Roaming: 10 Tips for Making Phone Calls While Traveling

Here you can find the 10 most important roaming tips for making calls while traveling. You can find key data roaming tips for using Internet while traveling here.

Tip 1: Do not take it easy

It may be convenient to simply continue making phone calls after leaving the country without making special arrangements ahead of traveling. But Swiss mobile operators use expensive standard rates for automatic roaming, which means you pay a lot for the convenience. If, on the other hand, your mobile subscription already includes a certain amount of roaming call time which is unused, you may not need to make any special arrangements prior to traveling.

Tip 2: Add a roaming option or buy a roaming bundle

Many mobile operators offer roaming options and roaming bundle.

Roaming options generally have a basic fee (10 francs, for instance). In exchange for that basic fee, you get much lower rates for calls made using roaming. If you plan to make phone calls while traveling, activating a roaming option is a good idea. Depending on which mobile service provider you use, a roaming option can save you money if you make as little as two minutes of phone calls.

Roaming bundles give you a predetermined number of call minutes for phone calls made from outside of Switzerland. However, some mobile operators limit the use of roaming bundles to calls made from countries in Europe and in some cases specific additional countries. Some operators offer roaming bundles which include phone calls and data, or phone calls and SMS messages.

The roaming comparison on moneyland.ch makes finding the right roaming option or bundle easy.

Tip 3: Check expiry dates

Some roaming options are only valid for limited periods of time (one month, for instance). Check the expiry dates of options and bundles before buying them.

New regulations in effect as of July 2021 require roaming bundles with a specific number of minutes to be valid for 12 months. But in spite of that, there are still some offers which expire after 30 days.

Tip 4: Check which countries are included

Get informed about which countries are covered by a roaming bundle, roaming option, or the roaming allowances included in a mobile plan. Some telecom providers like Salt, Lidl Connect, and Post Mobile have bundles with Europe in their title that do not cover all EU countries.

Tip 5: Terminate roaming options after trips

Do not forget to have your mobile service operator deactivate roaming options after you return from your trips abroad. If you do not, the option will roll over to the next term automatically, and you will continue to be billed for each term even though you are not using the roaming option. Options which roll over are offered by Sunrise and Salt, among others.

Roaming bundles, on the other hand, do not need to be deactivated. You pay once when you buy the bundle, and you do not automatically get a new one after it is used up or expires. 

Tip 6: Roaming costs for answering calls

Accepting phone calls while traveling abroad also incurs roaming fees. You can only avoid these costs by not answering phone calls. Tip: If you expect to receive a lot of calls while traveling, make sure to get a roaming option or a roaming bundle designed for that purpose.

Tip 7: Call with Voice over IP apps

Messaging apps like Whatsapp can be used to communicate without having to pay high roaming fees, if you only get online using Wi-Fi connections at your destination. For this to work, the person you want to call or message has to use the same messaging app. VoIP apps like Skype are another option.

Whatsapp, Threema, Telegram, Skype, and other Internet-based communication services can also be work with a mobile data connection. If you have a data roaming bundle from your telecom provider or if you buy a travel eSIM, using these to make calls with Whatsapp and similar apps is normally cheaper than making phone calls at mobile roaming rates. The rule of thumb is that each minute of voice calling with Whatsapp uses around one or two megabytes of data.

Tip 8: Use Wi-Fi calling

If you are able to connect to wireless, online networks, you can make use of Wi-Fi calling. However, using Wi-Fi calling is only possible if your mobile operator provides this service for your specific device and subscription. Additionally, your operator must enable Wi-Fi calling outside of Switzerland. Currently, only Salt subscribers can use Wi-Fi calling while traveling abroad. Wi-Fi calling outside of Switzerland is not yet offered by Swisscom, Sunrise and other mobile operators.

Tip 9: Avoid mobile subscriptions which include roaming

Many mobile subscriptions include roaming in subscription fees. However, these subscriptions are generally expensive. Using these plans only makes financial sense if you travel to foreign countries practically every month. These subscriptions generally let you make calls to Switzerland from countries in Europe at a flat rate. Some providers also include calls from Turkey, the United States, and Canada. However, getting an affordable mobile subscription and then getting cheap roaming options or bundles separately is generally a cheaper option.

Tip 10: Select a cheap mobile subscription

Some mobile operators offer subscriptions and prepaid offers with very affordable rates for local use, but charge notably higher roaming rates than other operators. These operators often have no roaming options at all, or very limited options. Make sure to compare roaming offers when choosing mobile subscriptions.

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