This week I’m heading off to my favorite part of the world to showcase two amazing cities for the adventurous honeymooning couple. But one of those things that a lot of people forget to focus on until a mere few days before their trip starts is to confirm their wifi or cell service for overseas travel. And this can be problematic as any service that offers to deliver to your home before the trip begins usually has a cut off date for placing the order. And if you’re hopping around from country to country – even within the same continent – it can be tricky to find a good service provider.

Now there are a number of ways to secure Internet access when you’re traveling abroad:

  • You can add international calling to your cell phone plan – although this tends to be really expensive. (Seriously, I once came back from Japan and my bill was an extra $400!)
  • You can try to source the free wifi hotspots in the cities you’re traveling to (although this tends to be limited to transit hubs and Starbucks).
  • You can also choose to rent a phone or a hotspot device. For the past 4 or 5 years that I’ve been traveling abroad, I prefer to rent a hotspot device where you’re locked in at a low flat day rate with a high daily rate of data that can be shared between multiple devices.

Renting a hotspot tends to be fairly straight forward. Usually at least 48 to 72 hours before your trip begins, you need to set up a reservation with the hotspot provider of your choice via their website. Depending on the provider, you can either pick up the device at the airport, somewhere local within the town you’re visiting or have it delivered to your hotel or wherever you’re staying. And this is fab when you’re only going to one country. But for the past few years I’ve been stopping through multiple countries on one trip – and this is where it can get dicey. Not all providers offer continuous service for their devices from country to country.

So, this trip I’m heading to Hong Kong & Tokyo – and I had to source a hotspot that would work everywhere to avoid having to drop off and pick up from one country to the next. Although I normally rent a hotspot from a Japanese vendor when I’m going to Tokyo, this time I’m actually renting from a US site, Cello Mobile. What I like about them is that their hotspot devices work nearly everywhere. When you set up the order, you outline which countries you’ll be traveling to during your trip and the price isn’t ridiculous for multi-country rentals. An added bonus is that Cello Mobile will deliver the device to you at least two days prior to when you need it. The hotspot comes with a charger and a carrying case along with instructions to connect to the wifi. Best of all, when you return from your trip, just drop the device in the mail and return it to them within two business days of the end of your rental period.

Now full disclosure, Cello Mobile is actually sponsoring my wifi for my #TABHoneymoonsAsia trip. However, I approached them about collaborating after doing quite a bit of research to find a hotspot provider who could offer continuous service for Hong Kong and Tokyo that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. The hotspot was delivered via UPS but best of all is that Cello Mobile’s customer service is very responsive. You receive update emails once your order has been placed as well as once the device is ready to ship. As of yet I haven’t used the device because (obviously) I’m still in New York – but I’ll be putting it to the test when I head off for Asia later this week!

For more info on Cello Mobile visit www.cellomobile.com or follow them on Twitter @cellomobile

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