Please sign in to post.

eSIM - What is the best eSIM provider for Switzerland, France, Italy (30 days)

What is the best eSIM provider for an upcoming trip to Switzerland and France and Italy? I'd like to buy one reasonably priced eSIM that will work in all 3 countries for internet and text messaging, not necessarily phoning.

Has anyone had experience this past year with a prepaid eSIM that covers Switzerland (a non-EU country) + European (EU) countries?

In my current research, "Orange" offers a 28 day eSIM for €49.99 and "HolaFly" has 30 days for €69. Their websites seem to indicate that these will cover EU European countries and Switzerland - but it's always so hard to tell for sure.

eSIMS are such an evolving market and prior posts on the eSIM topic are quickly outdated. So, current advice would be much appreciated!

Posted by
1313 posts

Orange is French company and esim will give you French number. I can vouch that Orange worked for us in Spain, Portugal, UK and Germany. No experience with other countries. When I looked at reviews before buying, I did not see any complaints.

Search or post your question in the Technology Tips forum in RS or th Gadgets forum in Tripadvisor.

Posted by
4805 posts

I have used an Airalo regional esim (data only) in many countries, although not Switzerland. So far, if it says it covers that country, it does. Airalo has a 5G 30 day plan for $20. If you need more, you can top up for less.

Posted by
695 posts

Check out airalo esim. They have an esim that covers 39 europeans countries includind, italy, france and switzerland. My husband has been using airalo in the last 3 trips, different locations and it worked well.

Posted by
7976 posts

Here's another rec for Airalo. I used it for a month in Germany and it worked very well for me. They have a regional Europe eSIM (which covers all the countries you named) with several 30 day options ranging from $13 to $37, depending on the amount of GB.

FWIW, I believe most eSIM companies define Europe geographically rather than politically.

Posted by
32 posts

Thanks so much everyone. I didn't know about Airalo and they look good. I've had good service from Orange, but Airalo seems a better deal for what we need on this trip.

Posted by
38 posts

Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Airalo specializes in data-only plans. They may have voice plans, but that's not their focus. The Orange Holiday plans, on the other hand, offer a mix of data-only plans AND data/voice plans. So if you're looking for service that allows you to call hotels, restaurants, home, etc., you would want to make sure you have a voice plan. Or be prepared to switch to your regular eSim and pay the international charges.

The Orange website says that the €49.99 plan you refer to included coverage in:
Andorra, Azores, Aland islands, Austria, Balearic islands, Belgium, Canary islands, Cyprus, Corfu, Crete, the Cyclades, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe islands, Finland, France mainland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Isle of Man, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Rhodes, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Sweden, Vatican.

I would expect that to be accurate.

Posted by
218 posts

Another nod to Airalo. I have used it on my last four trips, including in the three countries you mention. It’s easy to set up using their online support. You can purchase and install it before you leave home, but the 30 day clock doesn’t start until you activate it on arrival. It’s also easy to top up if you are running out of data or days. One tip though- I found that sometimes the local carrier it defaults to might not have the strongest signal, but it is easy to manually select a different carrier.

Posted by
2 posts

I'm currently researching European e-sim providers. It seems that most carriers do not offer phone & SMS messaging, just data. HolaFly offers data & phone (no SMS text messages). Orange is the only one I have found offering data/phone/SMS. Both HolaFly and Orange are well-rated. We will be using Orange because of a critical, ongoing project while we are travelling and need the flexibility of receiving all types of communications. The bonus is that we will have service for our entire trip in the EU as well as the UK.