E Sim for several countries?

Frosty_Jack

I was thinking of planning a trip, and thought how convenient (even essential) an e sim would be. From what I gather you have to choose the country you are choosing to use it in before you fly off. But what if you are going to, say, 3 or more countries and have no set dates for each new arrival? (Apart from the first arrival). Basically leaving when you are ready and not pre-planning. Is there a way around this? I suppose you could estimate how long you would stay there, and if the data runs out just rely on WiFi? Also this assumes you can pick 3 or more countries in a shortish time frame.

born_again

Some such as Holafly do via regions.

Just remember to look on U-Tube as many such as True Blue Travelers have discount codes on them. 👍

virgo17

I have used both Roamless and BNE eSims in many parts of the world, both in and outside of Europe. Neither of these require you to specify the country to be visited.

Occasionally they may ask which country you are visiting to show you the data allowance as that varies with some countries being more expensive for a given amount of data.

This year we have been to Greece, Italy, Germany and Singapore and the two eSims above have worked in all.

hugheskevi

I travelled the Americas a few years back over an extended period without any pre-planned entry/exits dates for any countries beyond the USA and Canada, taking an e-Sim phone with me. 

I regretted it a lot, and only used e-SIM once when we were spending a very short time in Canada. For all the other countries in central and south America I used 3 PAYG or local SIMS that were much cheaper than e-Sims. I would have much preferred to have 2 physical SIM slots, as I often needed my UK SIM to receive codes to get into websites.

Relying on wifi is not great. You can download offline maps for directions, but things like Uber are going to need a connection. The only country I relied only on wifi for was Paraguay, as getting a local SIM was a big phaff and we weren't there for very long.

kipsterno1

I have used Airalo several times. Not the cheapest out there but good CS and worked well. They do regional esims as well as individual countries. All the ones I have installed had an option to add extra data and increasing the length of time they were active. 

Frosty_Jack

virgo17 said:

I have used both Roamless and BNE eSims in many parts of the world, both in and outside of Europe. Neither of these require you to specify the country to be visited.

Occasionally they may ask which country you are visiting to show you the data allowance as that varies with some countries being more expensive for a given amount of data.

This year we have been to Greece, Italy, Germany and Singapore and the two eSims above have worked in all.

So when you buy your eSim before you fly out can you simply not have to specify where it is for? So, for example, you touch down in Dubai, and your eSim will automatically work. Then, a week later in Thailand...the same? If that's the case do the more well known eSims like Saily and Airalo do the same?

LillythePink

I also use Airalo and have found the app easy to use and the e-sims easy to get and apply when away.

I do use them in specific countries mainly France and Spain so will get sims to suit, but once it's installed, easy to get more data if required or renew on my next trip

virgo17

Frosty_Jack said:

virgo17 said:

I have used both Roamless and BNE eSims in many parts of the world, both in and outside of Europe. Neither of these require you to specify the country to be visited.

Occasionally they may ask which country you are visiting to show you the data allowance as that varies with some countries being more expensive for a given amount of data.

This year we have been to Greece, Italy, Germany and Singapore and the two eSims above have worked in all.

So when you buy your eSim before you fly out can you simply not have to specify where it is for? So, for example, you touch down in Dubai, and your eSim will automatically work. Then, a week later in Thailand...the same? If that's the case do the more well known eSims like Saily and Airalo do the same?

Yes, that is correct. Both of my eSims are on a non expiry (rather than monthly) scheme. This means you pay for a certain value of data which lowers your balance as you use it. The benefit of this is that you can activate the eSim before you leave the UK and there is no time expiry. Indeed you can use the eSim in the UK to roam data on a UK network.

Take a look at this page:-

https://roamless.com/features

and look at the Roamless Flex section. The only slight disadvantage in doing things this way is that the cost of the data is slightly higher than a fixed term plan. For my use, I am happy to pay the slightly higher data cost for the peace of mind that data will not expire until actually used. Also, getting off the plane at destination the connection is immediate. Can't speak for the other companies you mention as I have not used them.

If you do need to top up whilst away it is easily accomplished using the Roamless app.


 

saajan_12

It doesn't HAVE to be done before you leave. You do need to be connected to the internet, so while that could be easier when at home, it could equally be at an airport / hotel wifi or even data from a prior esim to search and download the sim. 

So if you can't get one esim for the region, then I'd get something for the first country and then when you're booking your transport out, also buy an esim for the next country and so on. 

kipsterno1

saajan_12 said:

It doesn't HAVE to be done before you leave. You do need to be connected to the internet, so while that could be easier when at home, it could equally be at an airport / hotel wifi or even data from a prior esim to search and download the sim. 

So if you can't get one esim for the region, then I'd get something for the first country and then when you're booking your transport out, also buy an esim for the next country and so on. 

I think if you are traveling to Turkey you need to set the esim up before you arrive as the country has restrictions on activating esims. 

mrcamp

I have used Airalo and Nomad Esims in Indonesia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. They both worked seamlessly. Just make sure you phone is unlocked. I was able to continue to receive my texts obn my main line, while I have the Esim for data.Very straight forward instructions and videos out there on how to use/activate these sims. Just check their respective websites.