eSIM and SIM cards in Zimbabwe

Registration is a step at the counter, not a formality afterwards

• Bring the original passport. NetOne's own procedure for its tourist SIM is explicit: the assistant takes the original valid passport and completes the registration in the system before the SIM is handed over, with the details matching the travel document. A photograph of the passport is not what the process asks for.
• The tourist SIM itself is free. NetOne says so in its terms: free to any visitor producing a valid foreign passport or other travel document.
• It comes as a physical SIM or an eSIM, and is valid for 90 days from activation.

What the visitor bundles cost

• NetOne's own page contradicts itself on validity. The table above is from that page; the terms further down the same page say the tourist bundle is valid for 30 days. Ask at the desk which applies to the bundle you are buying rather than assuming the longer one.
• The bundles are for use inside Zimbabwe only. International calls and SMS are not included; those come out of the main wallet at international rates.
• Bundles are activated on , and unused balances expire and cannot be moved to another SIM.

Where the shops actually are

• Econet, NetOne and Telecel all have shops in the international terminal at Harare. ACZ lists them by shop number.
• Bulawayo is the only other airport ACZ lists mobile operators for.
• ACZ lists no mobile operator at Victoria Falls International Airport. If Victoria Falls is your arrival point, plan on an eSIM bought before you fly, or on buying in town rather than at the kerb.

What a connection is actually worth here

• The FCDO says the mobile network and landlines are unreliable, and that blackouts, which are frequent and sometimes long, take telecommunications with them. Download the maps and the booking confirmations before you land.
• Airtime is priced in both currencies. Econet publishes the same bundles twice, one list in US dollars and one in ZWG. That is not a promotion; it is what the two-currency system looks like in an ordinary retail price list.