What if you didn’t have to change data every time you changed countries?
Traveling to multiple Asian countries and need your phone online? An Asia eSIM connects you with mobile data across borders, just as it did for our traveling family of four.
When we needed to keep our phones online with data across six Asian countries over a five-month span, the answer was a 10 GB, 30-day Asia Regional eSIM from Airalo. One purchase made our lives easier, fit our modest family budget, and was reliable every time the plane touched down somewhere new.
Why we needed an Asia eSIM
During our first family visits to Asia across 2022 and 2023, we had a predicament: For months we’d be traveling across different parts of Southeast Asia and Japan. Having our phones connected to the internet when out and about would be essential for everything from ordering rideshares to using Google Maps for around-town navigation.
During that trip, we visited:
Our kids didn’t have phones. We are two adults, and busy parents, though very much have phones. Maintaining smooth data connections while out and about is essential to how we travel.
However, we had a slight problem.
The data predicament
We’re pretty happy with our US-based mobile plan. It’s month to month, fits our budget, and we can scale our phone plan depending on what we need.
While our carrier is fine with including international data use, it’s only to a point. After around 90 days, they get grumpy about you being away, miss you dearly, and then, after some notice periods and such, cut off your international data.
And for the first time, this was happening to us. We could text and use voice calling… but we’d have no data for internet use.
Unless we figured out something else.
Enter the eSIM
Also in 2022, the humble, digital, no-teeny-card-required eSIM started to replace physical SIM cards, plus more phones supported multiple and simultaneous physical and digital SIMs. As we pondered what to do about data for our phones, we learned about Airalo eSIMs. While we hadn’t used one yet, we had heard about their reputation for being reliable and easy to install and use.
Plus, it turned out they offered regional eSIMs. When visiting multiple countries across Europe, for example, a customer wouldn’t need to get one eSIM for France, then another for Spain, and yet another for Italy.
One purchase and one installation could keep a phone online throughout different countries.
Airalo offered something similar for Asia. While not truly continent-wide, Airalo’s Regional Asia eSIM covers 18 destinations across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. From Pakistan to Japan, this one eSIM could provide cross-border coverage to (places where we used our Asia eSIM are in bold):
- Bangladesh
- Cambodia
- China
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Laos
- Macao
- Malaysia
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Vietnam
Two other advantages of one eSIM instead of many
Traveling to six countries over five months means arriving in a country, making lots of decisions, figuring out everything from sightseeing to groceries… then going to another country and repeating that learning process.
One less decision to make
On top of that, as busy parents, decision fatigue sets in quickly. After all, what would we rather be doing? Enjoying activities, experiences, and places we’ve longed to visit… or figuring out another life admin task over and over?
One eSIM that worked across multiple countries meant one less decision to make, one less set of options to work through, every time we were about to board a flight.
Similar price to multiple eSIMs
Plus, as we compared the costs of one eSIM versus multiple, the prices were comparable. And the time we freed up by having one less decision to make was worth even more.
Getting, installing, and using our eSIM
Jodie and I each bought this Airalo eSIM:
Once purchased, Airalo guided us step by step through how to install the eSIM on our phone, along with which settings to check. In fact, over the years since this initial purchase in 2022, the process, checking, and step-by-step have gotten even easier, with more and more happening automatically in the background.
We also completed the initial installation while connected to a good Wi-Fi connection. That’s a common best practice when setting up an eSIM, so the process can happen smoothly and is less likely to be disrupted.
While installation seemed pretty easy, we still held our breath when our plane landed in Cambodia. For the first time, when we switched our phones from airplane mode to regular mode, we had to wonder: Would the eSIM connect properly? Had we completed the setup process correctly? Would the networks function well? How much of an issue would speed be?
A few things we learned quickly
For starters, experience has taught us to do every time we activate our eSIM on the local network when we arrive in a new country:
- Activate the eSIM
- Check that the simultaneous eSIM for our USA voice/text carrier remains active
- Confirm that our cellular data can’t switch to our USA carrier
- Turn on roaming for the Asia Regional eSIM
- After the eSIM connects to the network, restart your phone
Above all, be patient during connection and trust the process
Seriously: Be patient.
Your phone might not be online. You might see little connection icon animations… but no connection. Yet. It’s typically going to work, and all will be well. But my stomach still flutters a little when I wait for activation to complete.
Connections usually take up to a few minutes. I swear, even though we’ve used eSIMs for years now, I still have to remind myself to take deep breaths while waiting for my phone to confirm it’s online.
Once connected, you’re ready to use your phone just like you would on your mobile data carrier at home. Sometimes the connection is a little clunky at first, as if the phone and local network were strangers bumbling around while getting acquainted. Then things smooth out, all is well, and our phones are ready to order up delivery dinner, translate text in a language we don’t know, or show us the correct route to the place we wanted to visit.
When time and data run out
The time duration and data amount options vary somewhat across eSIM providers. Typically, we look for 30-day eSIMs with at least 5GB of data. Especially after years of eSIM usage, we find that the 30-day/5GB combo is our workhorse.
However for this first Regional Asia eSIM, we knew we’d be out and about a lot, away from Wi-Fi, so we chose a 10GB eSIM instead.
Sometimes, though, we run out of data. And since we were visiting six countries across five months, we’d certainly run out of time.
This will vary some by eSIM and by provider. Most providers now offer top-up packages, so if you’re running low on data, you can simply pay once to add more and continue using the same eSIM without having to install a new one.
With time, though, such as an eSIM that expires after 30 days, you usually have to buy a new eSIM of the same type and go through installation and activation. That process is the same as it was when you first bought the Asia Regional eSIM, only now you’re more practiced at it, and you’ll have more comfort level with the installation and activation period. Though if you’re like me, odds are you may still get a few tummy flutters while that eSIM activates for the first time, even though it is the same one you’ve been using all along.
Observations from our experience using an Asia Regional eSIM
From a few days in Singapore to 45 days in Japan, we put our Asia eSIM to work across multiple data carriers and countries. Speeds could vary, though that seemed more to do with a moment in time for any network. Overall, speeds were solid, and we never had to wait long or wonder if we’d lost connection.
Connections were pretty seamless. We traveled to each destination, except for one overland trip from Malaysia to Singapore. Each time, whether driving through a land crossing or turning our phones off airplane mode as our flight arrived, we were online with the local network within a few minutes.
The biggest thing we noticed, and what’s been a constant ever since? Using multiple eSIMs like we do is more of a drain on our phone batteries. We might have to top up our charge during the day.
My personal best practice? Before going out for sightseeing or activities, I charge my phone to at least 80%.
One eSIM keeps your phone online throughout multiple Asian destinations
While our first eSIM experience was this Asia Regional eSIM across 2022 and 2023, since then we’ve continued to use single-country and regional eSIMs.
In fact, I’m writing this in Warsaw, Poland, where we’ve used a Regional Europe eSIM across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. (We visited Finland too, but during our month in Helsinki, we used a Finland-specific eSIM, then switched to Regional Europe while taking the ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn.)
Whether a Japan-only, Thailand-only, or Taiwan-only eSIM, we’ve had consistently satisfactory experiences using Airalo eSIMs. And when our plans include multiple destinations in Asia? We wouldn’t hesitate to use Airalo’s Regional Asia eSIM again. It’s been a reliable choice at a good price for our family budget, and we have every confidence it can keep you connected during your travels in Asia too.
More on international eSIMs
We’ve spent over a year in Japan across 6+ visits. Here’s the Japan eSIM we rely on
