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Calling home from abroad?

DeaconSoDear

DeaconSoDear

A.W. Hamilton
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Apr 2, 2011
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I will be traveling to South Africa for about three weeks soon and am trying to figure out the best way to keep in touch with the Mrs. at home. My cell phone plan is through Verizon and it is close to $3 a minute with their international plan so I would prefer not to do that.

I should have access to Wi-Fi most of the time I am there. Does anyone have experience with google voice or skype either as a smartphone app, I have a Droid, or lap top?

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
 
Skype works really well -most places have reasonable internet charges. If you have vonage or other internet phone service, calls to SA are pretty cheap.

Bottom line is that it's much cheaper to call to SA from the US than vice-versa. When I'm in RSA/SZD, my wife usually gets a calilng card and she and I just set up a time that I'll be in the room and she calls me. Much, much cheaper
 
As you suspected, you want to use some sort of VOIP application. Regular rates are just too expensive.

I've used Skype and Truphone and find both just fine. There are many more apps like that out there, but hey all basically work the same.
 
If you have Wi-Fi and a camera on your laptop (or a USB camera, or even just a microphone) and she has one as well, then I'd just use Skype from computer to computer. Someone I know just had a foreign exchange student from China living w/ her and she communicated with her family doing that for the entire semester. Should be free ftw.

I don't have much experience with the mobile apps, but I think that's free as long as you're using the Wi-Fi and not making a call to another phone's actual number (ie, you are calling her skype account and she is also on that via internet).
 
Is Skype not free if you're just using the internet connection you have access to (via computer) and calling another computer that also has internet access??
 
cookoutdeac said:
Is Skype not free if you're just using the internet connection you have access to (via computer) and calling another computer that also has internet access??
Click to expand...

It is free if it's PC to PC. Calling an actual phone number is something really cheap like $.02/minute.

I use it when I travel internationally to keep tabs on things back home and love it.
 
cookoutdeac said:
Is Skype not free if you're just using the internet connection you have access to (via computer) and calling another computer that also has internet access??
Click to expand...

yes, but I've never been in a hotel in SA that has free WiFi. You can buy bulk minutes and it's not that expensive, however (especially compared to calling)
 
Liquid Karma said:
It is free if it's PC to PC. Calling an actual phone number is something really cheap like $.02/minute.

I use it when I travel internationally to keep tabs on things back home and love it.
Click to expand...

K, that's what I thought. So it's better either way you cut it. Either free or really cheap.
 
IamThunderbolt said:
yes, but I've never been in a hotel in SA that has free WiFi. You can buy bulk minutes and it's not that expensive, however (especially compared to calling)
Click to expand...

Haha yeah, well that's stuff I wouldn't really know (don't leave the states much). Good info though.
 
pennywise is good and cheap...used it this week to call Northern Ireland and have used it to call China.
 
When I lived in the bahamas I would use Skype and pay by the minute to call a phone. From the more remote islands it was $.09/min, I would think it might actually be cheaper in SA... It worked really well; I was a big fan.
 
My sister called my phone from Skype while living in South Africa. It is worth checking into, at least.
 
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DeaconSoDear said:
I will be traveling to South Africa for about three weeks soon and am trying to figure out the best way to keep in touch with the Mrs. at home. My cell phone plan is through Verizon and it is close to $3 a minute with their international plan so I would prefer not to do that.

I should have access to Wi-Fi most of the time I am there. Does anyone have experience with google voice or skype either as a smartphone app, I have a Droid, or lap top?

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

If Skype isn't working (likely to be latency as SA internet isn't as good).

Look for internet cafes or call centers. You should be able make calls there for at most $0.50/minute. It's likely you could get it for $0.20-.25/minute.
 
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. My wife won't have a laptop while I am gone; we only have the one I will be traveling with. But I will definitely work on setting up skype to call her and look into getting her a phone card to call me when internet isn't an option on my end.
 
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