Internet while traveling abroad. This method will save your vacation

The days when the only way to stay connected to the world while traveling abroad was to buy a SIM card at the airport are gone forever. Now, tourists can buy a local operator’s card without leaving home. eSIM technology has been around for a few years now, but not everyone knows how to use it. We’ll show you how to use this service to use mobile data from almost anywhere in the world.

Internet while traveling

Attractive roaming packages from our operator may not be enough if we are going on holiday to more distant places. Surprised tourists in Turkey or Albania have often found out how high the bills for using the internet outside the Schengen area can be. The record holder – an American on holiday in Switzerland, received a demand for payment for the equivalent of about half a million zlotys. Prudent holidaymakers usually stock up on a SIM card immediately after landing. However, local operator packages available at airports are usually much more expensive than those bought in a supermarket. Some countries require immediate registration of the card, which may involve an additional cost when buying it. Buying a card from an unverified source (at a market, in a local shop) is subject to the risk of fraud. ESIM is, alongside the Wi-Fi Calling service, a real travel revolution that solves all the above problems. Although this technology has been available on the market for several years, many tourists still have no idea about it.

What is eSIM and where to buy it?

The electronic card allows you to use the internet anywhere in the world for a small price. Best of all, you can buy it without leaving your home before your vacation. ESIM solves the eternal problems of tourists wondering where, when and from whom to buy a local card to enjoy the internet on vacation without high roaming fees. You can buy an electronic SIM card in one of several popular applications on the market. The most popular of them are Airalo, available in both the Play Store and the App Store, as well as the Revolut bank application (which requires setting up an online account).

“The eSIM card is a quick solution that allows you to access mobile data whenever you want, regardless of whether you are abroad or do not have access to a physical SIM card. In the case of the eSIM card, you can buy a mobile data package through the Airalo app. You can install the card itself using a QR code, download it manually or install it directly on a device that supports eSIM cards,” we read on the Airalo website. To use the eSIM, all you need is a smartphone that has this function.

How much is it?

How does it look in practice and how much does such a solution cost? In the case of most countries in the world, surprisingly little. Using the Revolut application, for 1 GB of internet in Turkey, we will pay PLN 20, and for 10 GB – PLN 70. The offers are time-limited and usually amount to 7 days for small packages and up to 60 days for eSIM cards with 50 GB in the offer. A week in the United States? For just PLN 235 in the application, we can buy as much as 10 gigabytes. The most expensive packages await us in the Caribbean – on the island of St Lucia, the cost of 1 GB for a week is as much as PLN 145. Travelers will also like regional options (covering a selected continent) and global internet – in the case of Revolut, covering 108 selected countries in the world at a price of PLN 35 per gigabyte.

If you have the DualSIM option (available on many modern smartphones), you will be able to keep your national phone number (receive incoming calls and text messages) while using mobile internet with a local operator. You will find the option to enable eSIM in the mobile network configuration settings.