Esim or carrier plan with Verizon

Recent discussion
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/verizon-plans

We just do the monthly plan with Verizon (or the daily plan depending on how long you'll be gone) because it's so easy to add. Others may find the esim process equally easy, but for me this is a reasonable and hassle free cost to add to our travels.

Robin, see my comment on Christine’s post. If you can, upgrade your plan to Unlimited Ultimate for the time you’re away. It’s much cheaper than adding an international plan. You do NOT need a daily plan, and many people miss this. (About an extra $20 for the whole month.)

Technology isn't my "strong suit". We have Verizon and we just used the 24 hour international very occasionally because on our longer trips the cost really adds up. Finally, I looked into an eSIM. eSIMs are so much cheaper, and I've found it so much easier to travel with easy, inexpensive data access. We recently took a 30+ days trip to Australia. I purchased an Airalo eSIM which I installed prior to the trip. I still made sure to download some maps for offline use when the service was bad. For about $20 we had data for the whole trip.

We are Verizon customers and have used both options. The $100 / month international plan, is the easiest option and if you choose it, I would recommend setting it up before you leave the states.

For one trip, I used an eSIM, specifically Airolo and it served me well. The eSIM worked fine and was a much cheaper option; I think it cost 10 dollars/euro in ‘23. The one drawback for me was, on iMessage/FaceTime audio/video, the names of the persons did not display on my phone, just their numbers. I did some fiddling so that my phone displayed the names of the people with which I frequently communicated—instead of 11 numbers. While a few years old, this YouTube video (https://youtu.be/Pi1Cb1tEeSI?si=AwBs0LMro7gzrmo1 ) made set up quite easy.

Even when I used the eSIM, my husband used the international plan. His mom, who at the time was in her late 90’s and was healthy and happily living in a retirement community; only had a landline - no cell phone. So to be able to call her (and her call him) he had to have the Verizon plan.

So, my take…if you are looking at a relatively easy way to save $90+/- the eSIM is the way to go. It is like choosing to take a second class train instead of first class—it gets you where you want to go, saves you some money, but just not quite as easy…

TLDR Verizon worked flawlessly and other members of my group struggled with esims. Tech is not a problem for us. Much of the issues were with Verizon and the Esim systems not working together.

I used the Verizon monthly international plan for a trip to Ireland in September. It was supposed to be $100 and after i signed up, I received a bonus on two lines, so it really was only $80 each. (I didn't ask for it, it was just added on) The plan was for a month, so it starts on the day you want it activated. It was not as I feared, overlapping 2 billing cycles. I signed up for it to begin the day before my trip. You must remember to get it for just one month, not recurring months.
It was so simple, that was all we had to do. No further set up. It worked flawlessly. It was good for google maps. My husband and I decided after we will not mess with day passes or sim cards ever again. Even the day pass requires a lot of thought, planning, making sure you are not connecting to a tower. You are spending a lot of money to travel, this was not really expensive considering. And not having to worry about anything else and have your phone work as it does at home was so worth it.

Back story: 4 adults traveling all on the same Verizon plan. I was the lead traveler, with all the reservations etc. I researched so much and really wasted so much time doing so. I decided since I was the lead traveler I would get the plan and get E sims for the other 3 travelers. One was Aerlo and the other 2 Holafly. Again the night before the trip, wasted time trying to activate it.. Verizon was not playing well with our Sims. I got 2 to work, the next day, at the airport, working with tech support to activate the other one. As we were close to boarding, I just signed that person up for the Verizon International plan. When we landed, we just turned on our phones. It was working. So the two of us who had it had no issues with taxi apps, navigation, reservations etc, where as the others with esims did.

I have done all the Verizon international options. Currently, I have the Ultimate Unlimited which includes international data/call/text. You get unlimited calls back to the US and within whatever country you are in, unlimited texts and 15GB of high speed data included (then unlimited data at 3G speeds). I have never hit the 15GB limit. The whole thing is seamless - you just get a text each time you move to a different country. As others have pointed out, this is usually not much more than most of the other plans. If you do more than one international trip each year, the math works out just fine over the course of a year, and it also includes discount on other services (I am saving money on Apple Music family plan, for example).

I have also used the $110/month international plan, which is also seamless, and makes sense for longer trips. If you are going abroad for just a week, then the Travel Pass option would make sense and is now $12/day I think (for the days you activate it), and works fine, but after a few trips I decided I didn't want the hassle of managing that, i.e. turning it on/off, etc. I've reached a point in my life where I am willing to pay for convenience, and it's simply not worth it - to me - to spend a ton of time trying to save $50-100 or so for something a crucial as connectivity for using maps, transit apps, and more.

Adding: I've also heard that you can sign up for the Ultimate Unlimited plan for a month, and then go back to your old plan when you return - but check with Verizon on that!

Ok, I need to address something in OP’s post. An eSIM isn’t a physical card. No new smartphones have a physical SIM card anyway. Any iPhone after the 12 doesn’t have a SIM card. eSIMs are MUCH less expensive than using the international package of ANY USA cell provider. The problem with these “international packages” is that American cell companies charge for roaming, whereas in the EU it is illegal for cell providers to charge for roaming. With am esim you don’t have that issue. You buy the esim, install it on your phone, activate it and you’re done. No roaming, no silly international package. It’s always going to be less expensive and the coverage will be better than your cell providers plan.

eSIMs are also a lot more convenient. Because there is no card, there isn't an existing card to keep track of. Also an eSIM can just be purchased online. I used my Verizon international until I got a phone with eSIM. Game Changer.

What jonrossjan is describing is a regional eSIM. Many eSIMs are country-specific, and they will not work when you cross a border.

We got burned using Verizon's monthly international plan by not realizing that there's a voice calling limit. My dad was solo in Scotland and would call me for 30-60 minutes daily to chat about what he was up to (we weren't aware of the limit, plus we thought he was calling on wifi). Imagine our shock getting a bill with several hundred dollars extra of charges on it! Verizon was kind enough to split the difference, but ever since then, we get an Orange eSIM valid for all of Europe. It's got a real (French) phone number, high speed data, and is so easy to keep stored on your phone and top up before each trip.

I upgraded my plan to Verizon’s Unlimited plan that includes travel. It wasn’t that much more expensive and I just find it easier. When traveling with my husband, he’ll add the individual travel days if we’re doing separately; otherwise he just uses wifi.

I used the Verizon International Monthly Plan on a 14-day trip to Australia and New Zealand last month. I have a grandfathered Verizon plan that includes the Disney bundle and would not be able to get it back if I switched to their Ultimate Unlimited plan.

While I liked the concept of the 30-day International Plan, (they even said I could between Australia and New Zealand, but never needed to), it did not work as expected.

To ensure the plan got used for local, international calls, I had roaming ON and Wifi OFF, to avoid wifi calling charges. But I was billed hundreds of dollars, as if I had no international plan. Verizon fixed the billing issue, but be sure your phone is set correctly (whatever that means), so you get the plan's features and rates.