some common questions I may not have answered above…

What is a SIM card?

A SIM card is a unique memory card that inserts into a little slot in your phone. It allows your phone to work with your provider (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) and is connected to your phone number. It also stores some things, but many things live on your phone, too. Your SIM card tracks your phone usage so you can be billed appropriately.

What the downsides of using a local SIM Card?

Hmm. There aren’t many. You do have to go out of your way to get one, but you can also just pick one up at the airport when you land (usually). So not a huge deal. When you travel into a different country, you’ll need to get another one. So a little inconvenience? Maybe.

When I was in Kyrgyzstan, I had to download a Beeline app, which was all in Kyrgyz. So I couldn’t really keep tabs on my data usage. It also required my driver to scan his ID to show that we were setting it up for someone who lived in Kyrgyzstan. Not sure what that was all about, but the guy selling SIM cards and my driver treated it without any concern. The whole thing was easy and quick.

Can I text and make calls with a local SIM card?

Yes, but you’ll have a new number associated with the country you’re visiting. So don’t go calling and texting family back home. WhatsApp is super popular for international communication, so use that instead. Email is fine, too.

Can I use a VPN with a local SIM card?

Yes, and I recommend using a VPN while traveling. But my VPN often made my service not work (or be very slow), so I avoided logging into websites or using my internet much unless I was connected to WIFI and my VPN was active. WhatsApp, though, is encrypted. No need to worry about using it without a VPN.