Avoid making calls from hotels as their telephone service charges can be astronomical. During a short overnight stay in Japan, for example, I found that a few telephone calls actually added upto more than the room tariff on my hotel bill.

Find out from the hotel, instead, if it is possible to hook on directly to an international telephone service from the hotel room, in which case one will be paying a reasonable rate for the convenience of calling in the comfort of a bed room.

Post offices and airports are usually the best places to call from. Airports are particularly convenient as there are money-changing facilities on hand, as well as the possibility of being able to buy a phone card of the value of your choice.

International Direct Dialing