Revealed: Why The USA, The Netherlands, And Italy Are The Best Places To Take Your Phone On Vacation

September 16, 2022

With the holiday season meaning something again after Covid laws are relaxed, did your vacay really happen if it’s not immortalized on Instagram?

Modern traveling means having every convenience at your fingertips, from checking into hotels to navigating a new country as you hunt for its hidden gems. That said, not all holiday destinations have caught up with the ways of modern traveling. Mobile phone retailer Currys measured 17 top travel destinations against 11 metrics to find out which countries are best to take on holiday. Their results for the ‘Best Holiday Destinations for Your Phone’ index are below.

The best places to take your phone on holiday are the USA, the Netherlands, and Italy.

The index measured factors such as 4G availability and 5G speeds, cost of data, average mobile internet speed, number of Wi-Fi hotspots, local SIM card availability for tourists, number of Instagram posts, cybersecurity, and censorship.

The USA is a clear winner, scoring a total of 87 out of 110. It scores big for 4G availability – the highest amongst all 17 countries – SIM card availability, cybersecurity, and free public Wi-Fi spots.
Although in second place, The Netherlands trails considerably behind with a total score of 75. Its top scores include higher 5G speeds than any other country, great 4G availability and internet penetration rate, and promising online censorship scores.
Italy is in third place with a score of 67, thanks to its low data costs, and is the most popular country based on Instagram posts.

Hungary, Mexico, and Greece do the worst for traveling with your phone from the UK

At the lower end of the scale are Hungary, Mexico, and Greece.

Hungary gets 44 out of 110 mostly due to low popularity on social media, a low number of free Wi-Fi spots, and a poor rate of contactless payments.
Mexico scores 46 thanks to low 4G availability, few contactless payments, and low cybersecurity measures.
Greece also scores 46, with its low number of free Wi-Fi spots and a poor contactless payments rate.

Showing Off To Friends At Home

One of the perks of being on holiday is posting your travel snaps on social media knowing it’ll make your friends jealous. So, where is it easiest to both access social media and post your photos and videos in real time? Looking at internet penetration rate, 4G coverage, average mobile internet speed, and the countries that get the most posts on social media, the United States comes out on top.

The United States – a high 4G coverage (96.10%) and internet penetration rate (92%) alongside a significant number of Instagram posts (126 million) gets the US the top spot despite low mobile internet speeds (62.47Mbps).
United Arab Emirates – the highest mobile internet speeds of all countries measured (134.41Mbps), along with a 99% internet penetration rate, 91.70% 4G coverage, and 68 million posts on Instagram.
The Netherlands – 95.90% 4G coverage, 96% internet penetration rate, and an average of 107.24Mbps for mobile internet, with 17.4 million posts on Instagram.
Italy – the greatest number of posts on Instagram across all countries measured at 152 million and 84.3% low internet penetration make up for its low mobile internet speed (35.11Mbps) and low 4G coverage (89.60%).
Hong Kong – high 4G availability (94.90%) and internet penetration rates (93%), but low mobile internet speeds (45.86Mbps) and comparatively low number of posts on Instagram (41.3 million).

Croatia’s the top destination for feeling safe when using your phone on holiday.

While cybersecurity and censorship might not be top of mind while you’re on holiday, using your phone abroad can bring with it certain risks. Some countries may severely restrict the type of content you can access via the internet while others may not have online security measures in place. A low internet penetration rate could also mean it’s difficult to contact someone in an emergency. So, in which country are you most safe online?

Croatia is the best destination for keeping you safe while using your phone on holiday, with good cybersecurity (92.53) and online censorship scores (1), and a high internet penetration rate (92).
The United Kingdom gets second place, scoring 99.54 for cybersecurity, 2 for online censorship, and has a near-perfect 99% internet penetration rate (the highest of all countries measured).
The United States is in third place with a Global Cybersecurity Index Score of 100, a score of 2 for online censorship, and a 98% internet penetration rate.
Fourth place Italy also scores 2 for online censorship, alongside 96.13 for cybersecurity and 96% for internet penetration.
The Netherlands rounds off the top five, with a score of 2 for online censorship, 97.05 for cybersecurity, and 94% for internet penetration.

Whether you prioritize fast access to free Wi-Fi so you can upload travel photos with ease or care more about low data costs for communicating with new-found friends within the country, the Best Holiday Destinations for Your Phone index can help you find great locations to do just that. Discover more about each country and what makes them a good holiday destination for traveling with your phone by viewing the full index here: Best Holiday Destinations for Your Phone.