Have you used Aíralo?

[Kiwi-family]

Usually I buy an Orange SIMcard when I arrive in Spain and that has always served me well. However this time I am considering getting an eSIM before I leave. It seems Aíralo is the best value. Does anyone have any experience with them and do you know of any drawbacks? Obviously I could not text or call, although I could use Messenger and WhatsApp.
Is there anything else I should be considering?

 

[Taholden]

I have used Airalo in several countries, including Spain, France, Germany, and Latin America. I typically get a regional sim for where I am traveling. I have had good experiences with them. The one time I had an issue installing the e-sim, their online and chat help set me right. I recommend Airalo to my traveling friends. It's really nice to have data and their prices are good and top up was easy. Not having a local phone number wasn't a problem, using WhatsApp and email . Also it was easy to switch back to my USA sim if I needed to to use multi factor authentication for a purchase, like a train ticket Just make sure you're on WiFi if you need to switch to your home country sim so you don't trigger expensive daily roaming fees.

 

[trecile]

@Rick of Rick and Peg has used it, and has several posts about Airalo.
Here's one:

I recently used Airalo for a UK and Ireland trip. I found the Airalo app easy to use to purchase one plan that could be used in both countries (one EU and one not). I bought the plan ahead of time but activated it only once there using the app. The app provided an easy way to recharge though I didn't need to do that as a lot of my data usage was done using wifi. I'm unsure as to whether their eSIM plans can also offer a phone number and voice minutes as I didn't need that so didn't seek out plans with it.

I collected some YouTube videos about Airalo and its app and posted them here:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/esim-for-spain.84326/#post-1205342

 

[NicP]

Hi, I really liked Holafly. I guess in terms of value, it depends on what you’re looking for, but I had unlimited data for the period of time I purchased, and it also allowed me to use the holafly esim to make WiFi calls via my NZ (skinny) mobile connection. Super useful, fantastic mobile data coverage (it switches between local networks depending on what’s available) and I never had any issues. Their Customer service team was good too when I had a question that I needed answering. For what it’s worth, I’ll use them again when I’m back in Spain / France again this year.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Thank you @trecile for reposting my list of Airalo videos. I might not have remembered that I posted them.

As for which service to use I've seen both Airarlo and Holafly mentioned as superior. The big difference between them is that Holafly is best for heavy data usage so if you are using data instead of wifi to upload your Camino videos (or watch other's videos) Holafly is the way to go.

Airalo suited me well though and will likely be my pick in the future too.

 

[Elle Bieling]

I have only used Airalo. Loved it. It's a bit tricky to get set up, but I figured it out myself. Good to hear the customer support is good. I always set it up before I leave the USA, so it's ready to turn on when I land. But I DID make the mistake of trying to turn it on after landing, thinking I was on WIFI, but I was not! Got a 10 USD charge for turning on my Airalo! But even with that charge, it was cheaper all around. Used it in Mexico, Spain, Italy, Portugal, no problems.

 

[barryfr]

When my wife and I started Camino del Norte last spring, we tried to rely on wifi only. We installed Airalo after trying to get inside a hostel and a pension where a phone/whatsapp call was needed. We were very happy with Airalo. Prices were reasonable and the ability to connect off of wifi was invaluable many times.

 

[mla1]

Airalo has worked really well for me in Spain, the UK, and Mexico. And we now also use it if we are driving over the border to the US when we go hiking so that we can get access to online maps.

 

[el-pe]

I've used Airalo and the Orange eSim on the VdlP and they both worked great.

 

[DwainS]

I bought a SIM card at Madrid airport terminal 4 last year because I heard it was a lot cheaper than Terminal 1. I was going to try the Airalo this year. My question to those who have tried both, it seems you get a lot more GB for the dollar with a SIM card, did you find that true. Also when you top up an Airalo plan does that add another 30 days also or do you have to get another plan when your 30 days run out. What i'am trying to figure out aim I going to have to do both, top up and buy a new plan as i'am going for 49 days.

 

[Taholden]

Hi there,
As I recall the top up packages came in a variety of data amounts and date ranges, so I didn't have to top up for 30 days if I just needed another week or so. You can go to their website (airalo.com) and see the prices and various top up packages for where you're going. Look at both the regional Europe E-Sim and one for just Spain (if that's where you're going), sometimes there's sales on a regional SIM making them a better deal. Then you can compare the price differences between the E-Sim and the physical SIM card. I really like NOT having to remove, install, and keep track of a physical SIM, and so much prefer the E-SIM. Good luck and Buen Camino!
Anne

 

[DwainS]

Hi there,
As I recall the top up packages came in a variety of data amounts and date ranges, so I didn't have to top up for 30 days if I just needed another week or so. You can go to their website (airalo.com) and see the prices and various top up packages for where you're going. Look at both the regional Europe E-Sim and one for just Spain (if that's where you're going), sometimes there's sales on a regional SIM making them a better deal. Then you can compare the price differences between the E-Sim and the physical SIM card. I really like NOT having to remove, install, and keep track of a physical SIM, and so much prefer the E-SIM. Good luck and Buen Camino!
Anne.

I didn't mind the installation so much but it was the constant checking every day that I had not lost it. I leave in 6 weeks so I think I'll give Airalo a try.
Thanks Anne

 

[trecile]

I haven't compared the price against Airalo, but Vodaphone offers a travel sSim that sounds like it's easy to use.

Vodafone Travel eSIM Europe

Buy your Vodafone Travel eSIM, install it quickly and enjoy our fast internet in Europe.

travel.vodafone.com

 

[Ernie Fraser]

Usually I buy an Orange SIMcard when I arrive in Spain and that has always served me well. However this time I am considering getting an eSIM before I leave. It seems Aíralo is the best value. Does anyone have any experience with them and do you know of any drawbacks? Obviously I could not text or call, although I could use Messenger and WhatsApp.
Is there anything else I should be considering?

I used Airalo last fall when walking the Portuguese Camino and was very pleased. When I crossed into Spain at Tui, it was necessary to purchase data for my time in Spain and that was straightforward. I am not sophiscated with this kind of thing, but had no problems at all. Wifi is ubiquitous in cafes/bars and at lodging of all kinds. In addition Airalo is inexpensive and there are different levels of data and length of time. I’m doing some other travel soon in Ireland and will use Airalo again.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Thanks so much for all your assistance. My techno-savvy son came for dinner and convinced me to use Roamless- we both got a $3 bonus if I signed up!! It is not restricted to one country or area, and you only pay for what you use - so no trying to work out which size data plan to pick. Any money you put on remains valid forever. It is slightly more expensive than the Airalo 10GB month BUT I ended up only paying $20 to get $30 of data because of discounts and bonuses applied. If I end up using less than that (which I expect will be the case), it will still be comparable. eSIMs are certainly the easy way to go, and in many cases, cheaper than a physical SIM.

 

[Taholden]

Thanks so much for all your assistance. My techno-savvy son came for dinner and convinced me to use Roamless- we both got a $3 bonus if I signed up!! It is not restricted to one country or area, and you only pay for what you use - so no trying to work out which size data plan to pick. Any money you put on remains valid forever. It is slightly more expensive than the Airalo 10GB month BUT I ended up only paying $20 to get $30 of data because of discounts and bonuses applied. If I end up using less than that (which I expect will be the case), it will still be comparable. eSIMs are certainly the easy way to go, and in many cases, cheaper than a physical SIM.

Roamless looks promising, and I'd be interested in your impression of it once you've used it. If you can follow up with a post to share your thoughts after your walk, that would be great. Buen Camino!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Roamless looks promising, and I'd be interested in your impression of it once you've used it. If you can follow up with a post to share your thoughts after your walk, that would be great. Buen Camino!

Can certainly do that. I leave in a week and will be back at the end of June. I’m planning to be off the forum but might sneak on for an update after a couple of weeks