The overlooked phone upgrade that could rescue your travel plans
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A digital alternative to swapping SIM cards could help travellers avoid roaming surprises, and one new benefit provides a reserve of mobile data when journeys don't go to plan.
Arriving in another country should be the exciting part of a holiday. But the moment the plane lands, your phone suddenly becomes one of the most important things you packed.
You need it to find the hotel, contact the transfer company, translate a menu or prove that you did, in fact, book the hire car six months ago.
That makes discovering you have no mobile data particularly unwelcome. Airport Wi-Fi can be unreliable, public networks aren't always secure and switching on conventional roaming without checking the price can produce a nasty surprise later.
There is another option, however, and one travel connectivity company has introduced a particularly interesting safeguard for when plans change.
Holafly provides travel eSIMs, which are digital alternatives to the physical SIM card inside your phone. If your device is compatible, you can install a Holafly eSIM before travelling and activate it when you reach your destination.
The company now offers plans covering more than 200 destinations, including individual countries, wider regions and multi-country travel. This can be particularly useful on cruises, road trips and longer holidays where several borders are involved.
Its most interesting new feature is called Always On.
Once a Holafly eSIM has been installed, the feature provides 1GB of backup data every month in more than 150 supported destinations. It refreshes every 30 days and doesn't require the traveller to reinstall the eSIM or buy another package.
That isn't enough for an evening of enthusiastic video streaming, but it could be invaluable if a flight is cancelled, your paid plan expires or an unexpected stopover leaves you in a different country.
One gigabyte should provide enough breathing room to open maps, send WhatsApp messages, check emails, order a taxi or arrange another data plan.
The backup allowance doesn't roll over, but it refreshes each month. Holafly says Always On is included with its travel eSIMs, including short-trip unlimited-data products and its longer-term monthly plans.
For the main part of a holiday, many of Holafly's destination plans include unlimited data. These are aimed at travellers who don't want to count every megabyte while navigating, uploading photographs, making internet calls or keeping up with events back home.
The amount you pay is shown before purchase, with no unexpected roaming bill from Holafly afterwards. As with any unlimited mobile service, local network availability, speeds and fair-usage policies can vary, so it is worth checking the plan for your destination.
Installation can be completed using a QR code or manual instructions. People using a compatible iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later may also have access to a one-tap installation option.
The eSIM can be delivered digitally by email or WhatsApp, removing the need to find a mobile shop or handle a tiny plastic SIM card at the airport.
Crucially, installing a travel eSIM doesn't mean giving up your usual number. Your normal SIM can remain in the phone, allowing WhatsApp to continue working with the same account, while Holafly handles mobile data.
You should make sure data roaming is disabled for your regular UK SIM, however, otherwise it could still connect abroad and incur charges from your usual network.
Holafly has also refreshed its mobile app, where travellers can check whether their phone is compatible, install and manage eSIMs and monitor their plan. Human customer support is available around the clock through WhatsApp and website chat if something goes wrong.
There are 11 regional options covering areas including Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, Oceania, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, alongside a broader Global eSIM.
Travellers can compare Holafly's country, regional and global options before choosing a plan based on where they are going and how long they intend to stay.
An eSIM won't suit every phone or every traveller. Some older handsets don't support the technology, and people who use very little data might find a small roaming allowance from their existing network is sufficient.
But for anyone who relies heavily on their phone abroad, installing a travel eSIM before departure could remove one of the most irritating parts of landing in a new country.
And that small reserve of emergency data might be the feature you appreciate most when a journey doesn't quite go to plan.
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