eSim card for use in iPhone in Ireland

I'm getting ready to buy an eSIM data plan from Airalo for all of Europe, since I will be mostly in Germany but planning a few side trips out of the country. Airalo also has plans for individual countries, including Ireland. https://www.airalo.com/ireland-esim

WIth Airola, you can purchase it ahead of time and they send you a QR code by email. You install it on their app and when you're ready to use it you activate it. Here is the installation guide from their website - https://www.airalo.com/installation-guide/ios

Orange is another company that sells eSIM data plans - I don't know if they have any specifically for Ireland but they do have a Europe plan. With Orange, once you download the QR code, it is activated and you start your time then so you would need to be in an area with wifi when you activate it. https://travel.orange.com/en/

Also, there are a couple of threads on this forum addressing them. The first is one I posted with a general overview and the second is by a forum poster here who used a plan from Orange.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/buying-an-international-esim-data-plan-for-your-regular-phone-with-esim-no-more-burner-phones

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/esim-success

@Mardee, once you've finished your trip, do you mind posting your experience with the all of Europe Airalo eSIM in Germany? I am also traveling to Germany this summer to visit my wife's family and am curious how your experience will be. I have been read your posts on eSIMs and will probably also Airalo but was thinking about Germany only and not the All of Europe eSIM. Thanks.

khalloc, the actual process is really easy. But you need to decide if you want only data or if you would like a local telephone number with your data plan. I chose to have telephone capability and therefore went with Orange for Spain. Mardee has indicated she wouldn’t need that, so the Airalo will work for her (and is cheaper).

When you look at a plan, be sure to check the time-frame for the plan. Basically you are just buying a “plan” - just like with a physical SIM card. Also useful to me was this link for what plans in what countries support eSim. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209096

Edit: your phone has to be unlocked, I think.

Similar, but opposite. I just got an iPhone 13 and we activated the eSim for domestic network here in US. I was thinking I could get a physical Sim card for use while traveling. Have I got my concepts mixed up?

Scott, no you are correct. You may use the physical SIM card slot for a foreign number and keep your eSIM for your home phone account. Remember to configure your eSIM account to avoid incurring the roaming fees from your home phone company if that is why you want a foreign cell phone account while on your trip.

Paul is right. At home I have 2 cell numbers on my iPhone - have one on a physical sim and one as an eSim. It all works the same. The thing I like about the eSim for travel is being ready to go when I walk off the plane - not having to locate, look for, or stand in line for a physical sim.

I had assumed every eSim would give you a foreign telephone number.

Now I feel more confused because I want to be able to make calls in Ireland (to Irish numbers), but I also want to be able to make and receive calls and texts to the USA. If my kid is at home in the US and texts me - should I give him the new esim Phone#? Or will that incur a charge for his phone if he texts to a foreign number? We both have iPhones so i suppose iMessaging would be in effect and it would be free - but sometimes they go thru as a regular text message.

Maybe I'm overthinking this.

I recently relocated to Ireland and found Line2 was a great replacement to my US number. (I chose that over Google Voice)
I've had my US number a long time and I plan to return after my expat assignment here. I ported my number over to Line2 and use their app to manage calls, texts, etc. on my iPhone 12 Pro. I had to unlock my phone with T-Mobile before doing this. Once I got to Ireland I decided to use Three as my carrier and installed a sim card. I have a new Irish number with unlimited calls and data. There is also a package for a large amount of data for roaming all over the EU - which I plan to do. So now I can have the best of both worlds with a somewhat controlled cost.

I hope this helps with an idea of how to manage your situation.

If anyone has figured out how to access and download Irish based apps without changing the region on my IPhone I would greatly appreciate hearing about that!

I am looking into getting a Sim card for Ireland too and trying to figure this out as I have not done this before. My plan is to go to the Spar store at the Dublin airport and purchase a sim card. I have a iPhone 13 unlocked. I put the purchased sim card on one side and keep my current sim card on the other side. I need to save some YouTube videos to make sure I have the settings correct. Hope this helps.

This is a helpful article.

https://www.veryhungrynomads.com/what-is-an-esim-the-best-esim-for-europe/