Updated 11 December ​2019

The term ‘roaming' refers to using your phone while you're overseas. Roaming starts as soon as your phone connects to a network outside of New Zealand. In the past, New Zealanders travelling overseas were charged a significantly higher rate for using their phone to make calls or use the internet. However, things are getting better - Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees and Slingshot all offer fixed-price roaming plans which cover 20-70 countries, meaning you can use data without being uncertain of the cost. 

But, while this sounds like good news, there are a number of ways the unfamiliar can get caught out and stung with a big bill. Firstly, many countries are not covered in each network's plan - so you will pay the 'casual' rate, which can be as high as $10 for 1 MB of data. And, if you go beyond your roaming plan's allowance, you will be charged more. And to confuse things more, roaming plans and allowances run on New Zealand time - so if you have a 7-day plan, it doesn't run out at 11:59pm in the country you are in, but 11:59pm New Zealand time.  

In this guide, we take a closer look at the pros and cons of roaming plans, and how they operate. We don't compare roaming data plans with minutes and SMS allowances. We observed that adding these does not significantly affect the cost of a plan, and in many cases, there is no difference in the overall price.

You don't need to buy a roaming plan if you are not planning to connect your phone to an overseas network. Many New Zealanders frequently travel around the world without a roaming plan, choosing instead to keep their data connections off and rely on local WIFI or using a local SIM. Both options mean you still get the benefits of being able to use apps, but no phone calls can be received - and for many people that's not a problem.

No roaming plan is like the other. To make everything clear and highlight the best inclusive roaming schemes, take a look at the table below. If you want more detail about what each network offers, scroll down a bit further and we'll outline the roaming rates and plans offered by Spark, Vodafone and 2dgrees in more detail.

Warning: The network plans mentioned below include a selection of popular countries which the roaming plan covers. If you're going further afield, your destination may not be covered. To avoid problems like big bills our service outage, check with your network to see what zone or band your destination(s) are classed as before deciding to buy a roaming pack. In some countries, where 1 MB can cost as much as $5 or $10, it will be cheaper to buy a local SIM or keep your data connection turned off.

What does Spark offer?
Spark offers fixed-price roaming in around 35 countries around the world, which Spark calls 'Zone 2'. There is only one plan, the 'roaming data pack', which offers 1 GB of data which must be used within 7 days. If you go over the allowance, you pay 'casual rates', or purchase another roaming data pack. Unlike Vodafone's roaming data pack, Spark offers half of the countries and is very limited within Europe. You won't be covered in Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and many more countries, and instead will be charged a hefty $3 per MB (monthly customers) or $5 per MB (prepay customers). 

Australia: Australian data roaming is $15 for seven days for 1GB, with casual rates fixed at $10 per 200 MB

Zone 2 data roaming pricing:

• Roaming Data Pack: $15 for 1 GB (valid for seven days) 
• Casual rates (if you don't buy a pack): $10 per 200 MB

Zone 2 Destinations include:

• Oceania: American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu
• Europe: France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland
• Asia: China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Macau*, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam
• Americas: Canada, USA, Argentina, Brazil*, Venezuela*
• Africa: South Africa

*Roaming for prepaid Spark customers unavailable
Renewal: Roaming Data Packs are activated after first roaming use in eligible destinations, and will expire seven days after the next New Zealand midnight, after the first roaming use or full consumption of the pack inclusions.
​More details: Visit Spark's roaming rates and packages

Our view: If you're sticking to Zone 2 countries while you travel, Spark's roaming package is more than sufficient, and cheaper than Vodafone's 7-day package. However, things get tricky if you're on a European trip which goes outside the 'Zone 2' countries - Spark will either become inconvenient, very expensive, or both. New Zealanders often find themselves in Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, and these countries (and several others in Europe) are excluded on Spark's roaming data pack - instead, you will face $3 or $5 per MB data charges. 

What does Vodafone offer?
Vodafone offers roaming plans for both monthly 'On Account' plans, and Prepay. The number of countries included in the standard roaming plan exceeds 70, which is far superior to the plans offered by Spark, Slingshot and 2degrees.  

Australia: Australian data roaming for On Account and Prepay customers are covered in the plans below.

On Account plan (for existing monthly Vodafone customers):

• $7/day (monthly customers only), using your current New Zealand plan's data, as well as minutes and TXT allowances with 16 new destinations to roam including Cambodia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatamela, Israel, Kenya, Lichtenstein, Macedonia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Qatar, Reunion and Vietnam.
• If you run out of data, Vodafone offers data top-ups: 500 MB for $12, 1 GB for $20 and 2 GB for $35.
• ​More details, including the 100+ countries covered, are outlined here.

Prepay data plan options:

• $5 roaming add on - $5 for 200 MB (valid for 24 hours)
• $19 roaming add-on - $19 for 1 GB (valid for 7 days)

Data Plan Destinations include: 70+ countries for prepay, including Australia, Canada, most of Europe, and South America, China, Japan and India - the full list can be found here. 
Renewal: Roaming Add-Ons are valid until midnight NZ time. If you purchased the Daily Add-On before midnight NZ time, you will be able to use it until midnight NZ time the next day. If you purchased the Weekly Add-On before midnight NZ time, you will be able to use it for the next 7 full days (NZ time). Vodafone confirms via SMS when your bundle is due to expire.
Casual rates (i.e. no plan):  50 cents per MB (Australia), $10 per MB (rest of world). 
More details: Visit Vodafone's prepay roaming rates and packages

Our view:

• ​Vodafone outperforms every other network with its list of 100+ destination countries for account plan holders when the changes are implemented. This allows multi-country travel a lot easier if the destinations are included in the roaming plan. 
• If you're a prepay customer and heading to one destination, Spark is slightly cheaper ($15 per 1 GB, vs Vodafone's $19).
• Vodafone's $5 daily plan will be cheaper than having a monthly plan. However, you may want to consider having a monthly plan to take advantage of the 100+ destination countries. Taking this option can work out cheaper if you want the freedom to use your normal data limit without worrying about a 1 GB plan limit.

What does 2degrees offer?
2degrees offers New Zealand's most expensive global roaming plans, which compare unfavourably to Spark, Vodafone and Slingshot Mobile's offerings.

Australia:

• $10 for 300 MB (valid for 7 days)
• $15 for 500 MB, (valid for 7 day)

Globetrotter Pack options:

• $30 for 500 MB (valid for 3 days)
• $55 for 1 GB (valid for 7 days)

​Globetrotter Destinations include: Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Fiji, Hong Kong, India (excluding Jammu & Kashmir), Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Papau New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, UK, USA and Vanuatu.

Additional data: For included destinations, business and monthly customers pay $0.10 per MB, while prepay customers pay $0.50 per MB.  
Renewal: All 2degrees Roaming Packs are one-off and do not auto-renew, and days of use are based on NZ standard time. For example, if you purchase a Pack at 9:00am on 1 January NZ standard time the Pack is valid until 11:59pm on 8 January standard NZ time.
More details: Visit 2degrees' roaming rates

Our view:

• 2degrees customers won't find much to write home about when it comes to these roaming plans. With around 23 countries included in the plan, it falls well below the countries offered by all other networks.
• When it comes to pricing, $55 for 1 GB of data is not competitive with Vodafone and Spark, who charge $19 and $15 respectively (although these are 7-days plans, and 2degrees' plan is 14 days).

What does Slingshot mobile offer?
Slingshot offers longer validity period for both 1 GB and 500 MB roaming plans. This is fairly useful for low data users who would have to stay longer at their destination country.

Australia:

• $28 - 1 GB (valid for 30 days) 
• $18 - 300 MB (valid for 30 days) 

​
Global Data plans:

• $28 for 1 GB (valid for 30 days) 
• $18 for 300 MB (valid for 30 days)

Roaming Pack Destinations include: USA, Ireland, China, United Kingdom, Canada, Fiji, Italy, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Spain, Tonga, Vanuatu, American Samoa, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Monaco and Qatar.

Additional data: Not offered - customers need to purchase another global plan.
Renewal: All Slingshot Roaming Packs are one-off and do not auto-renew, and days of use are based on NZ standard time. For example, if you purchase a Pack at 9:00am on 1 January NZ standard time the Pack is valid until 11:59pm on 8 January standard NZ time.
More details: Visit Slingshot's roaming rates

Our view:

• Slingshot offers roaming plans with the longest duration (30 days) which can suit customers who want to make their data last over a month of travelling and can ration their use. The countries covered in Europe is limited when compared to the Vodafone roaming plan.
• When it comes to pricing, $28 for 1 GB of data is not competitive with Vodafone and Spark, who charge $19 and $15 respectively, although Slingshot's data is valid for 30 days.

Deciding on whether to roam or not, and then what plan to buy, is not easy. We've prepared answers to frequently asked questions below. ​

Mobile data is what your phone uses to connect to the internet, i.e. the volume of MB or GB that is sent to the phone. Data roaming is when you take your phone out of New Zealand and connect to a local network, such as Optus in Australia or T-Mobile in the USA.

It's up to you - if you believe having access to mobile data wherever you are you will be useful, you can look at a roaming plan. If you think you can manage by only connecting to WIFI spots, then you can avoid a roaming plan. New Zealand networks make it easy to buy roaming at any time - usually an SMS message will activate it, so if you do urgently need data, plans with Vodafone or Spark start at $15.

No, as long as your data connection is disabled.

The best way to avoid roaming charges is to turn off the data connection on your phone, password protect it so if it gets lost or stolen no one can use data, rely on WIFI hotspots and/or buy a local SIM card which will usually offer better rates for data use.

Your phone will display an icon if it's data connection is on - it will also show the name of the network you are connected to, although each phone has different settings and needs to be individually managed.

That's entirely up to you - if you need to be 'available' via email or WhatsApp 24/7, then data roaming is probably essential. If you're going on holiday and can happily travel around without a constant connection, data roaming probably isn't necessary.