Sim cards

About a month or so ago, I watched an Instagram video about using mobile phones in Europe without breaking the bank. It was by the Instagramers "adventuresofmattandnat". I thought I'd saved the video for later and I unfortunately can't find it now. But I've just messaged Matt & Nat so hopefully I'll get the video link soon. I'll be in touch again once I receive that info.

https://travel.orange.com/en/offers/all-inclusive/?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwvfmoBhAwEiwAG2tqzNHM26qFfy4K0M8Xke3j9vEsci1kw3Vwa2DrhO4Dgplpna6PQLsvMhoCEKAQAvD_BwE

We used Orange Holiday eSim (€19.99) for 2 weeks in Spain last November and 2 weeks in Portugal last month. Worked. I like having ability to make unlimited calls and texts in Europe and limited calls and texts back to North America. Most other esims are data only.

I have T-mobile and don’t make calls overseas unless it’s an emergency or connected to WiFi. The free texts and data were sufficient on both our trips this year; France/Germany and Spain/Portugal.

I don't know much about the ones that can be bought and set up from home, but I do know they're a bit more expensive (though still way cheaper than roaming). The "tourist" pre-paid plans from all the major companies in Spain are competitive and practically analogous. You'll need you being your passport in to get the set up.

I used an e-SIM from Airalo on my iPhone last month and it worked great. It was a Europe region e-SIM with 10GB for 30 days, which I used for about 2weeks in Spain, a few days in France, and about a week in the UK. It was for cell data only (eg, using Google maps), no capability for phone calls.