Whenever we travel abroad to attend events and global product launches, we’d normally go a buy a local prepaid SIM once we landed at our destination. This is mostly to get the most affordable mobile data packages while we’re staying out of the country.
A few other options might include renting a pocket WiFi with data roaming packages like Cherry Roam, or simply activate roaming on our Smart or Globe postpaid accounts which can set you back Php399 a day for data roaming alone.
Recently, we’ve gotten used to getting an international eSIM with data roaming packages. You can sign up for one and pick your data plans even before you board your flight to the country of destination.
This will spare you from the hassle of figuring out the local prepaid SIM at the airport, especially if the instructions are not in English.
The most recent one we tried during our trip to Beijing, Chin was KnowRoaming. The service sells eSIM for more than 200+ destinations globally.
You can get a country-specific eSIM number for as low as $4 with a free 1GB of data. Or, if you are traveling to multiple countries, grab a global eSIM for $14.50 which you can use on 78 countries worldwide.
In our case, we used a China-specific eSIM and bought it a day before our actual flight. Copied the steps from their website on how to activate it (like editing the APN settings) and once we landed in Beijing, the eSIM worked after a quick restart of the phone.
I got the 50GB data plan which is valid for 60 days and it cost $90 (~5,250). The best value plan I saw was only $65 for 50GB of data for Singapore, valid for 60 days. I got this one much earlier since I’m booked to fly to next month to the Singapore FinTech Festival.
While in China, I got speeds of somewhere between 30Mbps to 50Mbps while in the city. Not bad! Also, I did not need to get or use any VPN services so that saved me from additional subscription fees as well. The site also allows you to drate an account and profile so you can monitor all your eSIMs and even top-up when the data plans are used up or have expired.
Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with this eSIM service and am looking to use it again in upcoming international trips next month.
You can learn more about the eSIM service of KnowRoaming here.
