What did you do with your current cell phone plan in the states? Did you cancel your plan or does it work in Peru? If not, are you using pay as you go cell phones? (Or maybe not using cell phones down there at all.)

Putting Your Cell Phone on Hold

We put our cell phone plans in the US on hold. It’s a little known service, but cell phone companies are willing to do it for a limited time to keep you as their customer. You just need to call them and tell them your situation.

They charge a small fee. I believe Verizon was $15 for 3 months, and AT&T charged $10 each month. And putting your service on hold extends you regular contract by however long it is on hold. (So, I had three months left on my contract when I moved down here. I will have three months left to go when I get back.)

The process was easy for me with Verizon, but Scott needed to call AT&T a couple of times after they continued to auto-deduct his regular monthly bill.

Pay-per-Minute Cell Phones in Peru

We immediately bought 2 pay-per-minute cell phone when we got to Peru through Claro. The phones were $20 each, and we recharge them with $20 worth of minutes every month or so.

They are really handy for keeping in touch with each other, and for calling hotels and tour agencies to make reservations. (Websites and email addresses, let alone online reservation systems, are still unheard of in Peru.)

Calling the US with the MagicJack

This little thing is seriously handy.