There are many ways now to keep in touch and get the data you may need while you are away.

Another option is to disconnect while you are away! But that is not what we are talking about here.

You can add roaming to your existing mobile service before you leave home.  That can get pretty expensive, depending on where you go and for how long, so be careful.

Another way to get service is to buy a local physical sim card or an esim for your phone, which enables you to connect to a local phone service.  We have found that there are kiosks in many airports and large train stations that sell sim or esim cards.  

Older mobile phones require a physical sim card, newer phones can have both a physical sim or two and an esim, while some very new phones like the iphone 16 can only have esims.

The esim is simply downloaded into your phone, and are convenient because you can set it up before you travel and switch it on when you get there.

Airalo, for example, has sims for individual countries and whole regions.

There are a variety of plans available for phone and data.  Just look at how much data you think you will use.  Will you want to search for locations on your phone that can take quite a bit of data. We find the data essential for maps and just plain looking things up.

IE: When did Napoleon blow up the outer walls of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain?  1812.  It's good to have the ability to find answers to your qureitos - like that one.