eSIM and SIM cards by country

Local prepaid is very cheap and worth the passport errand. Expect internet restrictions on calling apps and slow speeds outside the cities.

Ethio telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia both operate, Ethio telecom publishes a plan for international visitors, and the authorities can close the networks without notice.

SIM registration is compulsory and biometric. Bring the passport to the shop, because the fingerprint is captured at the point of sale.

Buy a Safaricom SIM in the arrivals hall with your passport. It is not really about data: a Safaricom line is what gives you M-Pesa, and M-Pesa is how Kenya pays for things.

Both networks sell the same shape of tourist pack: 30 days of unlimited 5G data with 200 rupees of airtime, collected at the airport or emailed as an eSIM before you fly.

A local SIM is cheap, about MAD 50 to MAD 100 for plenty of data, and worth having because your EU roaming allowance does not reach Morocco.

Your passport is enough. The National Identification Number rule that scares visitors off applies to residents, and the regulator says so.

Two networks, SIMs registered against a passport, and 30 GB for about seven dollars.

Every SIM must be RICA-registered against a passport and an address, which the airport shops do while you wait. Vodacom and MTN have the best coverage; data is expensive by African standards.

Registration is biometric, so the SIM is bought in a shop with your fingerprints rather than at a kiosk. Vodacom or Yas, and mobile money matters more than the data.

Three operators, a SIM that must be registered against your passport in person, and an Ooredoo tourist pack you reserve before you fly and collect at Tunis or Djerba airport.

Three networks, very cheap data, and good coverage everywhere except the mountains.

Three networks, decent coverage, and a registration rule that also applies to phones.

Three networks on an island 50 km long. Coverage is not a problem here.

There is a proper tourist SIM, free, on a passport and visa, and a SIM shop just past customs at Dhaka.

Cambodia has some of the cheapest mobile data anywhere: USD 5 buys 30 GB, and USD 10 buys up to 100 GB. This is one of the few countries where buying at the airport is not a mistake.

The Great Firewall blocks Google, WhatsApp and Instagram on any local SIM or Wi-Fi. An international eSIM such as Saily roams through servers outside mainland China, so those apps work with no VPN - but it has to be installed before you fly, because foreign eSIM profiles cannot be downloaded once you land.

MagtiCom is the one to buy if you are going into the mountains - it is the only network with reliable signal in Kazbegi and Svaneti, and it works in the Tbilisi metro. Kiosks in the arrivals halls at Tbilisi and Kutaisi sell tourist SIMs.

A tourist SIM is cheap and sold in every 7-Eleven, and Hong Kong has some of the densest free public wi-fi anywhere. An eSIM saves the errand.

An eSIM bought before departure gets you online the moment you land with no paperwork - but gives you no Indian number, and Uber and Ola need one for the OTP. A local SIM is a fraction of the price and needs your passport, visa, an Indian address and a photo taken at the counter, then hours to activate.

A local SIM is dramatically cheaper here than an international eSIM - XL's tourist eSIM is 30 GB for 70,000 IDR against Saily's 3 GB for USD 8.99 - and both are bought online before you land. Telkomsel has the widest coverage outside the tourist strips. Any local SIM needs your passport.

A data eSIM bought before departure is the default: no passport registration, and it works the moment you land. Saily is 10.99 USD for 5 GB or 17.99 USD for 10 GB over 30 days. Only voice SIMs are legally required to be registered against a passport in Japan - data-only cards are not.

Zain and Umniah have counters in the arrivals hall and want your passport. About JOD 15 buys a tourist bundle with more data than a fortnight needs; coverage in Wadi Rum is patchier than the brochures suggest.

A local SIM means passport registration in person at the counter and noticeably inflated tourist pricing. A Saily eSIM bought before departure runs on the Beeline network, which has the widest 4G and 5G coverage in the country.

Three networks, fast data, and total coverage across a small and heavily urban country.

Cheap, fast data in the valleys and nothing at all in the mountains, which is where you will be.

Unitel and Lao Telecom have the densest networks and passport registration is mandatory for both. About USD 4.75 buys Unitel's 35 GB tourist package, which keeps working along the Laos-China railway where the others drop out.

Macao is small enough that free public wi-fi almost covers it, and a Hong Kong tourist SIM often includes Macao data.

Every SIM and eSIM sold in Malaysia needs passport registration at the counter. CelcomDigi's tourist passes run RM 15 for 3 days to RM 60 for 30, all unlimited but capped at 18 Mbps, with a RM 60 alternative giving 200 GB at full speed and a RM 5 activation fee on top. Every pass includes roaming in ten ASEAN countries, so a multi-country trip needs no second SIM.

Dhiraagu and Ooredoo both sell tourist SIMs in the Velana arrivals hall, with passport registration in person: Ooredoo's USD 40 pack is 20 GB over 10 days, and USD 50 buys 30 GB plus 70 GB of social data. Dhiraagu has the better coverage on the outer atolls. Roaming is prohibitively expensive.

A local SIM costs about NPR 500 with a passport and a photo, and Ncell reaches further up the trekking trails than anything else. An eSIM is the expensive option here, not the cheap one.

Two networks, good coverage on the roads that matter, and nothing in the mountains or the Empty Quarter.

The SIM is the easy part. Pakistan blocks handsets by IMEI, and a visitor gets 120 days for exactly one device, paired to one number.

Comparison of connectivity options for the Philippines: Globe and Smart tourist eSIMs (₱1,750 / ₱1,599, 30 days), ₱99 local eSIM starters, DITO, an international Saily eSIM, and home-operator roaming. Includes recommendations by trip length and budget; Globe and Smart offer the best airport availability, and all local SIMs require passport registration.

Two networks, kiosks in the arrivals hall, and a passport required. Coverage is total, prices are not low, and WhatsApp calling works here unlike its neighbour.

Excellent networks, cheap data, and a registration process that is strict about matching your visa.

Cheap, fast and completely painless. Buy at Changi or activate an eSIM before you land, and the coverage question does not arise on an island this size.

Data matters more here than in most countries: Google Maps has no reliable walking directions in Korea because map data cannot be exported, so you need Naver Map or KakaoMap - and both need a live connection. An eSIM bought before departure has you online in the immigration queue.

A Saily eSIM activated before departure avoids airport queues, passport handling and Sri Lanka's IMEI-blocking rule for unregistered phones. Physical tourist SIMs from Dialog, SLT-Mobitel and Hutch cost 821–1,799 LKR for 15–30 GB at the 24/7 CMB airport kiosks, with passport registration and a photo taken on the spot.

Chunghwa Telecom's 10-day unlimited 5G tourist pass is the top pick - 580 NTD when pre-ordered via Klook/KKday (vs 800 NTD walk-up at the airport). Registration legally requires a passport plus a second ID at 18+. Counter locations and hours for Taoyuan, Songshan and Kaohsiung airports included.

Compares five ways to get online in Thailand - airport tourist SIM, city SIM, operator eSIM, international travel eSIM, and home-operator roaming - with practical picks by trip length. Also covers passport-based SIM registration and KBank's PAY & TOUR prepaid card with Thai QR payment support via TAGTHAi.

Turkey registers the phone, not just the SIM. Use a Turkish SIM and your handset is blocked after 120 days unless you pay a fee of over 54,000 lira.

Two networks, free tourist SIMs at the airport, and VoIP calling that is still restricted, so WhatsApp voice and FaceTime may not work.

All four networks have desks in the Tashkent arrivals hall. Take Ucell or Uzmobile, insist the passport registration is actually done, and expect data to thin out between cities.

Compares Viettel, the MobiFone Travel eSIM, airport tourist SIMs, the international Saily eSIM and roaming for Vietnam. Viettel from an official store offers the best coverage and value (e.g. 60,000 VND 7-day plans), while an eSIM activated before departure is the easiest option for short trips and the first minutes after landing.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - Albania is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.

Andorra is outside the EU roaming regime and has a single operator, so an EU SIM that costs nothing in Spain or France can cost a fortune here.

Cheap by European standards, around EUR 10 for a tourist SIM, but every prepaid SIM has to be registered against your passport at the counter.

EU visitors need nothing. Everyone else chooses between a prepaid SIM from Proximus, Orange Belgium or Telenet/BASE and an eSIM bought before landing.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - Bosnia and Herzegovina is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.

EU visitors need nothing; everyone else finds prepaid SIMs cheap from A1, Yettel or Vivacom.

Three networks, tourist SIMs around EUR 10 to EUR 20, and coverage that is better on the islands than you would expect but patchy in the mountains.

EU roaming works in the south; cross to the north and your phone jumps to a Turkish network at foreign rates.

Czech law does not require prepaid SIMs to be registered against a document, so you can buy one anonymously and use it immediately. Vodafone's CZK 349 Tourist SIM covers a week of unlimited data; T-Mobile's CZK 299 15 GB eSIM is better value for a longer stay.

Prepaid SIMs are cheap and sold in every kiosk with no registration. EU visitors need nothing at all - roam-like-at-home covers Denmark - and everyone else has an easy choice.

One of the most connected countries in Europe. EU visitors need nothing; everyone else finds prepaid SIMs cheap and sold in supermarkets.

The one country where the travel eSIM is usually the worse deal: unlimited prepaid data costs about a euro a day, with no registration and no paperwork.

French prepaid is expensive because the cheap forfaits need a French bank account. SFR sells a tourist SIM with 60 GB for EUR 34.99; an international eSIM roaming on Orange costs a fraction of that and needs no passport queue.

A German prepaid SIM will not work until you have proved your identity in person or on a video call - this is the law, not a formality. For a short trip an international eSIM from about EUR 10 skips the whole process.

Greek law bans anonymous prepaid SIMs, so every local card is registered against your passport in the shop. In summer all three networks sell unlimited 30-day data for about EUR 11 to 13 in town, while the airport desk wants EUR 35 for 15 GB.

Cheap and fast, but registration is strict and getting a prepaid SIM on a foreign passport has become fiddly enough that an eSIM is often the easier route.

Siminn has the coverage that matters once you leave the capital, and a 10 GB starter pack is 2,900 ISK. You can buy a SIM at the 10-11 in the Keflavik arrivals hall, but local eSIMs are sold in city stores rather than at the airport.

Three networks own the towers: Three, Vodafone and Eir. Everything else is an MVNO reselling one of them. There is no registration requirement, so a physical SIM is quick, and an eSIM bought before you fly is quicker still.

A physical passport is legally required to buy any Italian SIM under the 2005 Pisanu anti-terrorism law. Vodafone's tourist tiers start at €14.95/month and TIM's 200GB Tourist plan is €14.99 plus a €10 SIM fee, per the operators' own sites; WindTre and Iliad's tourist pricing changes often enough to check directly rather than quote a fixed figure.

EU visitors need nothing. Everyone else finds prepaid SIMs cheap and sold in every Narvesen kiosk.

Liechtenstein is in the EEA, so an EU SIM works at home rates - but Switzerland next door is not, and phones do not respect borders.

EU visitors need nothing. Everyone else should note that a local number is worth more here than usual, because several apps demand one.

EU visitors need nothing, and the country is small enough that you will roam onto a neighbour's network without trying.

EU visitors need nothing at all, and the island is small enough that coverage is never a question.

EU roaming applies here since 1 January 2026, and Moldovan data is among the cheapest and fastest in Europe anyway.

Monaco is outside the EU roaming regime, but French networks and Monaco Telecom have arranged things so most visitors notice nothing.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - Montenegro is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.

Dutch prepaid SIMs need no passport and no local address - drop the card in and it works. The airport kiosks charge EUR 20 to EUR 25 for what an Albert Heijn supermarket sells for EUR 10, so buy in town.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - North Macedonia is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.

If your SIM is from the EU or the EEA, do nothing - Norway is inside the roam like at home area and your normal allowance works at no extra cost. Everyone else should buy a Telenor or Telia prepaid SIM, or an eSIM before flying.

Polish telecoms law requires every prepaid SIM to be registered against a passport or EU ID card; there is no anonymous option. A PLN 5 Orange or Play starter bought at any Żabka is verified and activated at the till in about three minutes.

NOS gives the most data for the money at 55 GB for EUR 10, sold in the arrivals halls at Lisbon and Porto. If you would rather not queue after landing, a Saily eSIM activated before departure is the faster route.

Romania has some of the fastest and cheapest mobile data in Europe, and EU visitors need nothing at all.

San Marino is outside the EU roaming regime, and whether you pay depends on which network your phone happens to hold - Italian or Sammarinese.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - Serbia is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.

EU visitors need do nothing at all. Everyone else picks between a local prepaid SIM, which by law needs your passport, and an eSIM bought before landing.

EU visitors need nothing; the country is small enough that coverage is a solved problem.

Spanish law requires passport-based registration at the point of sale for any physical prepaid SIM, so an eSIM bought before departure skips the queue and connects on landing. In town, roughly 10 € buys a large-allowance 28-day prepaid bundle from Vodafone, Movistar, Orange or Yoigo - check the operator's own page for the current tier, since all four revise their prepaid line-ups several times a year.

Excellent coverage, no registration requirement, and prepaid SIMs sold in every Pressbyran kiosk. EU visitors roam free; everyone else should decide between a SEK 149 local top-up and an eSIM bought before departure.

The most expensive mobile market in Europe, and the one place where a travel eSIM usually beats a local SIM outright. Note that EU roaming does not apply here.

Cheap, competitive and no registration required. The one thing to check before you buy is whether the plan includes EU roaming, because since Brexit it often does not.

You are on Italian networks the whole time, so EU roaming applies and an Italy eSIM is the thing to buy.

Two networks, expensive data by regional standards, and cayes where the wi-fi is the connection.

The big three carriers have all abandoned prepaid, so the names on the mall kiosk are not the ones to buy. No registration law, no passport needed, but Canadian mobile prices have started climbing again.

A local SIM costs a few dollars and needs only a passport. Kolbi has the best coverage in the mountains and the national parks, which is where you will actually want it.

One state network, expensive data, and an internet that can be switched off.

Three networks, cheap prepaid, and a passport plus a photograph required to register. Claro has the coverage once you leave the resort strip.

Four networks, cheap data, and good coverage for a small country.

Two networks, cheap prepaid data, and coverage that is better than the roads.

Two networks with good coverage on the mainland and the Bay Islands, and cheap prepaid data.

Two networks, and local prepaid is much better value than a tourist eSIM. Flow brought 5G to prepaid customers four days ago.

Telcel has by far the best coverage, and you can buy the SIM in any OXXO with no passport and no paperwork. 200 MXN gets 3 GB plus unlimited WhatsApp for 30 days; airport kiosks charge 200 to 400 MXN more for the same thing.

Two networks, cheap data, decent coverage - and a good reason to think about what is on your phone.

Three networks, cheap prepaid SIMs, and coverage that thins out fast once you leave the city and the canal corridor.

Free airport wifi to start with, and a phone that must be able to receive government emergency alerts in hurricane season.

American mobile data is expensive by world standards and a travel eSIM is usually the cheaper answer. Coverage collapses faster than you expect outside the cities.

Three networks, cheap data, and a registration process for foreigners that is inconsistent enough to ruin an afternoon. The local operators still do not sell tourist eSIMs, so the eSIM route means an international provider.

Entel is the only network worth buying if you are going to the Salar de Uyuni or anywhere rural. A SIM is 10 to 30 BOB and a two to three week data package 50 to 100 BOB, but airport kiosk hours are unreliable so plan to buy in town.

Do not buy a SIM at the airport - kiosks charge BRL 100 to BRL 150 for what costs BRL 30 in a shopping centre. Vivo has the best coverage outside the cities, and an international eSIM avoids the passport registration entirely.

The registration law that became compulsory for every prepaid line on 20 August 2026 has made shops wary of selling to foreigners, so an eSIM you buy before you fly is now the reliable option. Entel has the best coverage in the desert and the south.

Claro has the coverage, Movistar and Tigo are fine in cities, and WOM is the cheap one. The rule nobody warns you about is IMEI registration: a foreign handset on a Colombian SIM has 20 days before the network can cut it off.

Claro has the coverage that matters once you leave the two big cities. A passport is required, the shop registration takes a while, and the Galapagos and the Amazon are largely offline.

A SIM at Lima airport costs S/ 60 to S/ 120; the same thing in a Miraflores shop is S/ 5 to S/ 10 for the chip plus S/ 15 to S/ 30 for data. Claro has the best coverage in the Andes, and biometric passport registration is required.

Three networks, the state operator with the best rural coverage, and an eSIM as the sensible answer for a short trip.

Every Australian SIM must be registered with a valid international passport. Optus Flex Plus (45 GB / 39 AUD) offers the best value in cities; Telstra (44 AUD) is essential for the Outback thanks to unmatched coverage.

Vodafone and Digicel both sell to arriving passengers in the Nadi arrivals hall, 05:00 to 22:00, against a physical passport. The same Vodafone counter sells the bus card.

Spark, One NZ and 2degrees split the market, with Spark and One NZ having the densest rural coverage. Buying at the airport means passport registration and a markup; an eSIM activated before departure avoids both.

Digicel has by far the widest 4G coverage and PGK 100 buys 76 GB for 30 days. SIM registration against your passport is compulsory, and the airport kiosk keeps erratic hours - so have a backup if you land late at night.

EU roaming does NOT apply here - Kosovo is outside the EU, so a European SIM roams at foreign rates unless your operator includes the Western Balkans.