1. E-mail

Without question, e-mail is the most popular way to stay in touch. You can send and receive messages instantly, save and organize your messages, attach photos and other media files, and avoid paying postage or paper costs. 

All you pay for is the amount of time you spend on the Internet. Prices for Internet use vary considerably, depending on where you go. Expect to pay from about $3 for 15 minutes of usage (however, some establishments do offer free Internet access).

If you´re traveling with a wireless-enabled laptop, ask the front desk if the hotel has a "hotspot" or "Wi-Fi" access—an area where you can use a wireless-enabled device. You´ll often find a hotspot in hotel lobbies, as well as local coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, bookstores, and airports. Rates vary considerably, so it might pay to shop around a bit first if you know you´ll be online for some time.

The most popular free e-mail services are Hotmail (www.hotmail.com), Yahoo Mail (http://mail.yahoo.com), and Google´s webmail service, Gmail (www.gmail.com). These e-mail accounts are useful if you don´t maintain an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) back home. 

However, if you do maintain an account with a home ISP, there are two ways to check your e-mail abroad: 
First, if you´ve got a laptop and an Internet connection, you can continue to retrieve e-mails from your ISP account—just as you would back home. 

The second way is to use a public computer, log onto your home ISP website and check your e-mail through their web interface (if they offer web-based e-mail). 

For example, let´s say you subscribe to Road Runner High Speed Online, a popular cable Internet service (www.rr.com). If you want to check your messages in this e-mail account, log onto the Internet, visit www.rr.com, enter your username and password, and check your RoadRunner e-mail. A drawback of the web interface, however, is that it won´t save your send and retrieve records like Outlook does.

Even though hotspots, business centers, and cyber cafés with high-speed Internet connections are more prevalent than in the past, "dial-up" (accessing the Internet via phone lines) isn´t dead—just yet. According to Lee Harrison, International Living´s Latin American Editor—and "resident guru" of communications technology, dial-up can in handy if you´re in a pinch.

"Something I´ve continued to use while traveling all these years is America Online, since they have local dial-up numbers all over the world," says Lee. "Just recently in Ireland, I used AOL´s local number in Dublin because the hotel I was staying in didn´t have Internet service. Of course, if you´ve got a hotspot or Internet hook-up, that´s better. But at least five times per year, I resort to AOL´s dial-up." For more information, see: www.aol.com.

3. VoIP 

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone calls. This technology allows you to engage in voice conversations over the Internet, using your computer instead of a traditional telephone. To use VoIP, you´ll need a headset with a microphone/boom (expect to pay around $20 for a basic headset and microphone combo at stores like Radio Shack and CompUSA). You´ll also need a reliable connection to the Internet (the faster, the better). Once you have your headset, go to www.skype.com , www.net2phone.com , or www.deltathree.com to sign up for a free account. 

Calls are free if you connect with another person using the same service (this is commonly known as a "PC-to-PC" call). However, if you call someone who doesn´t have a VoIP account (i.e. to their land line or mobile phone) you´ll still only pay a small price per minute. For example, let´s say you´re in Thailand and you want to make a call to a land line in the USA using a "PC to Phone" service. Using Skype, you´d pay $0.021 cents a minute. DeltaThree would cost you $0.023 a minute, and Net2Phone sets you back $0.039 a minute. 

"In my opinion, DeltaThree is best at calling landlines, and has a good online directory. From where I call, they have the cheapest rates to a land line," says Lee. "Net2phone works best when the Internet is busy, and performs well with dial-up. And Skype works great from PC-to-PC, often better than a land line. I use all three. The software is free, and the rates are cheap." 

Two other VoIP services are Vonage (www.vonage.com) and Voyze (www.voyze.com). What makes these different is that you don´t need a computer to use them—all you need is a broadband Internet connection, a special adapter, a calling plan, and a regular land line phone. 

Vonage´s "Basic 500" plan gives you 500 minutes of local and long distance calling to anywhere in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canada—for $14.99. Other helpful Vonage features include Voice Mail, Caller-ID, Three-Way Calling, and "Take Vonage With You"—a feature that allows you to make and receive calls with the same phone number from anywhere in the world. 

Using Vonage, an international call to the U.K. costs 4 cents a minute; Australia—5  cents a minute; Argentina—7 cents a minute; and South Africa—9 cents a minute. Vonage doesn´t charge any connection fees—and calls to Canada and the United States are considered local.

Voyze is similar to Vonage in many respects. However, you can sign up for Voyze´s "My World" Plan for free—and there are no monthly fees. Once you´re signed up, you can make international calls to the U.K. for 10 cents a minute; Australia for 3.9 cents a minute; Argentina for 3.9 cents a minute; and South Africa for 14 cents a minute. You´ll save money with Voyze if you´re making and receiving many calls from one country in particular. Let´s say that you live in Merida, Mexico, and most of your friends and family live in San Francisco, California. 

For $19.99 a month, Voyze will give you a local San Francisco number that you can use in Merida. You can then make and receive calls as if they were local. Voyze also has a "family network plan." Calls are free if you´re calling someone who also uses the Voyze network.