An Airalo eSIM Review: The Best eSIM for International Travel
Airalo has data plans that cover over 200+ countries and regions. It’s a game-changing mobile data provider that offers travellers the best eSIMs on the road. This article takes you through how to download, use and make the most of Airalo eSIMs on your next trip.
With the world becoming more and more interconnected, it’s getting trickier to travel without access to data during your international travels. While wifi is abundant and readily accessible in many countries, there are situations you can get into where having data on-the-go can make these moments much more convenient.
For the past several years, there have been a few common options for finding international data plans on the road. The first is landing in a country and picking up a physical SIM card on arrival, but this doesn’t always work well, since sometimes you have to wait 24 to 48 hours until you might be able to find a SIM that works. Some countries are easier to buy SIM cards for than others, too, so this plan isn’t always fool proof.
The second most common solution is to purchase a physical international SIM card, but of course the drawback is they don’t always work well in all countries, or all parts of all countries.
Fortunately, the emergence of the latest technology in mobile phone communication is “eSIMs“, or embedded SIM cards, that you can easily download onto your phone. eSIM plans offer unlimited data on the go options for the needs of anyone from the occasional travellers to digital nomad travellers. eSIM providers offer customers the experience of a traditional SIM card, without the hassle of locating a physical SIM card on arrival.
No matter which direction you’re headed—if you’re planning to visit Europe and heading to places like the Amalfi Coast in Italy, or Lisbon in Portugal, or heading to South America and visiting places like Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, or even if you’re heading to other destinations like Tokyo or Bali, or even the United States or Canada—then getting an eSIM downloaded onto your device is the best case scenario for your next trip.
There are so many reasons for why I personally choose to use eSIMs on the road. I like the security of knowing that at any point in my trip, access to data is an option for me. It helps me feel more safe and confident in my travels knowing that I can contact anyone I may need to, use a ride-sharing app in a pinch, share my travel details and updates with family and friends while I’m on the road, or quickly pull up the information from a QR Code on-the-go.
In this article, I’ll break down all of the details about what the benefits of an eSIM are, why you should use one, and how to specifically set up and use the eSIM provider Airalo on your next international trip.
Please note that this article contains affiliate links. Simply put, that means we might receive a small commission for some of our honest recommendations at zero additional cost to you.
The Benefits of an eSIM
An easy option that many people opt for while they’re on the road is to roam with their home country’s cell phone plan. For some locales, this is a great option. If you’re from a country with more hefty international roaming fees (I believe my Canadian fee is up to $14 CAD/day now), then you’re better off seeking a more reasonably priced phone plan for your travels.
Buying SIM cards in the country you land in is another option, but you often have to take time out of your travels to locate a store that sells the SIM. Almost trickier than that, you need to make sure you don’t lose track of your own tiny SIM card while it’s out of your phone.
This is where an eSIM comes in. It’s the latest (and literally, the greatest) invention for travellers, since it solves all of the above problems. In addition to saving you money, eSIMs save you precious time on your travels.
Chris and I have tried and tested a few options, but we’ve determined that the best eSIM for international travel is an eSIM purchased through Airalo.
What is an eSIM, Anyway?
As the name suggests, an eSIM is the same as a regular SIM card, except it’s digital. You can use it in place of a regular SIM card during your travel for data, and occasionally you can even get an international phone number and a voice plan, too.
These new eSIMs and eSIM packages are taking the travel world by storm. It’s highly recommended to get yourself an eSIM for your next international trip, so you don’t have to worry as much about the finer details of your trip while you’re on-the-go.
It’s a nice feeling to turn your data on when the plane lands, just like the folks beside you who may call the destination home.
The Best eSIM for International Travel
There are many different types of eSIMs that you can use when you travel. Travel eSIMs are all over the market, with several different options.
The best eSIM for travel, in our humble opinion, is Airalo. They offer plans for all different countries, regions and parts of the world.
They have an app that’s easy to use, and if you ever run into any issues, they do have a customer service team that is there to help, and they’ve been able to resolve any issues that we’ve had.
How Does Airalo Work?
In order to have Airalo work on your phone, you’ll first need to double check that your device will support eSIM technology.
Some older models of iPhones and Androids will not support eSIMs, meaning an Airalo eSIM international experience won’t be in the cards for you. Airalo keeps an updated list of the devices that its services supports, which you can check out here.
Once you’re ready to use Airalo, you’ll need to download the app, purchase your eSIM, and activate the card at the right time (which I’ll talk about down below).
While eSIMs are definitely the right choice on your travels, a little work is required before you take off on your trip. Read ahead carefully to ensure you use Airalo properly on your next trip.
Downloading the Travel eSIM Airalo APP
First, you need to ensure that you have a smart phone. Your phone needs to be unlocked, because it won’t support the use of other mobile networks if you have a locked phone.
Next, you’ll need to download the Airalo app from your phone’s app store. It’s a white icon, with read, yellow and orange colours.
Finding The Best eSIM for International Travel Through Airalo
After you’ve downloaded the Airalo app, open the app to find the different types of eSIMs available. You can search for local, regional and global eSIMs, search by country, or manually search the country or region you’re planning to travel to.
One of the things that is so great about Airalo is that they offer many different plans across countries, companies and regions.
It’s important to note two things about buying an eSIM. Firstly, eSIMs don’t always include a voice plan or phone number. They are often just data. This is fine for messaging, but might require you to call people via data, through WhatsApp, Facetime or another app like this.
Secondly, when you are choosing an eSIM, all eSIMs and providers aren’t created equally. There are different price points, and different cellular coverage and towers in each country, like with any network.
Chris and I recently took a trip to Argentina, and we realized we chose different eSIMs for the trip. At first I thought I’d chosen wrong, but this ended up working really well for us, because there were areas where my data worked when Chris’s didn’t, and vice versa, due to the regional providers in more remote areas of the country.
Chris bought a Global eSIM, with coverage in many different South American countries, whereas I used one that was specifically for Argentina. This felt a lot like something we experience living in Ontario. When we are travelling together, sometimes we go to more remote parts of Ontario where Fido/Rogers (Chris’s plan) works, and we might travel to other parts of the province when my Virgin/Bell plan works better.
The Global eSIM, at the time of publication, covers 84 countries. Chris recently used it to visit Mexico, spend a few weeks in Thailand, and then head to Doha, and it was all on the same eSIM. All he had to do was put it on airplane mode when he took off, and turn it on when he landed.
In order to decide which eSIM to use, I’d recommend researching local providers given the following:
Think about the type of trip you’re taking. Are you planning on staying in one specific city, region, or country? If so, do a quick search to see what the most popular or common providers are for this area. You should be able to check the eSIM criteria in the app to see which mobile networks the eSIM uses, and match it to the providers.
Is your trip fixed or flexible? If you’re planning on staying mostly in one country, I’d recommend choosing an eSIM that is meant for that country. If you are travelling to a region of several countries, then look to see if the regional eSIM or Global eSIM covers the countries you’re visiting, or prepare to buy several eSIMs on the road for each country you’re in (but perhaps buy smaller amounts of data each time to ensure you’re not overpaying).
Consider how many opportunities there will be for wifi on your trip. If you think you’ll be able to connect to wifi reasonably frequently and have already planned most elements of your trip, I’d recommend purchasing a package with less data (for example, 2GB for a one week trip). Many plans allow you to top up extra GB if you need it. If you think you’ll be coordinating a lot of your trip on-the-go, or could potentially be outside of hotel rooms, cafes, airports, etc. often, then it would be better to start at a 4GB+ plan. If you’ll be somewhere for a while, do know that it becomes more cost effective as you buy bigger plans - so, for example, you could get a 20GB, 180 day global plan for $89 USD (at the time of publication).
Purchasing your Travel eSIM on Airalo
It isn’t always a quick process to set up an eSIM, so it’s best to purchase (but do not activate) your eSIM in advance of your trip.
In order to purchase your eSIM, you’ll hit the “buy now” button beside the price of the eSIM on the app. This will lead you to the preliminary page with the overview of what’s included in this package. It will also let you know how many and which countries it’s supported in, how many GBs of data are included in the plan, and for which length of time. Plans can range from 1-6+ GB, and can be valid from 7 days to 30 days.
You will also be able to learn which networks and providers are used in each country the plan is valid for, what type of plan it is. Most plans are “data only”, but some include a phone number and can potentially include voice. The latter is harder to come by. It will also tell you the activation policy, which is when the plan begins from the time of activation.
There is another section explaining if there’s a top-up option available while you’re on the road. If it says “top-up option available”, then you should buy a lower amount of data than you’d expect to use, and just top-up as needed. I received a notification while I was on the road letting me know when I was half way through the data I’d purchased.
Once you’ve purchased your international eSIM, you can go back to the home screen in the Airalo app to “my eSIMs” in the bottom of the app (on iPhone). From there, wait until you are on the road to activate it.
Activating Your Airalo International eSIM
Once you are about to start your trip, you’ll need to activate your eSIM. You can check the details to see if your country of departure is supported by the eSIM. If it is, you can activate your eSIM before landing, using wifi.
If it isn’t, you might need to wait until you land to activate your eSIM. The only hitch is you need reliable wifi. Fortunately, most airports have this when you land, but if the airport doesn’t, you might need to get to your accommodation first to connect to wifi and activate your eSIM then.
Airalo recommends activating your eSIM in the country you can use it in, instead of activating it at home. You are welcome to try activating it at home, but it’s possible you will run into some issues and it potentially won’t work.
At the end of the day, you just want to make sure you won’t have to re-purchase the eSIM if something goes wrong. Activate in the country you’re travelling to for the best case scenario.
This is how to activate your Airalo eSIM:
Connect to a strong wifi network in a country the eSIM will work in. Double check your eSIM details for the complete list of regions it will work in.
Go to “My eSIMs” in your Airalo app. You can find it on the bottom menu, in the middle if you’re on an iPhone.
Click on the “Details” button for the travel eSIM you purchased.
Once you’re in the eSIM details, click “Install eSIM / Access Data”.
Complete “Step 1” to install the eSIM. This might take a few minutes to install it to your phone.
After the eSIM has been installed, follow the instructions about how to adjust the settings for your phone and network.
On an iPhone, this often involves going into your phone settings and choosing “Primary” for your default line and for the line you’d like to use for other apps like iMessages and FaceTime. This allows you to connect with your friends and family while you’re away using your home phone number to identify you (you won’t be charged roaming fees for this). Select your eSIM for your cellular mobile/data. If you don’t do this, you will be charged for roaming.Then, set up your phone so you can access the data.
On an iPhone, this typically means going to “Cellular/Mobile Data” in your phone settings, and selecting “Turn On This Line” for your eSIM. You’ll also need to enable data roaming, along with a few other features. At the very end, you should turn airplane mode on and off to finish the activation.
The Airalo app does a really great job outlining the steps necessary to ensure your eSIM is connected and running smoothly. As I mentioned, it does take some time and a little patience. If you follow these steps and the ones outlined in the Airalo app, you will be smooth sailing with your travel eSIM in no time.
Airalo eSIM Review
Airalo takes a lot of the guesswork out of using an international eSIM on your trip. They are very good at explaining all the details needed to help you activate your eSIM and travel comfortably on the road.
We have run into a few small hiccups with Airalo in the past, but nothing took us more than half an hour to resolve on activation. They also have an excellent customer service team.
Regarding service while we’re on the road, I do find that the more local the eSIM carrier is (ie, Argentina vs. South America), the stronger the service will be. My Argentinian plan worked in all parts of Argentina, with small cutouts in remote areas, and it didn’t work for the few days I visited Uruguay. This was to be expected, but I was happy with this service.
In the end, I got everything I wanted out of my Airalo eSIM, and it certainly saved a few issues on our trip, and helped us plan as we went. Most importantly, it helped me save money and stay connected while on the road.
Hopefully by now, you’ve discovered the best eSIM for international travel, and plan on using Airalo on your next big trip! Make sure you let us know how it goes, and if you discover any other details in your experience.