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Airalo ESIM Review: The Best Way To Stay Connected Abroad

I'm Carol Cram, novelist, podcaster, and travel writer, and founder of Art In Fiction, a curated database of 2600+ novels inspired by the arts. Artsy Traveler contains affiliate links for products and services I personally use and recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read the Disclosure for more information.

Last updated on April 30th, 2026 at 08:48 pm

On a trip to Europe a few years back, I sprinted into a cell phone store in Germany at five minutes to six, desperate to buy a local SIM card before it closed.

Fortunately for me, the English-speaking attendant very kindly kept the store open long enough to sell me a SIM card and even put it into my phone.

But it was close. Too close. If I hadn’t made it to the store, I was facing an evening out with no access to Google Maps while navigating a new city, no way to check restaurant reviews, and no way to WhatsApp a tour operator with a question I had about the next day’s excursion.

Over the years, I’ve spent an embarrassing number of vacation hours hunched over my phone armed with a tiny metal pick, prying open the SIM slot, fumbling with a wafer-thin card, and then watching my data evaporate faster than I expected.

I’ve run out of data in inconvenient places more times than I care to admit.

Fortunately, a better way has come along. About three years ago I switched to buying eSIMs from Airalo. In this Airalo eSIM review, I’ll share everything I’ve learned, including the mistakes I made early on.

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What Is an eSIM?

An eSIM is a digital SIM card that is built into your phone. Instead of buying a physical card and having to swap it for the card that’s already in your phone (a picky process), you download a data plan directly to your device.

No more fussing with tiny picks that you invariably lose. No more dropping wafer-thin cards on the carpet to get stepped on. No more wandering around a new city looking for a cell phone store.

Airalo is one of the leading eSIM providers for travelers, with coverage in over 200 countries and regions. Buy your plan through the Airalo app or website, install it in a few minutes, and you’re connected.

Before you buy, check that your phone supports eSIM technology. Most iPhones from the XS onwards are compatible, as are most recent Android flagship models.

If you’re not sure, Airalo has a compatibility checker on their website. It takes about 30 seconds and saves you from a nasty surprise.

I’m writing this review of Airalo because I’ve used their eSIM cards over multiple trips to Europe and the United States, and on a recent trip to Thailand. My recommendation is based on my own experience and the opinions expressed are my own.

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The Single Most Important Thing to Know: Set It Up Before You Leave

This is the tip I wish someone had given me when I first started using eSIMS.

Don’t wait until you land to install your Airalo eSIM. The moment your plane touches down and you take your phone off Airplane Mode, your phone starts searching for a signal. It will connect through your home carrier which will immediately charge roaming fees.

Depending on your plan, these can be substantial. Even just a few minutes can cost you.

Instead, do this at home on your own Wi-Fi, before you leave:

1. Download the Airalo app.
2. Purchase the eSIM plan for your destination.
3. Install and activate the eSIM: Airalo walks you through it step by step.
4. Before you leave home, set Airalo as your default data line and turn off data roaming on your home SIM.

That’s it. When you land, your phone connects through Airalo automatically. You can check your email and make a reservation for your first dinner in your new destination before you even leave the plane.

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What About My Home Number?

Good question, and one that confused me at first.

When you travel with an Airalo eSIM, your phone runs two lines at the same time: your Airalo data line and your home number.

Here’s what each one does:

Airalo gives you data to use to browse the internet, search Google Maps, make WhatsApp calls, check restaurant reviews, buy tickets through tours apps, and so on.

If it’s a task you do on the Internet when you’re out and about and not on Wi-Fi, it’s a task that’s run through the Airalo eSIM.

Your home number stays quietly active in the background. It can still receive texts, including those security codes your bank or email sends when you log in, without triggering roaming charges, provided you’re not using your phone to make calls.

NOTE: Check with your home provider to verify that you can receive texts while abroad without incurring any costs. Some home carriers may charge a small fee to receive texts abroad.

So how do you make and receive phone calls when you’re traveling?

Use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Both of these run over Airalo data. Before you leave home, download WhatsApp to your phone. It’s used just about everywhere in Europe. It’s also very popular in Thailand.

You’ll often be asked to communicate via WhatsApp with apartment owners, hotels, drivers, tour operators, and new friends.

When I’m traveling, I use Facebook Messenger to chat with people back home who don’t have WhatsApp, and I use WhatsApp to call people in Europe or Asia. While traveling abroad, I’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t use WhatsApp.

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How Much Data Should I Buy?

I consistently underestimated how much data I needed when I first started using Airalo eSIMs.

As a result, I became very familiar with the Airalo top-up process which is, to be fair, extremely easy. You’ll get a notice that your data is getting low and given the option to buy more data. It’s pretty painless.

But top-ups can add up so it’s more economical to buy one package that offers all the data you think you’ll use.

If you travel the way I do, using Google Maps throughout the day to get around a city, checking restaurant reviews, making occasional short WhatsApp calls, checking email and social media, and avoiding video streaming, you can probably get by with 5 GB for a week.

If you’re driving a lot with Google Maps always on, or you’re spending time in areas with unreliable Wi-Fi, buy a larger package. I found I really burned through the data on long driving days.

One tip that makes a real difference: download your Google Maps area for offline use before you leave the range of your hotel Wi-Fi. You’ll still get full navigation; you just won’t be able to view live traffic updates.

One more thing worth knowing: Airalo offers both country-specific plans as well as regional plans. If you’re visiting just one country, a local plan is usually the better value.

But if you’re traveling through several countries on the same trip, a regional plan means you won’t need to buy and install a new eSIM every time you cross a border. For a multi-country itinerary, it’s almost always the smarter choice.

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My Experience: The Honest Version

Three years into using Airalo, and after writing this Airalo review, my overall experience has been solidly positive.

That said, I’ve had a few moments where the eSIM didn’t connect properly on a particular phone, and I needed to contact customer support.

Fortunately, the support was actually helpful. I got a fast response, clear instructions, and my issue was resolved. That level of customer service is important. There’s nothing worse than being in a foreign city with a data problem and a chatbot that sends you in circles.

During my recent three-week trip in Thailand. I didn’t experience a single issue. The eSIM connected seamlessly, I topped up twice without any drama, and I spent exactly zero minutes worrying about data. That’s the goal.

I’m traveling to Europe twice in the coming months and will be using Airalo for both. It’s simply part of how I travel.

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eSIM Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Instant setup from your phone, no physical card required
• Coverage in 200+ countries and regions
• Easy top-ups directly in the app
• Useful customer support when you need it
• Significantly cheaper than paying your home carrier’s roaming rates

Cons:

• Data only; you’ll need to use WhatsApp or a similar app for calls
• Occasional connectivity hiccups depending on the phone (less common now than when I started using eSIMs)
• Unless you set up your eSIM before you leave home, you may incur unforeseen charges when you set it up in your destination country.

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How to Get Started

If you’re ready to leave the SIM card chaos behind, here’s what to do on Wi-Fi before you leave home:

• Download the Airalo app or visit the Airalo website.
• Search for your destination.
• Choose a plan that fits your trip length and data needs; get more than you think you’ll need.
• Follow the installation steps.

One small perk worth mentioning: Airalo has a rewards program called AirMoney. Every purchase earns credit that you can apply to future eSIM purchases. If you travel regularly, it adds up in a satisfying way.

Have you used eSIMs to stay connected while traveling? Share your experience in the comments below.

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