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The best international roaming plans in Australia
Just because you’re away from home, doesn’t mean you need to be away from connectivity.
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Overseas flights may be expensive, but have you looked at the price of international roaming? If your provider only supports pay-as-you-go roaming, you could be looking at over $1,000 per gigabyte.
While it’s possible to stay disconnected or reliant on public WiFi for your data needs while abroad, being able to use your local SIM can be a lot more convenient.
To help you pick out a roaming plan that won't break the bank, we're looking at some of the more affordable options in Australia.
Staying at home but need to make some calls overseas? Check out the best plans in Australia for international calls.
Vodafone international roaming
Global roaming may not be cheap, but Vodafone postpaid mobile plans have one of the more simple and affordable offers on the market. Vodafone's International Roaming deal costs $5 per day and gives you access to your regular plan allowance while travelling overseas.
Unlike other telcos, you don't have a separate data allowance while roaming overseas. You'll just use the data from your regular inclusions that you use in Australia. If you're on a 80GB plan, that gives you 80GB to play with when travelling. However, if you do go over your included allowance, you will be charged $5 for every extra gigabyte used.
The $5-per-day charge will only be added to your bill on days when you use data, mhttps://www.reviews.org/au/mobile/vodafone-international-roaming/ake a call, or send a text.
Note that you can only use $5-per-day roaming for up to 90 days of the calendar year. If you're planning to spend more time overseas, a local SIM will probably be a better option.
Vodafone also offers roaming add-ons for prepaid plans. $5 gets you 200MB for one day, $15 gives you 750MB for three days, and $35 gets you 2GB for seven days. While this still works out to be $5 per day and are an improvement over pay-as-you-go rates, they're still pretty poor value.
- Aland Islands
- Albania
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia (includes Bali)
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man
- Kazakhstan
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Macedonia
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Republic of Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- United Republic of Tanzania
- Thailand
- East Timor
- Tonga
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
- UK (England)
- Uruguay
- USA (America)
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands, U.S.
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- Wales
How to activate international roaming on Vodafone
$5 Roaming should be active out of the box on eligible Vodafone plans. You can double-check this by checking your Account Settings on the My Vodafone portion of the Vodafone website.
Optus international roaming
If you're an Optus customer on a postpaid Optus Choice Plus, Optus Plus Family or Optus Plus Kids plan, you can also roam for $5 per day using Optus Roaming Pass.
Your $5 will get you 5GB of data with a 24-hour expiry. Alternatively, you can pay $35 upfront and get 35GB. These roaming offers can be activated through the My Optus app.
There is one catch, however. Optus' roaming add-on only works in the following Zone 1 destinations:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Estonia
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Polynesia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Greenland
- Guam
- Guernsey
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jersey
- Kazakhstan
- Korea, Republic of
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Macedonia
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Northern Marianas
- Norway
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Samoa (Western)
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan, Province of China
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Timor
- Tonga
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- US Virgin Islands
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City (Holy See)
- Vietnam
Optus Choice postpaid plans don't offer roaming to Zone 2 countries. Select legacy postpaid plans from Optus offer expensive Pay-As-You-Go roaming rates to Zone 2 countries, but not its current suite of postpaid plans.
How to activate international roaming on Optus
You can turn on Optus Roaming Pass through the My Optus app on iPhone or Android. To do so, follow these steps:
- Open the My Optus app
- Tap International Roaming on the dashboard
- Tap Settings, then International Roaming
- Select Optus Roaming Pass
- Review the terms and conditions and then click Accept
Telstra international roaming
Customers on Telstra Upfront mobile plans can roam under the International Day Pass system.
This will cost you $10 for each day you are overseas, and your money will get you a 1GB international data allowance. If you're roaming in New Zealand, this drops to $5 per day.
If you go over your daily 1GB, you'll be stung with an extra $10. This will get a further 1GB, which can then be used over the following 30 days whenever you go over your initial daily allowance.
You'll also get unlimited talk and text as part of International Day Pass, but you'll pay $0.75 for each MMS you send while overseas.
Telstra's roaming currently works in over 70 destinations. If you're outside of an eligible destination and on an Upfront, you won't be able to use your service. You'll need to get a local SIM.
Note that International Day Pass inclusions expire at midnight Australian time (AEST), not at midnight in whatever country you've found yourself.
How to activate international roaming on Telstra
You can activate Telstra Day Pass through the My Telstra app by following these steps:
- Open the My Telstra app on iPhone or Android
- Select your mobile service
- Tap extras, then international roaming
- Scroll down to International Day Pass and toggle it to 0n
Day Pass can take between 15 minutes and two hours to activate. You'll get a text once it's active
felix mobile international roaming
felix is a rare MVNO that actually has a good international roaming offer. While most smaller providers offer poor value packs, expensive pay-as-you-go rates or simply don't offer roaming, felix's roaming add-on costs just $20.
Your $20 gets you 4GB of international data, 100 texts, and 100 minutes of talk. Better yet, it has a 365-day expiry. If you're the kind of traveller that can sniff out public WiFi where ever you are, 4GB could be enough for your entire international getaway. But if you go over your 4GB allowance, you can always buy another pack.
felix mobile's roaming offer doesn't cover as many countries as what you get on Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone: it only works in 40 destinations. You should be fine for most popular countries, however.
felix is unique in that it only has a single mobile plan with unlimited data. You'll pay $35 per month, but your data is capped to speeds of 20Mbps - both domestically and overseas. That should still be fast enough for most online activities, even streaming video.
felix is powered by the Vodafone network.
How to activate international roaming on felix
You can buy felix's international roaming add-on through the felix mobile app on iPhone and Android once you're an active customer.
Amaysim mobile international roaming
Amaysim is another MVNO that's recently made its move into the international roaming space. The provider now offers four travel packs for Amaysim customers looking to stay connected while overseas.
These are as follows:
- $20 for 100 mins of calls and 100 texts with 365-day expiry
- $25 for 1GB of data, 50 mins of calls and 50 texts with 365-day expiry
- $50 for 5G of data with 365-day expiry
- $70 for 5GB of data, 100 calls, 100 texts and 365-day expiry
Amaysim is powered by the Optus network.
A total of 90 different destinations are covered here, with a full list available on the Amaysim website.
How to activate international roaming on Amaysim
You can buy Amaysim's international roaming add-on through the Amaysim mobile app on iPhone and Android once you're an active customer.
International travel SIM cards
USA, Canada, Mexico prepaid travel SIM cards
Lycamobile Plus USA Prepaid Sim Card
From $28.12
*Pricing and deals only accurate as of last page update.
Europe travel SIM cards
*Pricing and deals only accurate as of last page update.
China 4G/LTE Travel SIM Card w/Unlimited Data
From $69.90
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand Travel SIM Card
From $31.90
Nippon SIM for Japan Prepaid Data SIM Card
From $29.99
*Pricing and deals only accurate as of last page update.
*Pricing and deals only accurate as of last page update.
*Pricing and deals only accurate as of last page update.
Should I just buy a local SIM in my destination?
No matter what provider you go with, roaming costs add up quickly. On Optus and Vodafone, a week of using your phone overseas will cost you $35. On Telstra, you're looking at a minimum of $70 (unless you're in New Zealand).
If you really need to keep your local number to be contactable while away, you've really got no choice but to pay the telcos their blood money.
But if you're going away on a holiday and don't care about having access to your local number, a local SIM can often be the better choice. If you're staying for over a week, local SIMs at your destination should typically cost less than what you'd pay in roaming fees.
This will naturally vary from destination to destination, but it's definitely worth doing the math before you commit to spending a whole lot of money on roaming.
Best phone plan with international calls
Looking to call overseas rather than go overseas? These are the best plans with international talk and text.
How we choose the best plans for international roaming
If you're looking for a mobile plan explicitly for roaming, the big consideration is where you're going. You'll want to make sure that your plan actually supports roaming in your destination.
For example, there's no point buying a Vodafone plan if you're heading to Egypt, as you'll be stung with pay-as-you-go rates. Instead, you'd want to go with Telstra if you really need to keep using your local number while admiring the majesty of the pyramids.
Pricing is the next consideration. Paying less per day is obviously preferable to more.
What about other providers and prepaid roaming?
While some smaller providers offer international roaming, they tend to be bad options. The travel packs are far more expensive than the competition, or you're stuck with pay-as-you-go rates that end up costing between $500 and over $1,000 per gigabyte.
While MVNOs are a great pick for keeping your bill down locally, this doesn't translate to overseas usage. If you're going with a small provider like ALDI, Boost, Belong, Tangerine, Woolworths Mobile, or amaysim for your Australian SIM card, use the savings to purchase a SIM overseas when you arrive at your destination instead.
International Roaming FAQs
International roaming refers to a service some telcos offer that lets you use your local number while travelling overseas.
Most phones should work overseas, but you'll need to ensure it's unlocked. If you bought your phone on a plan or outright, it will be unlocked. But if you bought it with a prepaid SIM, it may not be. Read more about unlocking your phone here.
Some prepaid plans include roaming packs, but the rates are worse than a postpaid equivalent. With very few exceptions, we'd recommend prepaid customers on providers like amaysim, Boost, and ALDI Mobile buy a local SIM at their destination.
If you're on a plan from a provider other than Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, or felix, or you're planning to be overseas for a week or longer, a local SIM card will often be the better option.