INTERNET ACCESS AWAY FROM HOME
Travelers have any number of ways to check their e-mail and access the Internet on the road. Of course, using your own laptop—or even a PDA (personal desk assistant) or electronic organizer with a modem—gives you the most flexibility. But even if you don’t have a computer, you can access your e-mail and even your office computer from cybercafes.

WITHOUT YOUR OWN COMPUTER
It’s hard nowadays to find a city that doesn’t have a few cybercafes. Although there’s no definitive directory for cybercafes—these are independent businesses, after all—three places to start looking are at www.cybercaptive.com, www.netcafeguide.com, and www.cybercafe.com. Most major airports now have Internet kiosks scattered throughout their gates. These kiosks, which you’ll also see in shopping malls, hotel lobbies, and tourist information offices around the world, give you basic Web access for a per-minute fee that’s usually higher than cybercafe prices. The kiosks’ clunkiness and high price means they should be avoided whenever possible.

To retrieve your e-mail, ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if it has a Web-based interface tied to your existing e-mail account. If your ISP doesn’t have such an interface, you can use the free mail2web service (www.mail2web.com) to view (but not reply to) your home e-mail. For more flexibility, you might want to open a free, Web-based e-mail account with Yahoo! Mail (mail.yahoo.com). (Microsoft’s Hotmail is another popular option, but Hotmail has severe spam problems.) Your home ISP might be able to forward your e-mail to the Web-based account automatically. If you need to access files on your office computer, look into a service called GoToMyPC (www.gotomypc.com). The service provides a Web-based interface for you to access and manipulate a distant PC from anywhere—even a cybercafe—provided that your “target” PC is on and has an always-on connection to the Internet (such as with Road Runner cable). The service offers top-quality security, but if you’re worried about hackers, use your own laptop rather than a cybercafe to access the GoToMyPC system.

WITH YOUR OWN COMPUTER
Major Internet Service Providers (ISP) have local access numbersaround the world, allowing you to go online by simply placing a local call. Check your ISP’s website or call its toll-free number, and ask how you can use your current account away from home and how much it will cost. If you’re traveling outside the reach of your ISP, the iPass network has dial-up numbers in most of the world’s countries. You’ll have to sign up with an iPass provider, who will then tell you how to set up your computer for your destination(s). For a list of iPass providers, go to www.ipass.com and click on “Individuals.” One solid provider is i2roam (www.i2roam.com).

Wherever you go, bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable. Most business-class hotels throughout the world offer dataports for laptop modems, and a few hundred hotels in Portugal now offer highspeed Internet access using an Ethernet network cable. You’ll have to bring your own cables either way, so call your hotel in advance to find out what the options are.

CELLPHONES OUTSIDE THE U.S.
The three letters that define much of the world’s wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobiles), a big seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cellphone use throughout Europe and in dozens of other countries worldwide. In the U.S., T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular use this quasiuniversal system; in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers customers are GSM, and all Europeans and most Australians use GSM.
If your cellphone is on a GSM system and you have a world-capable phone such as many (but not all) Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung models, you can make and receive calls across civilized areas on much of the globe, from Andorra to Uganda. Just call your wireless operator and ask for “international roaming” to be activated on your account. Unfortunately, perminute charges can be high—usually $1.50 to $2.50 in Portugal.
World-phone owners can bring down their per-minute charges with a bit of trickery. Call your cellular operator and say you’ll be going abroad for several months and want to “unlock” your phone to use it with a local provider. Usually, they’ll oblige. Then, in your destination country, pick up a cheap, prepaid phone chip at a mobile phone store and slip it into your phone. (Show your phone to the salesperson because not all phones work on all networks.) You’ll get a local phone number in your destination country—and much, much lower calling rates.

Otherwise, renting a phone is a good idea. While you can rent a phone from any number of overseas sites, including kiosks at airports and at car-rental agencies, we suggest renting the phone before you leave home. That way you can give loved ones your new number, make sure the phone works, and take the phone wherever you go—especially helpful when you rent overseas, where phone-rental agencies bill in local currency and might not let you take the phone to another country. Phone rental isn’t cheap. You’ll usually pay $40 to $50 per week, plus airtime fees of at least a dollar a minute. If you’re traveling to Europe, though, local rental companies often offer free incoming calls within their home country, which can save you big bucks. The bottom line: Shop around.