Any opinions of e-sim airalo?

I used airalo while travelling through Greece last fall. Easy to add to my phone, reasonable prices, and worked with no issues for the whole 2 weeks as we travelled around !

I’ve been debating this too but you can’t make calls, it’s only data.

Samantha correct. if calls needed then local Sim is the way to go

Samantha you can install fongo app and make cheap calls over IP. Worked wellfor me

Samantha use a voip service

Samantha I have a Skype account to make calls outbound if needed. It’s really cheap… a couple cents a minute. For inbound calls, I just ask people to use whatsapp or FaceTime audio.

I’ve used in various countries and have had no issues! It’s fairly simple to set up, top up if needed and never had problems with connection.

I always use airalo. Easy to use and no issues.

Purchased for Netherlands and Italy this past May. Neither worked
Install was not straight forward for the phone settings I had and the chat help feature didn’t work. We tried it because so many of our colleagues use and love it while travelling.

Julie same happened to me in Israel! I was unable to use it. I ended buying a physical sim

Perlawell now I feel better
Airlo is such a great concept. I’m glad most people have had success using it.

Julie mine would not work initially, but it ended up being because the roaming needed to be on or off, I forget which. Once I changed the setting, it worked perfectly.

Cristina same here, needs a little fiddling…

Cristina same but only in Korea, other countries like Japan, Taiwan, Portugal worked

Used it in England and Ireland. Worked well and good price

dep where you go and for how long-
for single country for less than 3 wks, totally better deal. if not, say, for pan-europe, better to get a cheap sim while in europe.
rural areas can have some problem with connectivity.

It’s awesome! Very easy to install !

Excellent I’ve been using it on and off for the last 6 months

I’ll give it a whirl. Thanks everyone !

A bit of a pain to install but works great once you figure it out. Used it in a few countries.

We use Holafly. Only used it in the US though. I don’t know about overseas.

I'm using it right now in Greece. Connection for data is great - but no calling like with local sims. Nice to track your usage and easily add on data in English

Use air alo everywhere I go. No issues. Simple to activate

I used it the US recently and I found it very easy to set up - and affordable.

I bought it in NY and had no problems with it. In some countries is worth it. In others is cheaper just to get a regular sim card

Just remember to delete the app and related files when you're done with it.

I’ve only ever tried it in Arizona and honestly found the service pretty spotty in places that should have had good coverage, like Phoenix and Sedona. My device is 4 years old, so not sure if that had an impact.

My sister used it in multiple countries with no issue. I however screwed up the install so just read the instructions carefully.

Always works well for me

I was going to buy the Europe pack since it includes all of the places I’m going next week - has anyone done that? Or is it better to buy separately for each country..?

Kelly The multi-country SIMS are always more expensive than buying a similar data package for each country, but have the advantage of a) working everywhere you go and b) not leaving extra 'unused data' 'on the table' when you leave the country. So it could end being cheaper.
If I were going to be in multiple countries over multiple days, I'd get a Euro-wide SIM. It may cost a few extra bucks, but worth it knowing it's less hassle.

Kellyused Europe package in April in London, throughout Scotland, Paris, throughout Portugal. No problems anywhere. Used about 8 gigs in a month.

Great to hear - thank you both!

Kelly used it for England, Scotland, Switzerland, France and Germany earlier this month. No problem!

Kelly Just came back 2 days ago. I used the euro e-sim in Italy and Albania. Worked great!

Using it now for Germany/Belgium/UK. Works great. Can easily switch on & off for usage too.
There’s a discount for first time users as well:
https://ref.airalo.com/PbCm
REF.AIRALO.COM
eSIM data packs

Kelly can be used in multiple countries.

airalo was simple & convenient. Used in Europe

Worked great for me in all of Europe, use them all the time

Works great. Was in Amsterdam, and now in Norway. Never had an issue activating. For Android, use QR code to install eSim.

I’ve used it but personally think buying a local sim is much cheaper. You’re paying like $5USD for 2-3gb with airalo. I just came back from Italy, Portugal, Spain and paid 30€ for 70gb of data, with unlimited text and calls.

I've used it twice, and it works ok, I had to select a roaming partner other than the default one to get better coverage. I think it's ok for one or two days, anything longer and I'd recommend buying a local Sim card.

I purchased one to use on a recent trip to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It worked as expected. The only issue I had was that because there's no phone #, I couldn't set up apps (to rent bikes, for example) while I was there. The set ups often require the texting of a code. Which I couldn't do because I didn't have a #. So, just make sure to set up any apps you might use before you leave!

Used it in Europe, US, Mexico, Turkey. Easy install, decent rates. You can get cheaper sim cards in some european countries - but it often requires knowing where you're going or staying in line in airports to get and install one etc. So for about 15-20% more (still waaaaaay cheaper than Canadian roaming) you skip all lines, efortlessly install your e-sim before take of, switch the e-sim before putting your phone back from Airplane mode upon landing - and voila! Keep in mind, it's data only. So make sure you're not expecting calls from anyone who doesn't call via WatsApp, like doctors or banks. Data plan works great and easy to top up if you're running low

Irene I’m Canadian too wanting to try airalo for Italy travel. I have whatsapp on cell already. So I can use airalo while in Italy with this app not connected on wifi?
Newbie here…..

Dawn yup. You’ll be able to just use your whatsapp like you do in Canada on airalo esim

Irene perfect
Thanks so much!

Dawn just make sure that when you land your canadian line is off and airalo esim is on. I didn’t switch right away and only did while waiting for the luggage - and our wonderful Fido charged me for a day of roam like home for whatever my iPhone did in the background sitting in my pocket while I walked through the airport. I was able to dispute it as traffic was like 0.1mb or so but it was still annoying AF

Irene Canadian rates are absolutely brutal compared to the rest of the world.
We are so over priced in everything!
Thanks for the heads up.

I tried it but not being able to make calls didn’t work for me.

Dawn how were you trying to make calls? airalo only gives you data, so you’d need to use whatsapp or another internet calling app to make calls with it.

Shaun so I discovered. I was trying to retrieve VM on my phone and ended up having my partner, who wasn’t travelling with me, check my phone & send me a synopsis of the message via WhatsApp.

I just bought Nomad for Europe.... 10GB for 30 days, $24.50

I'm finishing up a euro trip and we started in Lisbon. I picked up a Nos Data card, 5g +20g. It gave me a portugal # that I barely used but It kept my whatsapp accessible and the data usage is GREAT. The card is applicable for all of Europe. I used it in portugal, England, Germany and now Netherlands and I still have over 9g left. I apparently have the ONLY Samsung that doesn't allow for an esim but tbh the Nos data card was perfect.
(Samsung FE20 ON KOODO.)

Christin haha I have Samsung F21 FE (I think) and didn't allow me either to install an e-sim card in May when I was in Europe.

Corina it's some bs lol1

No issues. Very simple to use

Using it now in Europe…good experience so far!

Pretty good. I used it in Brazil and Argentina and Italy
last few months ago. No issues to receive signals
Ask someone to send you referrals code. You can get credits to use on data purchases

I only get LTE+ speed with airalo as opposed to 5G if I turn my data on.

Used it in Germany Switzerland Italy amsterdam Japan taiwan Thailand. No issues at all.
Of course your phone needs to be compatible and you will need to have some understanding of how eSIM work (or take time to learn it the first time diligently)

Works well in the US and Europe, using for 3 years now. Couple of minor issues, but customer service is very good. Read the set up instructions carefully and follow step by step. Make sure you turn off you main sim to avoid accidental roaming charges.

Used one in Oz back in May for two weeks, worked great with no issues

worked great for me in Italy!

I use it all the time now when traveling. It’s great! No voice calls, but I don’t like voice calls anyway.

Love it!

Used it in South Africa, Europe, and USA everywhere worked fine, simple to use!!!

I used it in multiple continents (you can purchase by continent or by country). I consider myself semi-tech savvy and I had issues only once. It’s not straight forward but it’s not too bad. They do a pretty good job explaining it.
You can use this referral code and we both get $3 US off:
VANESS0589

We used it on a Danube River Cruise. It worked very well.

I used it in Mexico, Scotland and Portugal,no issues.

Love it

I'm using it to type this. I'm currently using it in my home country of Canada and it's cheaper than going with one of my Canadian companies. Works great, uses the same networks and is convenient.

I like it

Used it in Greece this past spring and it was great.

Good choice, I went with MobiMatter because it gave me a much better rate of 10 GB for $12US in Europe. Either airalo or MobiMatter are great. CAUTION - if it does not seem to activate, play around with roaming setting. It took me an hour to figure that out, then it was smooth sailing.

Cristina I also have and love mobimatter, only thing is it doesn't work for Japan on Pixel phones!

Didn’t work for me in Greece. I requested help and they got back to me AFTER I arrived home. Gee thanks

Used last month in Asia and it worked great. Easy to use, easy to top up and no issues moving between countries. Many in our travel group used it and Whats App for communication. Agree to make sure cellular settings are off before landing.

Worked great for my trip to western europe. Only thing was when the data limit expired on one of the sim, it was deactivated and even after topping up data, I had to manually turn it back on their website, restart the phone to get the data working on it.

I used it for NYC and it was easy. I watched this video and walked me through it
https://youtu.be/Pi1Cb1tEeSI
YOUTUBE.COM
Getting Started with airalo in 2023 | Full iPhone Tutorial

Dubai and Jamaica are only places it hasn’t worked for me.

I use it everytime I travel to New country. Works great!

Worked great in Italy and Austria for data use.

Worked for me while I was in the US for two months but having the SIM wouldn’t let me access some apps, such as TikTok. It kept saying I was in Hong Kong and TikTok isn’t supported there. Guess that’s where airalo is based out of and registered to

Used it in the US and recently in Japan and it's great!

I'm in Peru right now and bought the global esim as it was cheaper than the Latin American one for some reason. It worked for me in Santiago but not Easter Island, airalo has confirmed that their partner network doesn't operate there. No problems in Peru except for the occasional dead areas but that's to be expected as we're doing long drives in the Andes, service usually comes back near the towns. It's useful to have data for whatsapp, translating and navigating though some might prefer to have regular calling and texting as well.

Used it in 4 diff European countries - easy to use and works fine

Used it on France and Japan recently on a trip and it worked fine!
No calling though, only data. Not AS cheap as physical SIMs in Europe, but for the ease and convenience of not having to take your own SIM out/bringing a stick to push out your sim/etc., it was worth the slight price difference.

It depends more on what network it connects to. For example it connect to t mobile in the USA, which is great, but In Mexico it’s AT&T which is crap and almost unusable. Look at that as an equal factor

Just downloaded it for my trip to Bali!

Worked perfectly in Portugal this March/ April. Highly recommend

Ireland, Thailand, Cambodia and UE. No issue

It’s great!

Works great

Linda Thompson

Linda Thompson

Worked fine for me in Costa Rica

Linda Thompson

I use it every time and it works great. I've got a global sim, regionals for Europe and South American, one for Greece..... all worked fine. I had issues with one in Belize and they helped me fix it. The only downside is no phone number which can be a hassle for the 2 factor authentication thing everyone wants these days.
Use my code and we both get $3 USD off. JODEA3430
https://www.airalo.com/
AIRALO.COM
Local and regional eSIMs for travellers - airalo

Used it in France and Germany last year, super easy, cheap, worked well.

I just used it last month and it worked great for hong Kong and Japan. You can also use it as a hotspot.

Used it in Aruba and loved it.

Overall it was great in holland, France and England although I had challenges in some parts of rural England and the chat or help feature was very very slow in getting back to me.
The other issue I discovered was two step verification for online purchases etc where the bank wanted to text me a code. I could change the method of verification but that also requires a two step verification! Lesson learned. Change your two step verification to email before you travel.

I have used it 5 times now (single countries) and I’m getting the euro pack next year

Works fantastic!

Love it

Linda Thompson

Just back from a 2 week motorcycle trip to the US...spent $8 on data the whole trip. Combine it with textnow app and text and do calls on wifi for free, or using your airilo data. Worked great and beats the $150 Virgin would have charged!

Works well in Mexico and US!

Works well in Europe

I'm planning to use it in Iceland in a few weeks. I tried it out first using a small Canadian plan and had no problems.

Huge hassles, every time. Same for my daughter.

If you are going to Europe, you might consider orange which gives you talk as well as data. https://travel.orange.com/en/faq/
TRAVEL.ORANGE.COM
orange Travel - FAQ - Frequently asked questions

https://travel.orange.com/en/
TRAVEL.ORANGE.COM
orange Travel - Buy and recharge your international SIM and E-SIM cards

Used Asia package loved it. If you need referral code Referral code: JEMY8791

Amazing!

I use it a lot but for example I was in Latvia about 2 weeks ago and I bought a local SIM card 5€ for unlimited data for 7 days that’s crazy cheap and u can use it anywhere in Europe too.

Works well. Just used it for Croatia , England , and Bosnia. if you're using android remember to follow the full procedure. You can use my code to get $3 off too! ANDY0221

I used it in Jan 2023 while in India and had no issues

If you're staying somewhere long term, a local sim may be cheaper. But airalo is great otherwise

Linda Thompson

Yes, I’ve used them in the UK and Europe. Only data (no calling) but perfect for navigating with.

We used it recently in France and works like a charm! Highly recommended. Buy it from their app and install while still in TO. It will automatically activate when you land in your destination. But make sure you install the eSIM at least a day prior to your departure.

Used it in Netherlands, Iceland, Portugal and the USA without any difficulty. Last trip we purchased and installed it right before boarding the plane. Used just over 4 out of 5G in 9 days in Portugal.

I’m not tech-savvy enough for it…I struggled to get it operating

airalo is excellent! I’ve used it in Europe and in the US.

Very good experience for 1 month sim across Europe