International Data

Going overseas and travelling to another country is exciting. However, it can also come with challenges.
Transportation. Lodgings. Language. Communication.

eSIM cards

eSIMs could not be simpler to use. Gone are the days when you had to physically swap out your SIM card. Assuming your phone was one that had a SIM card. I remember traveling in Europe with my favorite phone before I fell into the Apple pool, the SonyEricsson.  We travelled everywhere together but as soon as I landed abroad, I turned off all communication except for the time. Only essential functions.

Back in the day, any received data or mistakenly answered call would send your monthly bill into orbit. To avoid that, if you weren’t a financially deficient traveler like I was at the time, you bought a SIM card to use in the country and swapped yours out. Obviously, you had to find a way to keep your permanent SIM safe while the vacationer took its place. In a book. In your passport. In the container that the other purchased SIM came in and then in some pouch of your backpack that you hoped never opened until you needed to swap them back. It was stressful not immediately knowing how much data was left on your temporary SIM. It was stressful hoping that your bag wasn’t stolen. It was stressful in general.

Enter the new era of the eSIM. You go online before your trip and buy an eSIM package. The package is good for multiple countries. You activate it when you get to your destination country. Simple. When you run low you get notified. You top up on the go without having to find a store to add money to a SIM.

So many choices. I like Airalo but there are plenty out there. There are the established Holafly and Saily and there are newcomers like Mint Mobile. What matters are two things. Does it work in the countries you are traveling to? Do you like them? That’s it. All the rest is irrelevant. My native phone plan gives me some free data while traveling but if I go over, I go over. There is no oopsie clause or discount. With the eSIM, I’m able to choose when I want to use my own data and when I want to use my extra data. Much cheaper than coming home to a cellular surprise. This is definitely a “good to have” option especially with all the data floating around us at any moment.

Compare some of your options here.