Many visitors are worried about making phone calls when travelling in London. First of all, you should make sure your mobile phone will work in the UK before visiting. Modern smartphones will most likely work everywhere. However, some older models, and non-smartphones, may be limited to your home country or region. Be sure to check before travelling.
You should also be aware of roaming charges when visiting the UK. Calls and text messages will often cost significantly more than they do back home. You may also be charged to receive calls and messages too. Data, in particular, can be extremely expensive so be sure to check with your network provider whether they offer any roaming deals or packages.
Once in the UK, you will need to dial an international code to make calls. For calls to the UK, you should add 0044 or +44 before the phone number you are calling. Phone numbers in the UK generally begin with 01 if outside London, and 02 within London. So, if you are dialling a central London number from your cell phone, you would call 0044(0)207 or +44(0)207, then the rest of the number. The zero in brackets is not dialled from international phones.
If you need to make international phone calls, depending on how your network provider has set this up, you may need to enter your country’s international dialling code, followed by the phone number. For the USA, for example, you would need to add +1 (or 001) before the phone number.
If you are staying for an extending period of time, it may be worth investing in a local SIM card for while you are travelling. This can save you a good amount of money in the long term, though you will have a new temporary phone number while travelling.