Imagine returning from an amazing trip abroad, excitedly unlocking your phone to reminisce on the memories you captured…only to find a jaw-dropping phone bill waiting to welcome you home. Ouch.
It’s a pain point most travelers can relate to. Steep international roaming fees have a way of putting a serious damper on those post-vacation good vibes. Just ask Michael Matheson, a government minister in Scotland who got slapped with a £1000 ($1200) bill after a family holiday in Morocco. His excuse? He was “doing constituency work” and “unaware he needed to change his SIM card.”
If only he had known about eSIMs – specifically the budget-friendly options from Holafly. With unlimited data plans available in over 160 countries starting at just $27 for 10 days, Holafly is on a mission to make wallet-friendly connectivity accessible to travelers everywhere.
Sounds great in theory, but how well do Holafly’s eSIMs actually perform in the real world? I put one to the test on my iPhone to find out. In this hands-on review, I’ll walk you through:
- How to check if your phone is eSIM compatible
- Step-by-step instructions to purchase and activate a Holafly eSIM
- Real-world tests of Holafly’s data speeds and “unlimited” claims
- My verdict on if Holafly is worth it for international travelers
Let’s dive in.
Contents
Is Your Phone eSIM Compatible?
First things first – before you get too excited about the prospect of cheap international data, you need to make sure your phone is set up to accept eSIMs.
Most newer phone models play nice with eSIMs, including:
- iPhone XR, XS, XS Max and newer
- Google Pixel 3, 3a, 4, 4a, 5 and newer
- Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+, S20 Ultra, Z Flip, Note 20 and newer
To cover all your bases, you can peruse this helpful list from eSIM marketplace Airalo to see if your specific device makes the cut. The link is down below in the description.
Even if your phone model is eSIM compatible, there’s one more box you need to check: an unlocked SIM card slot. To do this on an iPhone:
- Open the Settings app
- Tap General
- Tap About
- Scroll down to Carrier Lock
If it says “No SIM restrictions” you’re good to go. If not, you may need to contact your carrier to request an unlock.
Where Holafly eSIMs Work?
With those technical details squared away, let’s talk travel destinations. Holafly offers eSIM data plans in over 160 countries across the globe.
Some of the most popular destinations include:
- United States
- Most of Europe (France, Spain, Germany, Italy, etc.)
- Australia
- Japan
- Mexico
- Brazil
It’s almost easier to list the places Holafly doesn’t cover. For now, that short list includes:
- China
- Sri Lanka
- Bahamas
- North Korea (lol)
Unless you’re planning a getaway to Pyongyang, you should be set with a Holafly eSIM. Even if you’re visiting multiple countries in one trip, Holafly offers regional eSIMs covering zones like Europe and Asia to keep you connected across borders.
Holafly eSIM Pricing
One of my favorite things about Holafly is how transparent and straightforward the pricing is compared to traditional roaming rates from carriers.
With Holafly, you pay a flat fee upfront based on the number of days you need data for:
- 5 days
- 10 days
- 15 days
- 20 days
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 90 days
That’s it. No complex roaming rates, surprise surcharges, or bill shock when you return home. Holafly even offers unlimited data with many of its eSIMs.
You can expect to pay around $27 on average for a 10-day unlimited data eSIM. As someone who has tested more travel eSIMs than I can count, I can confidently say that’s a stellar deal.
In fact, Holafly is letting our readers save even more with an exclusive 5% discount code. Just enter MONITO at checkout. Full details below!
How to Purchase & Activate a Holafly eSIM on iPhone?
You can buy a Holafly eSIM either through their website or mobile app. The process is nearly identical either way, but I recommend using a desktop so you can display the eSIM QR code on a larger screen when it comes time to activate. More on that in a minute.
To purchase and set up your Holafly eSIM:
- Visit the Holafly website (linked below) and select your preferred language and currency in the upper right corner. I went with English and GBP.
- Enter your destination country. If you’re traveling to multiple places, choose a region like Europe or Asia. Note that the prices are often the same for a single country vs a whole region, so you might as well select the region for more flexibility.
- Choose your number of days and travellers. The eSIM price will update accordingly.
- Apply promo code MONITO for an extra 5% off. You’re welcome!
- Fill in your personal details, complete the purchase, and check your email for a confirmation with setup instructions.
With a shiny new eSIM in your Holafly account, it’s time to get that data flowing. The email you received should contain a QR code and a button to “Set Up Your eSIM”.
⚠️ A few quick notes before you proceed:
- Make sure your iPhone is connected to a stable Wi-Fi or cellular network. The activation can take a few minutes and you don’t want it to fail due to a spotty connection.
- The QR code can only be scanned once. Make sure you’re ready to activate your eSIM when you do.
- Once you activate your Holafly eSIM, don’t remove it until you’re done using it. You won’t be able to reactivate it again.
All set? Here’s how to install that eSIM on your iPhone:
- Open the Settings app and tap Cellular
- Tap Add Cellular Plan
- Use your iPhone camera to scan the QR code from your Holafly setup email
- Tap Continue and wait a minute or two. It should eventually say “Mobile Plan Set Up Complete”
- Choose a label for your eSIM like “Holafly France”
- Select your default cellular plan. I recommend keeping your primary SIM as the default line for any calls or texts back home. Your Holafly data will still work.
- Choose to allow or disable cellular data switching (I turned it off)
- Under Cellular Plans, tap your primary SIM and turn off Data Roaming
- Tap your Holafly eSIM and make sure Data Roaming is enabled. This will activate the data service.
That’s it! Your iPhone is now set up with a data plan from a local carrier in your destination.
Testing Holafly’s Speeds & Unlimited Data Claims
Now for the fun part: putting that “unlimited” data to the test. For reference, I purchased a 10-day eSIM for the UK.
According to the Holafly site, the eSIM connects to the 3, EE or Vodafone networks and offers 4G LTE data speeds. There’s no mention of 5G.
I started my testing in a residential area at the edge of EE’s 5G coverage map. Unsurprisingly, my iPhone showed a 4G connection as advertised. I ran a few speed tests and consistently got downloads around 7-8 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up. Not blazing fast, but serviceable for loading maps, websites, sending pics to friends back home, etc.
Next I drove into central London where EE and Vodafone plaster their 5G maps in a delightful dark red. I was curious if the extra 5G capacity in these areas would give my “4G” eSIM a boost.
Unfortunately, no dice. I continued to get 4G service and speeds topping out around 10 Mbps. A bit of a disappointment, but not totally unexpected for a budget eSIM. The latency also felt a tad laggy compared to my normal EE SIM.
I ended up using the Holafly eSIM as my main data source for the remainder of my 4-day trip. I had no major issues staying connected for basics like navigation, web browsing, and social media. Streaming videos was hit or miss, often limited to lower 480p resolution.
Call quality over VoIP services like WhatsApp and FaceTime was also dependent on having a strong 4G signal, which wasn’t always the case indoors or on the London Underground. But for the price I was paying compared to traditional roaming, I really can’t complain!
My last test was to see just how “unlimited” my unlimited data really was. I have tested a number of “unlimited” data plans from other eSIM providers only to bump into hidden caps and throttling after burning through 5-10GB.
I decided to throw caution to the wind and stream two feature length films from Netflix, downloaded at the highest quality. The first, a 2 hour and 40 minute thriller, took about 17 minutes to download and played back smoothly. So far so good.
I immediately started downloading a second movie, this time 2 hours in length. After about 18 minutes, I noticed the progress had only reached 36%. My speed test app confirmed I was now getting throttled down to a measly 2-3 Mbps.
I paused the download and reached out to Holafly support for clarity on their throttling policy. To their credit, I got a response within minutes (their support is excellent). The agent explained that they don’t have a firm throttle threshold, as it depends on the local network partner. But in general, most will start throttling after 4-5GB of usage in a 24 hour period.
I checked my phone and saw that I had already blown through about 4.5GB between my two movie downloads. Fair enough, Holafly. I couldn’t really fault them for slowing my roll at that point.
The agent said my full speeds should return by the next day, which turned out to be accurate. I woke up to my standard 7-8 Mbps service and was able to finish my movie download (in SD this time).
For the rest of the trip I used the eSIM more judiciously, mostly for music streaming, messaging, and light web browsing. I didn’t encounter any more throttling with this “normal” usage, ending most days with 1-2GB of data consumption.
Bottom Line: Is Holafly Worth It?
After putting Holafly through its paces, would I recommend their eSIM data plans to fellow travelers? I’m going to give a qualified yes, with a few caveats:
✅ The price is excellent for truly unlimited data (even if you do need to contend with throttling after 4-5GB)
✅ Setup is a breeze and it’s so much simpler than fussing with physical SIMs in each country
✅ Coverage and compatibility are top notch, with support for most newer iPhone and Android devices in 160+ countries
✅ Holafly’s support is very responsive if you do run into any snags
🚨 Speeds are decent for most casual use, but probably won’t satisfy heavy streamers or power users. Don’t expect the full benefit of 5G either.
🚨 While you can technically call and text on Holafly eSIMs, you’ll likely want to stick with data only. The included minutes are limited and the reliability isn’t great.
🚨 Holafly could definitely be more transparent about their throttling policies. It’s not fun to discover you’ve been throttled after the fact.
Overall, if you’re looking for an affordable, contract-free way to stay connected abroad, Holafly is absolutely worth a look. Manage your expectations around speed and be smart about your data usage, and you’ll be rewarded with bill-shock-free travels.
I hope you found this hands-on review useful as you evaluate your international data options. If you decide to give Holafly a try, don’t forget to use our MONITO promo code to save a little extra!
Let me know about your experience in the comments. And if you’re interested in my thoughts on other popular eSIM providers, check out my full roundup video linked below.
Happy travels!
