Using your phone while traveling: How to use Airalo

Using your US-based phone abroad can be confusing and expensive. If you aren’t vigilant, you can wind up up with a bill of hundreds of dollars on a one-week family vacation. You can try to depend on public Wi-Fi, but you never know if it will be available wherever you end up. In this post, we will delve into the most economical options for a family of four iPhone users with a Verizon plan.

Verizon travel options

In the US, Verizon offers two international travel options for iPhone users: TravelPass and the International Monthly Travel Plan. The TravelPass costs $10/day per line, with unlimited data and texts. It offers 2GB of high-speed data before converting to 3G. The International Travel Plan costs $100/month, providing unlimited data and texts, with 20GB of high-speed data. For a 9-day trip outside of North America, the total cost for TravelPass would be $360, while the International Travel Plan would cost $400. TravelPass makes the most sense in this case.

Airalo eSIM

Buying a local eSIM, however, can be a much more affordable choice. An eSIM, short for “embedded Subscriber Identity Module”, is a digital version of the traditional SIM card mobile devices use to connect to cellular networks. Instead of being a removable physical card you insert into your phone, an eSIM is a small, embedded chip fixed onto the device’s motherboard.

Like traditional SIM cards, eSIMs store information that identifies you to the mobile network. The fundamental difference is that eSIMs are re-programmable, meaning you can change carriers without swapping out the physical SIM card.

One advantage of eSIMs is the ability to have multiple numbers on one device. They also simplify switching carriers and are a boon for frequent travelers, making it easy to activate a foreign cellular plan without needing to purchase a physical SIM card in another country.

Airalo is one of the largest and best known providers of eSIMs for travel. Airalo offers eSIMs for over 200 countries and regions. It caters to travelers who visit other countries and want to use their phones. The eSIMs provided by Airalo are data-only, which means they do not have a phone number assigned and cannot make or receive calls or text messages; however, they provide ultra-fast mobile data at local prices. For voice calls, you can use a messaging application such as WhatsApp, Messenger, or FaceTime (Apple devices only).

Airalo uses multiple networks to provide service instead of building its own infrastructure. You can manage your eSIM plans through the Airalo app. In Belize, their Cho! Card uses the BTL network and provides 1GB of data for 7 days at a cost of $9.50. For a nine-day trip, we would use $19 of data each, or $76 total; much less than the $360 under Verizon. But, you’ll need to use a lot less data.

If you sign up for Airalo, use my referral code JEREMY1716 to get $3 off your first eSIM purchase.

How to set up Airalo

When to buy, install, and activate your eSIM

I suggest purchasing and installing an Airalo eSIM before your trip. To avoid any consequences, a stable Wi-Fi connection is required to install and activate your eSIM.. The clock starts on your eSIM the first time the eSIM connects to the country’s network, so you’re fine doing it in advance.

Setting up your iPhone on a local eSIM isn’t easy the first few times you do it.

Here are the steps:

1. Download Airalo application and create an account.

2. Purchase the eSIM for the country you’re traveling to.

3. Install the eSIM.

4. When you arrive in the country, you’ll need to turn off your US cellular service to avoid incurring charges. You can do this on the plane before you land.

5. Once installed, we need to make the adjustments to your iPhone. Go to Settings >Cellular.

6. Go to eSIMs and click the name of your new eSIM.

7. Change the “Cellular Plan Label” to something easy to remember. I changed mine to “Belize” so I could identify it.

8. Toggle “Turn on this line” to on.

9. Click Network Selection. Toggle “Automatic” to off. Select the network your new eSIM uses.

10. Toggle Data Roaming to on.

11. Now you want to turn your primary phone number off. Go back to the Cellular page.

12. Turn your primary eSIM off.

When you do this, you cannot make phone calls or receive text messages with your US phone number. For phone calls or messaging, use WhatsApp, Messenger, or FaceTime. If you forget to turn off your US phone number and have Verizon TravelPass, Verizon will start a session once any activity occurs on your phone and charge you a flat $10 per line every 24 hours until you shut it off.

After a day or so, check your applications on this page to see if anything is sucking up huge amounts of data.

If your eSIM card runs out of data or the time limit expires, it’s easy to top up Airalo. you can just go back to the application to reload your data plan.

There are many competitors to Airalo who offer eSIMs. Airalo is the top provider in Apple’s AppStore. As of now, Airalo is the only app in the top 200 Travel category.

The speed of Airalo eSIM depends on the network it's using. Almost every country has 4G or LTE, but I saw a few places such as Namibia, Palestine, and Guinea were only available in 3G. Network speed will vary by country.

Rely on free Wi-Fi

Another option is to rely on free Wi-Fi at your destination. While this option is not always reliable or secure, it can be a cost-effective way to stay connected during your trip. I’ve tried to do this in the past in Ethiopia and France with sporadic, frustrating results. At the time I made those trips, high-speed access wasn’t available everywhere I went.

Best Option: Airalo supplemented with free Wi-Fi

The best option to stay connected and keep costs down is to use a local eSIM and supplement when you can with free Wi-Fi when it’s available. Wi-Fi will allow you to synch files, update apps, move photos, and perform other large data transfer activities that would devour your eSIM allowance.