Switching to an eSIM can cut lots of the price and avoid unexpected bills (Image: Getty)
There’s nothing worse than jetting off on holiday and coming back to an unexpected phone bill. After paying for flights, hotel, and experiences, the last thing travellers want is a hefty data roaming bill – but there’s a simple solution.
Travellers who pick a Holafly eSIM are calling it ‘their best purchase ever made’ as they can connect to a new country’s network in seconds from landing. A cost-effective solution for short-term trips abroad.
As well as price, the biggest perk is flexibility and ease. Travellers can set up their eSIM before taking off and know the exact cost before they even leave the country.
Mobile users abroad ‘never worry about data speed’
“My 80-year-old mum was able to use it too. Purchasing the eSIM saved me the worry of having a large phone bill when I visited the USA for a few days”, said one recent Holafly user.
Another highlighted the ease, especially for less tech-savvy flyers. One person said: “I’m an old man technophobe…it was a great experience as I never once worried about coverage or data speed”.
They went on to say: “I had a small issue to begin with which was completely user-related and not the eSIM…Chet sorted my problem out immediately.”
Shopping Editor Tom Capon has used Holafly twice now, both in South Korea and in Kenya, destinations which typically have a heightened roaming cost for UK users as they’re in the more expensive Asia and Africa zones. Even in parts of his holiday that were in low signal areas, ‘connectivity wasn’t a problem’.
As he explained: “In both Kenya and South Korea, I was able to sign up in minutes (using a WiFi connection, but if you do it at home it’s less of an issue) and get my data activated immediately. The prices are way more reasonable than roaming charges, making it a no-brainer for me.
“However, the connection is great: in Korea I had absolutely seamless connectivity to the point I nearly forgot to turn it off when I landed in the UK. In Kenya, outside of genuine no-signal zones out in the Savannah, it pretty much worked as expected – if you are in an area with connectivity, I did not have an issue using my phone. Don’t expect a complete miracle as it was slower in our hotel during safari, but while in Nairobi it was just like being on O2 in Kenya.”
Holafly plans include unlimited data (Image: Getty)
Holafly versus UK network roaming charges
Extra roaming charges on UK networks, including Sky Mobile, EE, O2 and Vodafone, cost an average of £2 extra a day if using a phone in Europe or up to as much as £8 extra a day in Asia or the United States – but consumers are still limited to their plan’s allowance.
Sky, for example, has its Global Roaming Passport; consumers use their existing plan for £2 a day – but depending on consumers T&C’s in their plan (do they have unlimited calls or high data allowance?), it can still wrack up unexpected costs.
Vodafone breaks their roaming costs into zones – including Zone A – which covers the Republic of Ireland, Isle of Man, Norway and Iceland, which is free but subject to a strict 25GB fair use limit. So even if a consumer’s at-home plan is 50GB, 100GB or even unlimited per month, they can only use 25GB across an entire year in the above-listed countries.
Three has a strict 12GB roaming fair-use data cap for its pay-monthly consumers, even when using its Go Roam plan.
When this runs out, users are then hit with an additional data passport cost. In Europe, for a 7-day trip, this is £16 for only 18GB of data. We compared it with Holafly using their calculator, and were quoted £23 overall for a 7-day use in Italy with unlimited data.
Another comparison is Three’s 14-day worldwide passport data charge of £54 – this includes Mexico. We compared it with Holafly, which for 14 days quotes £37 with unlimited data.
The lower prices and peace of mind are what draw mobile users to using an eSIM, with similar perks found at rival Saily. Tom continued by explaining why he chooses to use an eSIM.
Speaking about Holafly, he shared: “As someone who goes on a big trip every year, getting a huge phone bill at the end of your holiday is the absolute worst-case scenario when you’ve already drained your bank account. However, twice now I’ve relied on Holafly when I’ve landed in a country and gone – oh god, I forgot to sort my phone out.”
Another Holafly user said: “I’m 72 and never used an eSIM before and it was so very easy. We were driving for the first time in the USA for three weeks.
I’ve absolutely no idea how we would have found the nine hotels in four states on our 1,582-mile trip. Best purchase I made this holiday!”
Consumers can browse their next holiday destination roaming charge at Holafly here. One thing to note is that for UK data coverage, it won’t be the most cost-effective.
