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Other E-sim or SIM card for europe

M

Mojohanna32

macrumors regular
Original poster
Hi all, may daughter will be in Italy this semester for study. She will be traveling with an iPhone 14, unlocked.
I’m looking for some help on what carriers to look at for an e-sim or sim card that gets her texting and data while she is there (about 3-4 months). I’m ok with pay as you go/refilling data/minutes.

Looking to cover the EU if possible.

Thanks!!
 
Does your daughter have an iPhone 14 with a physical SIM slot? The last iPhone with a physical SIM slot was the iPhone 13 for the US / Puerto Rico market.

Dave
 
dave006 said:
Does your daughter have an iPhone 14 with a physical SIM slot? The last iPhone with a physical SIM slot was the iPhone 13 for the US / Puerto Rico market.

Dave
Click to expand...
No, since it is US Based phone it does not have a physical sim slot but set up for two e-sims, one of which is already being used with her US carrier
 
Mojohanna32 said:
Hi all, may daughter will be in Italy this semester for study. She will be traveling with an iPhone 14, unlocked.
I’m looking for some help on what carriers to look at for an e-sim or sim card that gets her texting and data while she is there (about 3-4 months). I’m ok with pay as you go/refilling data/minutes.

Looking to cover the EU if possible.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
I have traveled through Europe and have had excellent service with airalo. They have several reasonable options for Italy.
 
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Mojohanna32 said:
No, since it is US Based phone it does not have a physical sim slot but set up for two e-sims, one of which is already being used with her US carrier
Click to expand...
Actually it can have up to 8 eSIMs with 2 active numbers at the same time. Your title is what clued me in to ask since you don't have an option of a SIM card and to limited the references to a pre-paid SIM card.

Dave
 
Roamless is another alternative to Airalo. Airalo is a time/data type of service where Roamless is a pay as you go data consumption service. I've used both as I live in DEU.

Another option if you are based in the U.S. is T-Mobile Magenta. It includes international service as part of the plan and then she wouldn't need to do anything as her U.S. number would work and voice/data/text would all just work.
 
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Also, be advised that the cellular options in settings need to be adjusted properly to avoid getting charged for international roaming. There are a lot of little oddities and gotcha's that can make it a little bit of a challenge.

Be sure to have wifi calling enabled before departure.

Sometimes Text can act weird when the cellular service with the number is "off". When able to use local wifi, things are different and should be able to toggle the U.S. line "on" to get things to act normal. It is imperative to turn it back off before leaving wifi coverage though.
 
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EDH667 said:
I have traveled through Europe and have had excellent service with airalo. They have several reasonable options for Italy.
Click to expand...
I used an Airalo eSIM plan in the UK last year and it was great. Setup took a little time, but once that was done it was perfect. Coverage seemed solid, and data speed was good enough to keep me going. In the end, I think I only spent like $35 or so on a week's data?

The only drawback to these data-only SIMs is that you don't get any phone data. I think I ended up actually making phone calls in the UK through my US-based Google Voice app (which charged a negligable per-minute fee).
 
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All, thank you for the feedback. I had been looking into Airalo and felt it was a good option. Your responses have reinforced that.
I think I have a good list from a redit thread on the settings that need to change.
Once again thanks all!!
 
ignatius345 said:
I used an Airalo eSIM plan in the UK last year and it was great. Setup took a little time, but once that was done it was perfect. Coverage seemed solid, and data speed was good enough to keep me going. In the end, I think I only spent like $35 or so on a week's data?

The only drawback to these data-only SIMs is that you don't get any phone data. I think I ended up actually making phone calls in the UK through my US-based Google Voice app (which charged a negligable per-minute fee).
Click to expand...
You can also just do a Facetime audio call with Airalo if the person you're calling is an iphone user.
 
Are you sure it would not be advisable for her to have a true Italian SIM with a local number that she can use to make local calls? Those data-only solutions are great for tourism but if you live in a place or want to interact with locals, this might be more difficult without a local number that she can share.
 
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Mojohanna32 said:
Hi all, may daughter will be in Italy this semester for study. She will be traveling with an iPhone 14, unlocked.
I’m looking for some help on what carriers to look at for an e-sim or sim card that gets her texting and data while she is there (about 3-4 months). I’m ok with pay as you go/refilling data/minutes.

Looking to cover the EU if possible.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...
If she uses apps to text with (iMessage, WhatsApp, etc), then she just needs a data plan. Besides the aforementioned Airalo and Getnomad,

there's also https://esim.holafly.com/esim-europe/

They offer unlimted data plans and you can buy service anywhere between 1 day to 90 days. The more days you buy, the cheaper the per day cost is.

And finally https://saily.com/esim-europe/
 
dave006 said:
Actually it can have up to 8 eSIMs with 2 active numbers at the same time. Your title is what clued me in to ask since you don't have an option of a SIM card and to limited the references to a pre-paid SIM card.
Click to expand...

It can actually hold more depending on the size of the eSIM profiles. Iirc, my SE 2022 has like 10 stored right now.
 
Mojohanna32 said:
Hi all, may daughter will be in Italy this semester for study. She will be traveling with an iPhone 14, unlocked.
I’m looking for some help on what carriers to look at for an e-sim or sim card that gets her texting and data while she is there (about 3-4 months). I’m ok with pay as you go/refilling data/minutes.
Click to expand...

What carrier do you have in the US? Both T-Mobile and Verizon have roaming included in some of their postpaid plans.
 
Before she leaves, she should install Airalo for a few Gb of data, cheap as chips.

Once she is settled she should visit a phone shop in her new town. They’ll set her up quickly, cheaply with both a local number and a data package.

Any remote solutions will be both expensive and limited.
 
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I know your daughter has probably been back for a long time now, but I’m leaving this here for other parents landing on this thread from Google in 2026. Honestly, trying to pick a reliable eSIM is a total mess these days, you get buried under endless options like Holafly, Airalo, and a dozen others, and half the time you don't even know if the coverage will actually hold up once they cross a border.

Because it's so easy to get overwhelmed by all those choices and the technical jargon, I’ve just been using Cardtonic to get my kids' digital data profiles sorted. It’s a much cleaner way to handle things than spending hours comparing networks, and it’s a lifesaver for making sure they’re connected the second they step off the plane without having to hunt for a kiosk.
 
Last edited:
liam899 said:
I’m jumping in a bit late to this Jan 2025 discussion, but for anyone still planning their travel, digital profiles are absolutely the way to go. Dealing with a physical card is just an unnecessary risk of losing your primary one, especially since most modern devices handle multiple lines so smoothly now.
Click to expand...

If one bought a recent US iPhone model, they're all eSIM-only anyway.

Hopefully, eSIM support has gotten better in more countries.

Yes, I'm familiar with Airalo, aloSIM, Nomad, Jetpac, Saily, etc. They're fine for short trips but one would probably need a local phone number for longer term stays. Also, local can often be cheaper than roaming eSIMs.
 
When my daughter travels overseas she takes her current iPhone (WiFi use only) and a Google Pixel 5 using a local pre-paid SIM card. Hey itinerary is usually well off the beaten path, places like Serbia.
 
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