We've written this to help you plan a trip you'll genuinely love — not as professional guidance beyond travel planning. For anything outside travel planning — safety, technique, weather, or specialist advice — please lean on the right expert for it: a certified guide, a local authority, whoever fits best. When it comes to actually planning your trip, though, we're always just a message away — contact form, WhatsApp, call, or email — and we'd love to help you get there.
Ask a first-time international traveller what they forgot, and a surprising number say the same thing: the phone. Not the phone itself, but what it would do once they landed. The map that wouldn't load. The taxi app that needed a number they couldn't receive. The bank OTP that never arrived. The family WhatsApp group that went quiet for six hours.
Staying connected abroad has three real options: using your Indian provider's international roaming, buying a local SIM, or using an eSIM. There's also a fourth, using hotel and café Wi-Fi alone, which works better than it sounds for some trips and poorly for others. None is best for everyone. This guide explains how each works in general, what to check before you go, and how it tends to play out in places Indian travellers commonly visit, such as Dubai, Vietnam and Thailand. We'll avoid quoting prices, since packs and rates change often, and we'll point you to the providers' own pages.
Why this matters more than people expect
Your phone is not just a phone abroad. It's your map, your translator, your taxi, your bank, your boarding pass and your link home. If it stops working, everything gets harder at once, and at the worst possible time, usually when you've just landed, you're tired and you don't know the area.
There's also a practical point about security. Many Indian banking and payment apps send one-time passwords to your registered mobile number. If your Indian SIM isn't able to receive messages abroad, a card payment or app login can fail at exactly the moment you need it. So a good connectivity plan isn't only about data. It's also about keeping your Indian number reachable for messages.
Option one: international roaming with your Indian number
How it works: you keep your own SIM and number and buy an international roaming pack from your provider for the countries you're visiting. Both major operators publish information about their packs. Airtel, for example, describes buying a roaming plan through its app, with the plan activating automatically when you reach the destination, and with daily, weekly and monthly validity options for prepaid and postpaid customers. Jio describes prepaid and postpaid packs covering a wide range of countries, with roaming services starting when you first use your phone abroad.
What's good about it: your number stays the same, so calls, messages and OTPs keep reaching you. There's nothing to swap, and nothing to buy at the airport. It's the easiest option for a short trip, particularly for people who aren't comfortable with technology or are travelling with parents.
What to watch: packs differ in data allowance, validity and the countries they cover, and some slow your data speed sharply once the allowance runs out. Plans can be priced differently by destination. You'll normally need to activate the right pack before you travel, so don't leave it to the airport. And check that data roaming is enabled in your phone's settings, since a pack that isn't switched on does nothing.
Whatever you choose, read the provider's current page for your specific destination, because packs and coverage change.
Option two: a local SIM
How it works: you buy a prepaid SIM in the country you're visiting, often at the airport or in a shop, and use it for data and local calls. Your Indian number stays with you, but it may not be active for calls, so you'd rely on WhatsApp and similar apps for contact with home.
What's good about it: local SIMs can be cost-effective for longer trips or heavy data use, and some come with generous data allowances. You get a local number, which can help with local deliveries, bookings and ride-hailing.
What to watch: you'll usually need your passport to register the SIM, since many countries have registration rules. Your phone generally needs to be unlocked, and you need to be able to swap SIMs, which isn't always easy on modern phones. You'll need to keep your Indian SIM safe, and if your phone has only one SIM slot, you'll be offline on your Indian number while the local one is in. That's the OTP problem again. Buying at the airport after a long flight can also be stressful, and queues, language and confusing options are common.
Option three: an eSIM
How it works: an eSIM is a digital SIM profile you download to a compatible phone, often before you travel. You can usually keep your physical Indian SIM in the phone and add the eSIM for data, which solves the OTP problem neatly on phones that support two active lines.
What's good about it: no shop visit, no passport queue at the airport and no tiny SIM tray. You can often set it up at home and switch on data when you land.
What to watch: not every phone supports eSIM, and some phones sold in India or locked by carriers may not. The setup involves a QR code or an app, and the process differs between brands. Providers vary in quality, coverage and terms, so choose carefully and read reviews and conditions. And as with a local SIM, you'd normally depend on messaging apps rather than a local number for calls.
Whether your own phone supports eSIM, and how to enable it, is something to check in the phone's settings or on the manufacturer's page before you travel.
Option four: Wi-Fi only
Many hotels, cafes and airports offer Wi-Fi, and for a short, simple trip it can be enough. Download offline maps, tickets and documents before you leave, and use Wi-Fi to message and look things up.
The downside is that you're offline whenever you're out and about, which is exactly when you most want a map or a taxi. Public Wi-Fi also deserves caution for banking and sensitive logins. For a first trip, we'd suggest having at least some mobile data as a backup.
A practical comparison
For a short trip of a few days, roaming is usually the least effort, and an eSIM is a good option if your phone supports it and you're comfortable with the setup. For a longer trip or heavy data use, a local SIM or eSIM may be worth comparing against roaming. For a trip with older or less confident travellers, roaming or a pre-arranged eSIM is often easier than a counter at the airport. For a group, one person with data can share a hotspot, but make sure that person's battery and plan can handle it, and don't make the group dependent on one phone.
Compare total cost, including the pack price, the data you'll realistically use and any extra for calls. We won't give figures, because they change and vary by provider.
Keeping OTPs and banking working
This is the single issue that catches most first-timers, so it deserves its own section. Many banks and payment apps send a one-time password by SMS to your registered Indian number. If that number can't receive messages abroad, a login or payment can simply fail.
Before you go, check three things. Whether your Indian SIM will be able to receive SMS abroad, which depends on your provider and plan, so check your provider's current page for your destination. Whether your banking apps can use another method, such as app-based approval, instead of SMS. And whether your bank has switched on international use for your cards, since some require this before foreign transactions will work.
If you plan to use a local SIM or eSIM for data, make sure you can still keep your Indian number active for messages, ideally by keeping the physical SIM in a dual-SIM phone with roaming enabled, or by using the roaming pack for that line. If your phone can't do both, an international roaming pack on your main SIM is often the simplest answer.
Security basics
Public Wi-Fi in airports and cafes is convenient and generally not private, so avoid logging into banking or entering card details on it, and use mobile data for anything sensitive. Keep your phone locked with a passcode. Keep your physical Indian SIM somewhere safe, and note its details. Carry a paper note of an emergency contact number, in case your phone is lost or dead. And tell your bank you're travelling if it asks for that, so it doesn't block a legitimate payment.
Travelling with parents or a group
If someone in your group isn't comfortable with technology, set up their phone before you leave and test it, rather than leaving them to work it out at the airport. Make sure they know how to switch data on and off, and how to reach you. For a group, don't rely on one person's phone for everyone's navigation. Each family unit should have at least one phone with data, so that if you get separated, you can still reach each other. Agree a simple fallback, such as a meeting point and a time, in case everyone's battery dies.
Destination notes
Dubai is a short trip for many travellers, and the airport and hotels are well set up for visitors. For a trip of a few days, roaming or an eSIM often does the job. Our guide on what a Dubai trip costs explains why small extras are worth budgeting for, and connectivity is one of them. Entry rules are set by the UAE authorities, so confirm them with the official source before you travel.
Vietnam is a longer trip for many people and a route-heavy one, with several cities, so reliable data is useful for maps and transport. Our Vietnam Highlights package includes visa assistance, and our guide to food in Vietnam can be saved offline before you go. Check the current visa process on the official portal.
Thailand is a popular first trip, and the arrival process may involve an online form before you fly, which we cover in our Thailand visa guide. Reported guidance says it should be completed online shortly before arrival, so make sure you have data or Wi-Fi at home to do it, and confirm the current requirement on the official source. Our Thailand Explorer includes visa assistance.
Before you leave: a short checklist
Check that your phone is unlocked if you plan to use a local SIM, or eSIM-compatible if you plan to use one. Activate the right roaming pack, or install the eSIM, before the flight. Turn on data roaming in your phone settings. Keep your Indian SIM somewhere safe, and know whether it can receive messages abroad. Download offline maps for your destination. Save copies of your tickets, hotel bookings and insurance on the phone. Carry a power bank and the right plug adapter. Tell family which app you'll use to reach them. And write down your hotel address on paper, in case your phone fails.
Our honest view
There's no single right answer, and anyone who tells you there is probably has something to sell. For many of the people we plan trips for, a simple roaming pack is the easiest answer, and for some, an eSIM is better. What matters is deciding before you leave, so that connectivity is one more thing sorted, not one more thing to worry about on arrival.
If you'd like help working out what suits your trip, message us on WhatsApp with your destination, your dates and who's travelling, and we'll tell you what we'd do. For current rates and coverage, always check your provider's own page, as these change often.
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