I remember trying to console a public school teacher in Stockholm 1993 who made a 15 minute call from the Sheraton Hotel to talk with her hospitalized father in the states. She was hit with a $250 phone charge.

I learned from that experience. I have had to make direct calls a number of times from overseas due to the difficulty of figuring out phone systems when trying to use a calling card.

Typically I leave a contact number and have the person in the states use an international calling card to call me directly at the hotel. This saves a lot of money and grief and usually keeps the hotel phone call charge under $5 USD.

A $20 calling card from Costco can go a long way and save loads of cash.