travelers.so

PARTNER · CONNECTIVITY

Staying connected abroad, and where KnowRoaming fits

The gap between landing and having working data is where most international trips go briefly wrong. Your ride app will not open, your booking confirmation is in an email you cannot fetch, and the airport wifi wants an SMS code sent to a number that is not receiving anything. None of that is hard to avoid — it just has to be handled before you fly, not after.

What an eSIM actually is

An eSIM is a SIM profile your phone downloads instead of a plastic card you slot in. The hardware is already inside every recent iPhone, Pixel and Galaxy; buying an eSIM means buying a data plan and installing its profile, usually by scanning a QR code.

The practical difference for a traveler is that you can buy and install it from your sofa a week before departure, and you can keep your normal number active on your primary line at the same time. That second part matters more than it sounds: your bank, your airline and your email all send two-factor codes to your existing number, and swapping a physical SIM out cuts you off from every one of them at the exact moment you are in an unfamiliar country.

What to sort out before you fly

  1. Check the phone can take an eSIM, and is unlocked. Most phones sold in the last few years can. A handset still locked to a carrier often cannot, and that is the single most common reason an eSIM bought at the airport does not work.
  2. Install the profile while you still have wifi. Downloading an eSIM profile needs a working connection. Doing it at the arrivals hall — with no data, on a network you cannot reach — is the failure case the whole product is meant to avoid.
  3. Decide which line does what. The usual arrangement is the travel eSIM for data and your home line kept on for calls and texts. Label the lines in your phone settings so you can tell them apart quickly.
  4. Turn data roaming off on the home line. Otherwise the phone can quietly fall back to your home carrier abroad and bill you for it while the travel plan sits unused.
  5. Download the offline pieces. Offline maps for the city, your boarding passes, and your accommodation address in local script. Cheap insurance for the first hour.

About KnowRoaming

KnowRoaming sells eSIMs for international travelers: mobile data in 200+ destinations, bought and installed before you go, as an alternative to your home carrier's roaming charges. Their own summary of the proposition is “All the service, no roaming, no surprises. Hassle-free installation, immediate coverage & transparent pricing.”

We are describing what they sell, not quoting terms. Plans, prices and per destination coverage live on their site and change; check them there rather than taking a number from this page.

Visit KnowRoaming

travelers.so does not sell eSIMs and does not take a booking for one. We recommend KnowRoaming on the merits, and we may earn a commission if you buy through this link.

Why we mention this at all

travelers.so advisors build proposals on live flight and stay inventory, and a good number of those itineraries cross a border. The moment a traveler accepts one, they have a date, a destination and a real need for working data on arrival — which is exactly when this is worth thinking about and exactly when nobody does. Putting it next to the itinerary is more useful than leaving it to be discovered at baggage claim.

Browse trips on travelers.so or read about the other companies we work with.