SIMplifying eSIMs

Feeling SIMpaired when it comes to this type of tech? Here's my cheat-sheet.

If you’re anything like me, eSIM literacy ranks pretty damn low on your list of life skills. But here’s the thing - if you’re looking to travel overseas any time soon, you’ll need to face your international data demons at some point. Buying ONE eSIM for your entire trip will save you so much time and faffing about. The last thing you want to be doing is navigating a foreign city, sifting through local SIM providers and all their various plans at a dodgy airport stand, while trying to open that teeny-tiny trap door on the back of your phone with the stem of an earring.

Here’s where an eSIM will SIMplify things so you can stop mentally SIMploding and start SIMagining yourself on hols with loads of gigabytes up ya sleeve. Let us begin SIMmediately!

Step one - check that your device is compatible with eSIM technology. Most newer iPhones are, as are lots of Androids. If you have an older phone, you will need to get organised at least a couple of weeks prior to departure and purchase an actual SIM card from an online retailer like Sims Direct. There are plenty of these around - ask your friends who’ve they’ve used in the past - and they’ll mail out your physical SIM card. Allow 10 days just to be sure.

If you’re good to go on the eSIM front, Step two is to choose who you’d like to do business with. I went with Airolo. It came highly recommended as an easy-to-use eSIM and something you can set up right away, plus it doesn’t require you to take out your Aussie SIM card meaning you can keep your number which will allow you to receive comms as per usual while you’re OS. I’ve also heard great things about Holafly.

Step three for me was to download the Airlolo app to my phone and follow the prompts. I opted for a GLOBAL eSIM because we were gallivanting between three countries, but if you’re only getting cozy with one destination, you can select a LOCAL eSIM package and choose your country of choice.

Next, you’ll want to decide if you’re happy to do data only (think messenger, social media apps, emails, Google, WhatsApp) or if you’d prefer to have the Data/Calls/Text trifecta. Of course, the latter is dearer, but still reasonable. I chose the $35USD 5G data only option because I like to live on the edge…and I didn’t want my dentist to contact me re. my 6-monthly scale-and-clean. SPOILER ALERT: I’M STILL NOT FLOSSING, DARRYL. RACK OFF!

Over the course of our five-week trip, I ended up using two of these $35USD packs. I was pretty lax with the first bundle, checking social media, messaging friends, Googling ‘how many baguettes is too many to eat?’, but once I figured out roughly how quickly the data would drain, I cracked the whip and got really strict with switching the phone to airplane mode until we were in Wi-Fi zones. It’s a slight behaviour tweak, but free Wi-Fi in Europe is brilliant and widely available (think restaurants, hotels, airports, petrol stations) and really doable. It was also a brilliant way to stay off devices and reserve phone-time for hotel veg-out sessions only. “The phone doesn’t work” became the greatest travel-parent mantra in my bag o’ tricks.

While I happily joined the eSIM cult, my husband got suckered into opted to use the $5 p/day international roaming deal his Aussie telco provider offered him. Maybe it was even $10 p/day. Either way, not a bargain if you’re away for 37 days. That said, it was good to have him as backup if we did need to make a call while abroad, but in all honesty, that happened about three times and I would have found an alternative because I’ll MacGyver the crap out of anything in an emergency. (Also, important to note that a lot of European businesses, hotels, tours, etc. all provide WhatsApp numbers for their customers to reach them. Because WhatsApp falls under the data-only category, I was right as rain.)

Just remember, you’ll need Wi-Fi to initially activate your eSIM. Easy enough in most airports but you’ll need to take a beat and compose yourself in order to do this. Tell the kids to rack off (safely) so you can have five minutes of peace while you tech your little heart out and activate away.

TO RECAP: If your phone is compatible with eSIM technology, you can be set up and ready to go as quickly as half an hour before takeoff. Download the app and select your bundle, then activate once you land. SIMples. If your phone is older than Mick Jagger, you’ll need to find an online retailer who will mail out a physical international SIM card. Keep that in your purse, make sure you have an implement handy to open up the back of your phone, pop that sucker in once you land, then follow the prompts.

I hope this helps. Godspeed!

And if you want more travel-related articles, like:

• I only took 6 makeup products overseas - here’s what made it into my Ziploc bag or

• My Top 9 Travel MVPs or

• THE LIST: What I packed for a 5-week holiday with a 7kg carry-on only limit or

• The 7 best decisions and the 1 biggest mistake I made while travelling with kids

…then feel free to subscribe to this Substack for a month or two (it’ll set you back $5 p/month and you cancel any time), read everything I’ve spewed out, then smoke bomb outta here. I’ll also be sharing my latest fashion finds, looks I’m loving, pieces I’m pining for, yada x 3. My articles will drop straight into your inbox each week, sometimes twice a week, depending on what moon phase we’re in and whether or not the dog has swallowed her joint health tablet.

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x Lise