Best Phones for Traveling the World
Let’s be honest. You probably already have a phone that is fine for travel. You may even be reading this article on it right now. After all, if your phone is good enough for your day to day life, why wouldn’t it be good enough for travel?
I’m so glad you asked!
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My top pick
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An incredible deal!
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Crowd Pleaser
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The Apple Option
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$329.95
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$723.8428
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$454.99
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Our phones are some of the most powerful devices in any travel arsenal, in large part thanks to their incredible versatility. Need to take a picture? The best camera is the one in your hand. Need to get across town? Your phone has access to maps and apps like Uber that can get you there in style. Need to stay in touch with the fam (or work) while on the road? Your phone is the easiest source of internet around.
Most modern phones can perform all these tasks admirably, but the best phones for travel kick everything up a notch!
What features make a phone good for travel?
In particular, there are a handful of features that are incredibly important for your phone to have if you plan on using it while traveling internationally. If your phone doesn’t have these features, it’s possible that it won’t offer the travel experience that you’re expecting.
These are the features that I consider absolutely essential for a good travel phone.
Your phone should be carrier unlocked
First and foremost, if you plan on using your phone for getting on the internet while traveling, you need to make sure it is carrier unlocked.
Many carriers in the US offer great deals on phones for people who sign up for one of their plans. (Think: Get an iPhone free when you do X.) These deals can save you a lot of money on the phone itself, but they’re meant to lock you into your carrier’s plan, and a lot of the time these phones end up being locked to a specific carrier.
For instance, if you’re using a Verizon phone, you may not be able to switch it to an ATT plan without going through Verizon to unlock it. This is meant to be an extra barrier to switching that encourages you to stay with them, since switching becomes more effort than its worth.
But it is also a barrier to using your phone overseas, because if you don’t get it unlocked, you won’t be able to use any other carrier’s network!
There’s a great article on ConsumerReports.org on how to get this done, if you need it.
Your phone should have a good camera
Ok, so technically your phone doesn’t need a good camera to work overseas, but if you’re traveling somewhere incredible, don’t you want to be able to take incredible photos while you’re there?
You could get a GoPro or fancy mirrorless camera instead, but more devices means less space for souvenirs, and, inevitably, you’re going to want to take a picture of something when you don’t have your camera with you. What will you have with you? Your phone.
Make sure it has a camera worth using.
Your phone should have all day battery
Let’s be honest. If you use your phone a lot, there’s not a phone out there that really has all-day battery. Even so, some phones definitely have longer battery life than others, and when you’re spending all day out and about, you don’t want to get to the end of the day and discover you can’t call an Uber because your battery is dead.
I’m going to be honest. My phone does not meet this criteria, especially if I decide to take a lot of videos while I’m out. So, I keep a power bank and charger in my day bag, just in case!
Your phone should have a physical SIM slot
In my opinion, this should go without saying. Except that, if you live in the US and have one of the newer iPhone models, your phone doesn’t have a SIM slot.
For a lot of the places people like to travel, this can be problematic if you’re wanting to get a local phone plan. Local plans are easily the most cost-effective way to get mobile data when abroad, so if you travel a lot, you probably want a phone that can use local networks.
There are ways around this, like using an eSIM provider like Saily or Airalo, but I genuinely think Apple is making things harder for its customers for no practical reason.
Your phone should have good water and dust protection (or a good case)
No, you probably aren’t going to dragging your phone through muddy puddles intentionally, but travel can be hard on your phone.
Beaches in particular are terrible places for phones. Sand can damage screens and it is so easy to forget that you have a phone in your pocket before deciding to take a quick dip in the ocean. I’ve also managed to completely submerge my phone in an underground river while caving, completely cover it in mud when I wiped out on a jungle trail, and even dropped it in my food. (Don’t judge.)
I have a Spigen case for my phone that does a great job of absorbing the shock of falls, but it is not waterproof or dustproof, nor do I have a screen protector. (Because I live dangerously.) But because my phone has an IP68 rating, I don’t have to worry. Much.
Your phone should have plenty of storage
One of my least favorite messages to get on my phone is the “out of storage” message that pops up right when I was about to take an epic video. Yes, there are plenty of great ways to manage your storage space so you can take more photos, but the easiest way is just to not run out of storage to begin with.
Modern flagship phones come with huge amounts of memory, perfect for recording 4k videos, or for downloading literal days-worth of Netflix videos to keep you entertained on your 2-hour flight.
But at a minimum, you should have a phone with at least 128GB of memory if you plan on taking lots of photos on your trip. This might still seem like overkill, but as we get better and better quality cameras, our picture and video files are getting bigger and bigger, too.
What are the best phones for travel?
So, considering all the above features, what are the best phones for travel?
Well, unsurprisingly, the best phones for travel tend to be the same ones that top most people’s best phones lists, with a few exceptions.
Here are my personal picks.
Google’s Pixel phones
I’ve been using Pixel phones for years at this point and I’ve loved the experience.
Pixel Phones reflect the phone qualities that Google sees as being the most important for Android phones and will typically receive security and feature updates much faster than a lot of other phones thanks to how closely they align to “stock” android.
Pixel phones have brighter screens, bigger batteries, and tighter integration with Google services than their direct competitors. Plus, their cameras are rated as some of the best found on a phone! All at a price that is consistently lower than the competition.
I personally have the Pixel 7 Pro, and have mostly loved it. My biggest complaint is that it does tend to overheat when I try to take longer videos. That’s particularly problematic when I’m in hot areas like hiking in a rainforest or in direct sunlight in the beach, but it hasn’t been a problem in places where I’m in the shade or have access to air conditioning. The newer version, the 8 Pro, has mixed reviews on the overheating, with some people reporting that it still overheats and others saying that it doesn’t. Even so, the Pixel line remains my personal pick.
The Pixel Pro line takes what is good about the mainline Pixels and add just a bit more. This year, that means a larger screen, more zoom on the camera, and a bit more RAM to help make it feel quicker than ever!
Samsung S series phones
Samsung’s S Series phones have been the top-rated Android phones for years, and it’s pretty easy to see why. Not only do they have some of the best-rated cameras on the market, but they are also some of the most feature rich phones out there.
Samsung is constantly innovating with their phones, and their S series were some of the first phones on the market to feature split screen apps, quick charge, and wireless charging. Even so, most of their best features have since been added to stock Android phones.
There are still some features that set them apart, though. Samsung phones feature a slightly different UI from most Android phones, called One UI, that makes their phones feel different from other Androids. This can be good, but it can also be bad. As someone who is used to Pixel phones, I often feel lost when trying to navigate settings on a Samsung phone.
But the big one, at least for me, is Samsung Dex. Dex allows Samsung S series phones to function like a desktop environment when connected to an external display. Basically, if you have plug your phone into a portable display and connect it to a keyboard and mouse, you can use your phone like a laptop!
It’s not a perfect system, but it is pretty cool, and can help you get real work done without needing to bring a second device, so long as you have a keyboard and a screen.
The newest S-series phones are the S24 the S24+ and the S24 Ultra, all of which are very highly rated.
Samsung is one of the top phone manufacturers in the world, and their S-series phones are their top line, making this truly one of the best of the best phones that you can get.
It's a very capable device. I just prefer the feel of Google's phones.
iPhone 13
I’m going to preface this by saying I am not an iPhone user. I don’t have an iPad, nor do I have a Mac, and I don’t really see that changing. However, I also know that that makes me a bit of an exception the US, so I’m including an iPhone here.
You might have noticed that it is not the newest iPhone. That’s because the iPhone 13 was the last iPhone sold in the States that has a physical SIM slot, which is absolutely essential for anyone traveling for longer than about 2 weeks.
However, if you want the latest and greatest iPhone, there are ways.
The international version of the iPhone 15 still has a physical SIM slot and can be purchased in basically any country worldwide, other than the US. So, it’s just as simple as booking a flight out of country and buying a phone when you get there!
Or you could stick with the 13.
The iPhone 13 was the last version of the iPhone to be released in the USA with a physical SIM slot, which is why I'm recommending this version. if you want a newer version with a SIM slot, your best option is to either leave the country and buy it while abroad or to buy it online from *not* America and have it shipped back to the States.
On a budget? Best Budget Phones for Travel
Not everyone is looking for the latest and greatest. Especially if you’re looking for a phone to travel with!
Travel isn’t always rough on phones, but it definitely can be, and when you’re hopping in and out of taxis, there’s always the chance you’ll accidentally leave your phone behind, never to be seen again.
If that makes you bit too nervous to splurge on a $1000+ phone, this section is for you!
Google’s Pixel A series phones
Google’s Pixel 4a was my introduction to the Pixel line of phones back in 2020, and despite being 4 years old, it still sees daily use as a kids’ device and backup in case something happens to my 7pro.
The Pixel A series phones aren’t as powerful as the main Pixel line, but they are still pretty capable devices. Plus they are smaller than the main Pixel phones, which makes them great for people who like small devices!
The newest one is the Pixel 8A, which shares a lot of the same upgrades than make the Pixel 8 a great choice, and is guaranteed for 7 years of updates. But if a good camera is more important to you than years of security updates, you can also get a Pixel 7 Pro for about $70 less than the 8a.
Pixel's A series of phones are the less expensive versions of their main line of phones. That means there are some trade-offs, but from a price to performance perspective, they offer a lot. If you don't need the best of the best, or if you're looking for a good-quality back up phone, the most recent Pixel A is a great option.
This is the phone that I use everyday, but I bought mine new for around $800. It's nearly 2 years old now, but is still performing well enough that I would consider $350 for one to be a steal.
This is a renewed product, so be aware of that, but if you're on a budget, you can't do much better.
OnePlus Nord N30
OnePlus’s original pitch was the idea of providing flagship features at not flagship prices, and they did pretty well for a long while. However, nowadays they’re flagship killers are priced at pretty much the same price point as the flagships they are purporting to kill.
Even so, they are still doing a pretty good job competing at the budget price point.
The Nord N30 is probably the best budget phone on the market today, and the cheapest phone that I would trust on an international journey.
It has great battery life, a decent screen, and a camera that works pretty well in good lighting! It’s not the most powerful phone on the market, but it also costs less than $300. So, yeah, that tracks.
Out of the brands I’m suggesting on this page, OnePlus is the least well-known, but I’ve been following their brand for years, and I can definitely vouch for them caring about their craft. If you need a phone on the cheap, this is a great choice.
This is an incredible amount of phone for a sub-$300 price. Are you going to get the best of everything at that price point? No. Of course not.
But for what you do get, this is a steal.
