For the past few weeks I was backpacking around the Balkans without a working SIM card. And I know you’re probably thinking, “whoop-de-doo, good for you, so what?” but in this day and age we are so reliant on our phones, especially when we travel, that the lack of a SIM card was a whole adventure in and of itself.
Phones are our way of communicating with people, finding directions, keeping an eye on our emails, listening to music, taking photos and so much more. When travelling, your phone is your lifeline. You use it to book your transport and accommodation, to figure out which bus you need to get to your desired tourist destination, and to look at Google Reviews to see where is worthwhile to get lunch from.
So with that in mind, when my partner and I touched down in Sarajevo, Bosnia, we realised that our existing European SIM cards wouldn’t work. We momentarily considered going to get a SIM card that would work in the Balkans, but then decided we wanted to give it a go without one. We knew we’d have wifi at our accommodation and would be able to find it at restaurants if we really needed to, but for the majority of our days we had no access to the internet. We figured it could be tricky at times but that we would just have to get better at asking people for help when we needed it instead of relying on our phones. We also hadn’t planned or booked anything for our time in the Balkans so we really were just winging it, big time. We had booked our flights in and out and that was it.
The Balkans honestly don’t have a lot of information for tourists online anyway, so not having a SIM really wasn’t an issue. We mostly picked our destination and figured out how we were getting their by asking other travellers about their experiences. People in the Balkans were also so lovely and helpful and made not having a SIM card so easy.
I travelled in a similar way when I was backpacking around Europe at 18. I didn’t have a SIM card most of the time and my best friend that I went with didn’t even have a phone, let alone a SIM. She dropped it in the toilet two days into our five-month trip and just decided not to get a new one. Looking back, I don’t know how we managed but somehow we did. It was the same on our recent trip to the Balkans. It just worked. Turns out it’s not so hard to travel without access to the internet. I know people over the age of 35 reading this are probably shaking their head right now, but in this day and age it really is a big deal.
Overall, we had so many fun experiences, met so many lovely people and went to places we wouldn’t have otherwise. Being disconnected made me feel way more connected with places and people. If you’re up for an adventure and a slightly different way of travelling, I would definitely recommend going SIM-free. I can now wholeheartedly say it was one of my favourite trips ever, and deciding not to have a working SIM was a part of that.