No one really wants to pay extra for using their home phone network abroad, but it’s just one of those things: we voted to leave the EU and now we’ve got to live with it. Maybe.
In researching the best travel eSIM plans, we landed on a loophole that could net you completely free mobile data on your next trip abroad – I wish I’d know this for a recent holiday.
A number of eSIM operators are currently offering free trial offers in select destinations. Depending on the location and the duration of your stay, if you’re willing to put in the legwork, then you could potentially line up all five free trials and pay nothing for mobile data the next time you go away.
Admittedly, that sounds like a lot of hard work just to save a few quid. And you’d need to be careful to avoid each trial offer automatically kicking in as soon as you land on foreign soil. Remember, too, that eSIM plans typically only cover mobile data, so you could still get charged roaming fees if you send texts or make and receive calls over the mobile network – although you can avoid this using app-based messaging services such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger, or using O2 or one of its piggback networks to get access to free roaming in select destinations.
Regardless, these free eSIM trials can significantly reduce the amount you’ll need to pay for mobile data abroad.
By far the best eSIM trial offer comes from Nomad, which is offering 1GB of data in 48 destinations that is valid for three days.
Get a free 1GB travel eSIM!We also found great eSIM trials from Airalo (1GB of data, 7 destinations, 1 day validity), GigSky (100MB-500MB of data, 7-15 days validity), iRoamly (500MB of data, 100+ destinations, 1 day validity), and SIM Local (unspecified amount of data, 1 day validity).
You might also be interested in Jetpac’s £1 for 1GB special offer.
Author: Marie Black, Global Director of Content Operations, Foundry
Marie is Global Director of Content Operations at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for 20 years. These days she is focused on refining editorial processes and workflows, and on our evergreen, transactional and custom content strategy.