You’ve bought the flights, found the sun cream and worked out which credit card to use. Just don’t forget to check whether you are one of the unlucky ones who will be hit with mobile roaming charges.
Despite promising not to reintroduce roaming charges in the run-up to Brexit, some, but not all, of the UK networks are imposing some hefty charges for using a UK mobile elsewhere in Europe. However, with a bit of planning, it is possible to avoid them altogether.
EE, Vodafone, Three, Sky and Talkmobile are among those that have reintroduced them.
EE, the UK’s second-biggest provider, is charging contract customers £2.29 a day, or £15 a month, to use existing data and calls plans as if they were at home. It is £2.50 a day for pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers or £10 for seven days, plus the standard charges they pay at home.
Three and Sky charge a flat £2 a day, adding £28 to a two-week trip.
UK Vodafone contract customers travelling elsewhere in Europe pay £2.25 a day, £10 for eight days or £15 for 15, depending on what they sign up to. Its PAYG customers pay £7 for eight days, plus the standard charges.
If you are locked into a deal, check the website before you go to see what you will pay and what options are open to you. Or, if you can, consider taking your business elsewhere.
O2, Virgin Media, Giffgaff and a host of other small providers are all to be praised after they (so far) resisted the temptation to impose European roaming fees. The popular Tesco Mobile announced it was bringing back European roaming charges, but not for 2023, meaning its customers are OK for this year at least.
View image in fullscreenHave you checked whether you will be hit by roaming charges on holiday? Photograph: imageBROKER/Alamy
In 2017, mobile networks in EU countries were banned from charging customers extra to use their phones in other member countries, with the right to make calls, send texts and, most importantly, use data allowances anywhere in Europe – as if at home – one of the most popular pieces of European legislation in the UK.
However, the Brexit deal did not include continued protection against roaming charges, and we are in a position where a family going away together this summer may find that two members enjoy free calls and data while away but the other two are paying perhaps £2.29 a day.
It is worth noting that post-Brexit changes only apply to roaming in specific countries in Europe. British mobile holders heading to other countries have always faced the charges, and continue to do so.
The costs can really rack up. For example, Sky Mobile customers heading to the Maldives or Seychelles could be forking out a whopping £8.64 every minute for calls to local or UK mobiles – which is £130 for a 15-minute phone call.
The Uswitch mobiles expert Catherine Hiley says roaming bills can really add up.
“Anyone travelling abroad from the UK should be wary of potential shock costs, even if they think roaming is included in their tariff. There used to be a £45 worldwide data roaming cap, which meant your data usage was automatically capped at this amount to prevent shock bills. However, this is no longer in UK law.”
View image in fullscreenPhone costs can rack up. Photograph: Apeloga AB/Alamy
So, what can you do to avoid the dreaded bills? If you are free to switch provider, move to a firm that doesn’t impose them.
Giffgaff is offering customers 25GB of 5G data for £10 a month, including unlimited UK calls and texts, and inclusive EU roaming up to 5GB of data a month, which should be enough for most. These are 18-month sim-only contracts.
Tesco Mobile is offering 12GB of data and unlimited minutes and texts for £11 a month on a shorter 12-month contract, with inclusive EU roaming for all of 2023.
If that is too much hassle or you are venturing farther afield, there is nothing to stop you buying a local sim card and putting that in your phone, as long as your handset is not locked.
Another increasingly popular option is to use an e-sim. Airalo has e-sims for more than 200 countries, all via its app. It can reportedly be a bit fiddly to set up but the savings are worth it.
It will sell a traveller to Turkey 5GB of data for about £9.50, which lasts for up to 30 days. As a comparison, Vodafone typically charges its UK customers £6.85 a day to use their phones as if at home in non-EU countries.
