The 21st-Century Traveler

Internet Access away from Home

Without Your Own Computer -- In Belize, you'll readily find cybercafes in most major destinations. Many of the more upscale isolated nature lodges also provide guest connectivity in one form or another. However, you should try to avoid hotel business centers unless you're willing to pay exorbitant rates. To search for cybercafes in Belize check www.cybercaptive.com and www.cybercafe.com.

Most major airports now have Internet kiosks scattered throughout their gates. These give you basic Web access for a per-minute fee that's usually higher than cybercafe prices.

With Your Own Computer -- More and more hotels, cafes, and retailers in Belize are signing on as Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) "hotspots." Mac owners have their own networking technology: Apple AirPort. iPass providers also give you access to a few hundred wireless hotel lobby setups. To locate other hotspots that provide free wireless networks in cities around the world, go to www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/WirelessCommunities.

For dial-up access, most business-class hotels throughout the world offer dataports for laptop modems, and a few thousand hotels in the U.S. and Europe now offer free high-speed Internet access. In addition, major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have local access numbers around the world, allowing you to go online by placing a local call. The iPass network also has dial-up numbers around the world. You'll have to sign up with an iPass provider, who will then tell you how to set up your computer for your destination(s). For a list of iPass providers, go to www.ipass.com and click on "Individuals Buy Now." One solid provider is i2roam (www.i2roam.com; tel. 866/811-6209 or 920/235-0475).

Wherever you go, bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests. Electricity in Belize is 110-volt AC and most outlets are either two- or three-prong U.S.-style outlets.

Using a Cellphone

The three letters that define much of the world's wireless capabilities are GSM (Global System for Mobiles), a big, seamless network that makes for easy cross-border cellphone use throughout Europe and dozens of other countries worldwide. In the U.S., T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular use this quasi-universal system; in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers customers are GSM, and all Europeans and most Australians use GSM. If your cellphone is on a GSM system, and you have a world-capable multiband phone such as many Sony Ericsson, Motorola, or Samsung models, you can make and receive calls across civilized areas around much of the globe. Just call your wireless operator and ask for "international roaming" to be activated on your account. Unfortunately, per-minute charges can be high -- usually $1.50 to $3.50 in Belize.

For many, renting a phone is a good idea. (Even worldphone owners will have to rent new phones if they're traveling to non-GSM regions, such as Japan or Korea.) While you can rent a phone from any number of overseas sites, including kiosks at airports and at car-rental agencies, we suggest renting the phone before you leave home. North Americans can rent one before leaving home from InTouch USA (tel. 800/872-7626; www.intouchglobal.com) or RoadPost (tel. 888/290-1606 or 905/272-5665; www.roadpost.com). InTouch will also, for free, advise you on whether your existing phone will work overseas; simply call tel. 703/222-7161 between 9am and 4pm EST, or go to http://intouchglobal.com/travel.htm.

In Belize, Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) and their cellular division DigiCell (tel. 227-2017; www.digicell.bz) has a virtual monopoly on cellular service in Belize. Luckily, DigiCell does have affordable packages for SIM card activation. If you have an unlocked 1900MHz GSM phone, they sell local prepaid SIM cards in various denominations, although the initial activation costs BZ$50 (US$25), including BZ$10 (US$5) of calls. Prepaid phone card rates for local calls range from BZ$.30 to BZ$.90 (US15¢-US45¢). You can buy these cards at their desk at the airport, or at any number of outlets around Belize.

Buying a phone can be economically attractive, as many nations have cheap prepaid phone systems. Once you arrive at your destination, stop by a local cellphone shop and get the cheapest package; you'll probably pay less than $100 for a phone and a starter calling card. Local calls may be as low as 10¢ per minute, and in many countries incoming calls are free.

Wilderness adventurers, or those heading to less developed countries, might consider renting a satellite phone ("satphone"). It's different from a cellphone in that it connects to satellites and works where there's no cellular signal or ground-based tower. You can rent satellite phones from RoadPost . InTouch USA offers a wider range of satphones but at higher rates. Per-minute call charges can be even cheaper than roaming charges with a regular cellphone, but the phone itself is more expensive. As of this writing, satphones were outrageously expensive to buy, so don't even think about it.

Online Traveler's Toolbox

Veteran travelers usually carry some essential items to make their trips easier. Following is a selection of handy online tools to bookmark and use.

Airplane Food (www.airlinemeals.net)

Airplane Seating (www.seatguru.com or www.airlinequality.com)

Maps (www.mapquest.com)

Time and Date (www.timeanddate.com)

Travel Warnings (http://travel.state.gov, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.gc.ca, or www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice)

Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.com/ucc)

Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com); MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com)

Weather (www.intellicast.com or www.weather.com)