Staying in touch with friends and family while you travel abroad is a must, but international phone charges can easily cost you a bundle. A South Florida woman made the news in 2011 when she opened a $201,000 phone bill. It must have been a mistake, right?

Not so much. Her brothers, who had phones on her calling plan, ventured over the border to Canada. They texted and video streamed as normal, but the international roaming charges sent her bill sky high.

Don’t be a victim of phone bill sticker shock. With these tips, you can use your phone to call, text and surf while you globe-trot, and avoid the post-trip cell phone remorse.

1. Use Skype.
Skype is an easy way for an international traveler to communicate while abroad. Simply sign up with Skype, invite your friends and family to join and start talking. The service is free to call other Skype customers, regardless of their location, and you’ll pay just pennies to call landlines and non-Skyping mobile phones.

Planning on visiting Asia and you are traveling on a budget? Check out this neat trick that anyone can do to fly to Asia and save money.

The Backstory: Asia is one of the most competitive markets for airlines. Every country has a large national player, you name it – Singapore Airlines, Air China, Korean Air, Thai Airways, EVA Air – and they all compete fiercely for the same routes. This cocktail is a bonanza for travellers looking to find a deal. Here, we teach you how. 

With much of the media fanfare focused on gift and entertainment spending during the winter holiday season, you may not realize that Thanksgiving and year-end holidays are also the busiest travel times of the year. In 2012, Americans collectively spent $14 billion on Thanksgiving travel expenses and $58 billion on year-end holiday travel, according to data from the third annual Hotwire.com American Travel Behavior Survey.