eSIM and SIM cards in Belize

The local SIM

• Belize Telemedia (BTL/Digi) and Smart are the two networks. Digi has the wider coverage.
• Data is expensive here compared with Guatemala or Mexico next door - Belize is a small market and prices reflect it.
• A SIM needs the passport and is sold at the airport, in Belize City and in San Pedro.

An eSIM instead

• Worth it for a short trip, which most Belize trips are. The saving on a tourist SIM is smaller than usual here because the local prices are high.
• Check the provider actually covers Belize rather than assuming a Central America regional plan includes it - several do not.

Coverage and wi-fi

• The mainland corridor and the cayes have signal; the jungle interior, the Cockscomb Basin and much of Toledo do not.
• On the cayes, wi-fi is the real network. Hotels, bars and dive shops all have it, and it is often better than mobile data.
• Boats and the reef have nothing. A day trip to the Blue Hole is a day offline.