There’s no getting around the cost of a hotel room or flight when travelling overseas, but it’s often the “innocuous” incidentals such as meals, taxis and calling charges that hit the hardest. From local SIM cards to overseas roaming packs, plans that avoid mammoth phone charges come in all shapes and sizes, but the profusion of options on offer can be difficult to navigate.

This was a common feeling among Business Traveller readers, who gathered at London’s Royal Automobile Club recently to discuss ways of staying connected overseas without incurring through-the-roof charges.

The lunch was sponsored by Truphone, a network that lets callers make international calls through assigned local numbers, using only local rates. With one SIM card, users can access Truphone’s network partners in 66 countries, which provide secure connections across more than 200 countries.

Many readers at the lunch simply paid extra and used their home provider. Bundles of minutes, flat-rate charges and data add-ons are some of the options available from UK providers such as Vodafone, whose World Traveller and Eurotraveller packages allow users to carry their UK plans overseas for a flat fee. EE offers packages of fixed “roaming minutes” and data add-ons, which can be purchased once abroad. Of course, the cost of these bundles depends on the contracts made with local network partners, and a lack of competition can mean they are pricey.

Things will change, however, since roaming surcharges in the EU have been capped at €0.05 extra per call and €0.02 extra per text, and are set to be scrapped altogether in 2017.

Wifi remains the most popular way to stay connected. Connection speed and stability can lag during peak hours but, broadly, it’s the best solution for those who communicate mostly through email and have the luxury of arranging calls over Skype, for example. Some attendees rely on airport lounges, hotels and even McDonald’s for hotspots.

Still, as one reader put it, “your call is only as good as your wifi”, and if you’re someone with a client base that needs round-the-clock contact, intermittent access isn’t going to cut it.

Local SIM cards are another workaround, offering cheap, pay-as-you-go roaming packages, as well as bundles of minutes. One reader said that he always carried a second phone for local SIM cards, which he tethered to his everyday phone like a DIY hotspot. Call quality and security was a concern for some, however.

A crucial point for some readers was the ability to be contacted at a single number and voicemail, no matter where they were. There is an enormous opportunity, one suggested, for an organisation that can personalise packages across different regions for a single international number.

In addition, having a local number changes the way people relate to you, added another: “People won’t want to call you if you have an overseas number, because it will cost them.” Others preferred to keep their own number in case contacts didn’t like answering private or unknown callers.

Truphone offers one SIM that can also serve up to eight international numbers, so users can roam using one of the company’s partner providers, and call contacts – and receive calls from them – on a number that is local to them.

Managing costs for a group of employees is even more of a challenge, one reader said. “I’ve got to plan for 60 people, and I think I have managed to persuade them to log on with wifi, when it is available. But I want a company to invent a package that looks at what we do and tailors one to suit.”

For this, Truphone’s Patricia Klein thought one of the company’s personalised business mobile plans and prepaid SIMs would be suitable, with add-ons for greater flexibility.

The definitive answer for one reader was data – and encouraging contacts to communicate through email and messenger services rather than calls where possible. Unlimited overseas data plans can provide great comfort, especially when receiving large files or using data-hungry apps such as Google Maps overseas. Readers felt there was still a gap in the market for a seamless international mobile service. “That’s the ultimate proposition, where I don’t even have to think about where I am in the world,” as one put it.