Best Mobile Phone Plans for Travellers

"Best for travellers" usually gets treated as one problem, but it's really two, and they need different answers. If you're an Australian heading overseas, you're solving for roaming or a local SIM. If you're in Australia and want to call family overseas regularly, you're solving for cheap, generous international calling on a domestic plan. Worth being clear about which one you actually are before you shop.

Heading overseas: roaming add-ons vs local SIMs

For short trips, staying on your Australian plan and adding a roaming pack is the path of least resistance. Both major networks offer daily international roaming add-ons. Optus and Telstra both currently run a $5/5GB-per-day roaming option on their SIM-only plans, which is straightforward if you're travelling for a week or two and don't want to touch your SIM at all.

For anything longer, that per-day pricing adds up fast, and a local eSIM or physical SIM at your destination is almost always cheaper for data once you're there more than a couple of weeks. Most modern phones support eSIM, which means you can set up a destination SIM before you even land. See our guide on iPhone SIM sizes and eSIM if you're not sure your device supports it.

Either way, the one thing worth doing before you leave: check your destination-country coverage and pricing directly with your provider rather than assuming, since roaming rates and included countries change.

Staying in Australia, calling overseas: a different problem

If the "travel" in your situation is family or friends overseas rather than you personally on a trip, roaming add-ons are the wrong tool entirely. What you want is a provider built around international calling as its core product, not bolted on as an extra.

• Lycamobile prepaid plans from $15 per 28 days include unlimited talk and text across Australia plus unlimited international calls and texts to 35 countries, with extra minutes to 6 more nations on the entry tier.

• Lebara plans from $25 a month include unlimited international calls and texts to 35-plus destinations, rising to 50 destinations on higher tiers.

Both consistently beat what you'd pay bolting an international-calling add-on onto a mainstream Optus or Telstra plan, provided your destination country is on their list. Check the current country coverage for wherever you're calling before committing, since it varies by provider and tier.

Data-only travel: the simplest option if you just need internet

If you're travelling somewhere and mainly need data, so maps, messaging apps, and the occasional call over wifi, a data-only local eSIM at your destination sidesteps the whole roaming-versus-local-SIM question. You lose your Australian number for the duration, but if you're primarily reachable via messaging apps while away anyway, that's rarely a real cost.

The honest verdict

Match the setup to the actual problem: a roaming add-on for a short trip where simplicity matters more than saving a few dollars, a local SIM or eSIM for anything longer than a couple of weeks away, and an international-calling-first provider like Lycamobile or Lebara if the real need is calling family overseas from here rather than travelling yourself. Compare every current plan, sorted by price, on the mobile plans hub.