Have you been wondering what is the best eSIM for international travel? I’ve got you covered!
After 7 years of full-time travel as a digital nomad, I’ve found the perfect solution for having data and internet abroad wherever I go. If you’re in the Digital Nomad Society, you’ll know that I use Holafly eSIM and it really is the best international eSIM for travelers.
I have purchased Holafly for an Europe eSIM, UK eSIM and Indonesia eSIM, for lengths varying from a few days to more than 90 days at a time – overall the speed, service, and ease to install are simply unparalleled!
If you want to be connected in your destination country from the moment you land at the airport, keep reading! I’m so excited to be sharing this Holafly eSIM review with you all after purchasing them so many times for my travels.
And if you’re here for an Holafly eSIM discount code, use this link and WANDERLOVER at checkout for 5% off your order!
What is Holafly?
Holafly is an eSIM service that allows you to download an electronic embedded SIM card wherever you are in the world and be connected to the internet. You are able to install it alongside a physical SIM card which means you do not need to remove your physical SIM card.
What is an eSIM?
An eSIM is a digital alternative to the traditional physical SIM cards that you install in your phone. You simply scan a QR code, and it automatically installs electronically. Which means you connect to the data network immediately and can start browsing!
Why do you need eSIM cards when you travel?
The main reasons I’ve needed an eSIM when traveling is to be connected immediately when I land, without the need to replace my existing physical SIM card.
I can also do things like video call my friends and family with no delays, as sometimes the wi-fi at my hotel or accommodation is unreliable.
With an eSIM, you can order Ubers and taxis from the airport without having to find wifi, plus use Google Maps if you are doing a road trip across countries.
If you are like me and need to be connected to run your business or stay on top of socials and emails, having unlimited internet makes your life so much easier!
Who is Holafly for?
Holafly is the perfect solution for travelers who are planning a vacation, a backpacking trip, a business trip, or even digital nomads who are traveling for an extended period of time. If you like to be connected from the minute you land in a new country, then this is for you!
There is no limit as to how many times you can sign up for a plan, and they even offer a refund guarantee if your plans change or if you’re not satisfied, but we’ll get into all of these amazing features later!
Where is Holafly available?
Holafly plans are available in more than 177+ countries worldwide, and you are able to purchase regional plans covering whole continents. That’s what I did using Holafly eSIM Europe as we were road tripping, and it was super fast and convenient. I didn’t even realize when we crossed country borders and changed carriers because it was so seamless.
Holafly eSIM Features
Unlimited Data Plans (3G/4G/LTE)
One of my favorite features about Holafly is its unlimited data. Because I’m always on my phone uploading content, backing up my photos and videos, and communicating with my clients, it gives me so much peace of mind knowing that I won’t be capped at a certain data usage.
Ability to Change to Fastest Carrier Available
The other thing that I learned about Holafly while island hopping in Indonesia is you can manually select to be connected to the fastest network at that specific location.
When I was in Indonesia, the fastest data network varied between the islands. So instead of having a physical SIM card that only allowed me to connect to one network, I was able to select from ALL of the available networks in that region, since Holafly has partnerships with multiple, and choose whichever one was fastest.
This was so helpful because in some remote areas, only one network would work. Instead of buying that specific SIM card just for that one island, I was able to use Holafly around the whole country.
24/7 Customer Service Support
Which brings me to my next point of their 24/7 customer service, who truly go above and beyond with helping you if you have trouble! I was able to switch to the fastest network in Indonesia because I had contacted Holafly on Whatsapp and immediately received a response.
They were able to walk me through the technical steps to make sure the speed and coverage was exactly what I was looking for.
Country-Specific and Regional Plans
Another thing I love about Holafly is their flexibility in plans depending on what type of trip you are planning. They are active in over 177+ countries, and have regional plans as follows:
- Europe: Connection in more than 30 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
- Asia: you get Internet connection in South Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Laos.
- North America: Canada, the United States, and Mexico
- Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Nicaragua, Peru, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Puerto Rico and Uruguay
- United Kingdom
- Caribbean: Aruba, Barbados, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, British Virgin island, Cayman Island, Dominica, French Guiana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucias, St. Vincent and Grenadines
Easy Installation
As soon as you purchase Holafly, they will send you a QR code that you can scan and immediately activate if you are at your destination.
Refund Guarantee
If you have a change of plans and no longer need your Holafly eSIM, they provide you with a full refund. This applies if you accidentally purchase and have a locked device as well.
Holafly also offers a full or partial refund if the coverage at your travel destination is not what you expected. They are super flexible with this and their customer service will sort you out immediately!
Pros of Holafly
Flexible and Everything is Online
As an online business owner and full-time traveler who often does not know where I’m going to be throughout the year, I find Holafly’s flexibility and ease to purchase hard to beat. I don’t have to physically go to a store to get a SIM card. I can buy the eSIM any time before I travel or even after I arrive. It literally takes less than 5 minutes to set up.
Plus, if I decide to stay longer in a destination, it’s so easy for me to top up or extend my plan. Everything is online in your account, and they even have an app that makes it super easy for you to manage all your eSIMs with a tap of a button.
Regional Plans Available
If you are traveling to multiple countries in the same area, there are regional plans that make it a lot cheaper to have internet abroad for your whole trip. When I road tripped around Europe, I was connected through France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Portugal. It was so much better than buying a local SIM card in one country and having to potentially enter their roaming plan. Plus, the data in all of the countries I visited was unlimited, so I was truly connected 100% of the time.
Competitive Pricing
Holafly’s flat fee for an unlimited package often comes out cheaper than if you had to buy SIM cards individually, or use roaming. I was in the UK for a few months last year planning my wedding, and was able to be connected to their fastest network for a fraction of what the actual network cost. I highly recommend the Holafly eSIM UK – I even purchased another 90 days after my first one expired!
The other thing that Holafly saves you is your TIME, which is invaluable. You don’t have to deal with any kiosks or finding the best network at your destination. You can immediately start your trip and have internet access!
Highly Recommended
Holafly continuously gets 4 and 5 star reviews from all their users. They currently have a 4.6 star rating with over 37,000 reviews!
After contacting support via WhatsApp a few times, I can confidently recommend their team in going above and beyond to solve your issues. They truly put the customer first. Although I can’t speak for the coverage in every single country, I know they will be able to answer all your questions beforehand!
Peace of Mind
You can completely get rid of all stress from your phone service while traveling abroad! You know you can be connected all the time without worrying about how much data you’re using, or how much your phone company will charge you for roaming service.
Cons of Holafly
Cannot Hotspot
With most Holafly plans, you are not able to hotspot to other people or devices. This means, you cannot purchase an unlimited data plan and then share it with other people or your laptop.
However, with some regional plans, you are given a quota per day that you’re allowed to share. Most of the time, this was fine as I would be connected to internet on my laptop when I needed to work.
Your phone must be eSIM compatible
Holafly also doesn’t work with every phone, so you need to make sure yours is eSIM compatible and unlocked. You can find out if your phone is compatible on their website.
No local phone number
With an eSIM, you don’t get a local phone number in the destination country or region, which means you are not able to make phone calls or send SMS texts.
However, you can use WhatsApp (and keep your number in WhatsApp!) to make phone calls or video calls.
I have an iPhone and also was able to FaceTime and iMessage friends and family back home from my phone number and email connected to my Apple ID, so not being able to send text messages was not an issue.
With iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and email, I was able to contact everyone that I needed to without having a local phone number, so this wasn’t an issue for me!
My Experience Using Holafly
Holafly is hands down a major trip enhancement, and it just makes traveling so much easier from the moment you land. I love that I’m able to text people as soon as the plane lands on the runway and I’m able to order Ubers out of the airport. If there was any delay, I can text my driver or friends to let them know.
While traveling across different countries, it makes it stress-free to use Google Maps wherever I go, without even the thought that I crossed a country border and might need to switch networks. Holafly does that immediately and switches to the fastest local network.
While traveling between large countries, having an eSIM allows you to be connected the entire time, without having to change to a SIM card that works best in the local area. For example, in East Indonesia, Telkomsel worked best, but in Sumatra area, XL was the only network that worked. I was able to connect to both without having to buy two separate SIM cards or visit a store.
Because my plans are so loose and I often don’t know where I’m going to go, it gives me peace of mind knowing that I’ll be connected with a click of a button!
How to Install an Holafly eSIM card
After you purchase your plan, it will start counting towards your quota as soon as you activate it, so you will want to activate it on your flight or when you arrive.
Scan the QR Code or Install Manually
You will receive a unique QR code to install via email and WhatsApp (if you are a return customer). In order to be able to scan this code, open up the email on another device such as your laptop, or take a screenshot of the QR code and airdrop or message it to someone else.
Follow the installation instructions on your iPhone
Your phone will walk you through the steps of finishing the installation, which takes no more than 5 minutes. You simply have to choose what to name your new eSIM as, and customize a few other settings to your liking.
Holafly Pricing
Holafly pricing varies depending on the number of days of your trip, and whether you are buying an eSIM for one country or a region.
To give you an idea of what the prices are, I have bought 5 days of unlimited data in Indonesia for $19 USD ($3.8/day) to 3 months of unlimited data in Europe for $99 USD (around $1/day) for unlimited data.
As you can see, the price will vary depending on how long you are staying and what country or countries you are visiting.
Holafly Alternatives
There are alternatives to using an Holafly eSIM, all of which I’ve used before, and here are my thoughts!
Pay roaming charges with your current data plan
Depending on your carrier in your home country and the duration of your trip, you may opt to just pay for all roaming charges abroad. Sometimes, this can add up so I would recommend checking to see there are no hidden fees with roaming. Depending on the destination country, these charges can add up, especially if you have settings like automatic cloud backup enabled.
I made the mistake with this once (and never again) because I elect to automatically sync all my iCloud photos, emails, notes etc. and this ended up costing many gigabytes of data usage without me knowing!
Physical SIM cards at your destination country
Back in the day, buying a physical SIM card was the only option to be connected to the data network at a destination. However, with the eSIM option, you save time by not having to go into a physical store.
Most of the time nowadays, I will have both a physical SIM card that allows me to hotspot and an eSIM. Because a physical SIM card usually comes with network limitations, and an eSIM doesn’t allow hotspots, having both makes all my travels and online business needs 100% stress-free!
Airalo
I first heard about Airalo from a friend who had used the app to purchase an eSIM card. However, after downloading the app, I realized you were only able to download an eSIM from obscure carriers that I have never heard of. Plus, the data is limited and is EXPENSIVE compared to what you get with Holafly.
For example, in Indonesia, you would only get 1 GB for $5.50 USD, versus getting unlimited data for a day using Holafly for the same price.
Additionally, with Airalo, you are subscribed to a network called Indotel, which I’ve never heard of before. As an American citizen, if I browse through the eSIM for the US, they partner with a network that I have also never heard of before. This holds true for many other countries that I browse through.
Because of this, you can clearly see how users are not satisfied as they have a 2.3 star score from Trustpilot, while Holafly has 4.6
In conclusion, Holafly definitely makes it their goal to partner with the fastest, most reliable networks wherever you go.
Holafly Reviews: The Best eSIM For International Travel
FAQs About Holafly eSIM
Can I use my physical SIM card and an eSIM at the same time?
Yes! I use a physical SIM card and an eSIM all the time in order to be able to get all the features I need: fast internet, hotspot, being connected as I’m country hopping through a region. It is so easy to turn off one or the other in your phone settings as well.
How long is my data package valid for?
Your Holafly data package will be valid for the entire duration that you purchased. This can be from 1 full day to 90 days. The time starts counting from the moment of activation, so they recommend that you land in your destination country first before activating it on your cell phone for the first time.
You can purchase another eSIM card afterwards if you want to extend. I have done this and it’s so easy!
How fast is Holafly eSIM?
You will have reliable connection with high speed 4G and 5G. Their speeds are on par with the fastest networks in the country, as they often partner with the largest ones.
As an online business owner, Holafly allows me to have video calls with no delays, share stories, reels, and videos with no delays. Uploads are always super fast!
Is Holafly eSIM reliable?
Given that I am always on my phone, I have never had an issue with the reliability of Holafly eSIMs. Their product and customer service team get five stars from me!
Is Holafly really unlimited data?
Yes, Holafly’s data is truly unlimited and you won’t ever run out of data. However, because Holafly partners with big carriers in every country, some carriers might impose what they call a “Fair Usage Policy” if necessary where they decrease your connection speeds after a certain usage amount, to protect all their users.
You won’t ever run out of data, you might just experience lower internet speeds.
For example, in the US, Holafly partners with AT&T, who supposedly decreases your connection speed after exceeding the first 22GB. This applies for all AT&T customers, not only Holafly.
Of course, this depends on the network itself. If Holafly’s partner networks do not have maximum caps on the bandwidth, then you won’t either.
But all that’s to say, yes you WILL have unlimited data!
You can also find more of their FAQs on their website!
Final Thoughts: Is Holafly Worth It?
In conclusion, I love using Holafly as an eSIM card and will continue using them as I travel around the world. It is so easy to set up, and perfect for my digital nomad lifestyle offering unlimited data and 24/7 customer support. Give them a try and I know you won’t be disappointed; you’ll probably never go back to traveling without one!
Remember to use code WANDERLOVER at checkout for 5% off your order (including top ups)!
Leave a comment below if you have any questions about using an eSIM for your next trip!
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