Staying connected abroad: roaming packs, eSIMs and local SIMs

By the Nexara Holidays travel desk · 2 min read

Staying connected abroad matters for maps, ride-hailing, translation and keeping in touch with your planner on WhatsApp. You have three main options.

International roaming packs

Indian mobile operators sell roaming packs for specific countries or regions.

• Pros: your Indian number keeps working for calls, SMS and one-time passwords for banking.
• Cons: packs can be expensive for long trips or heavy data use.
• Activate before you leave and check that the pack covers every country on your itinerary.

Travel eSIMs

An eSIM is a digital SIM installed on compatible phones. Travel eSIM providers sell data plans for one or many countries.

• Pros: buy and install before you leave; data works as soon as you land; good value for multi-country trips such as Europe.
• Cons: usually data only, with no local number; your phone must support eSIM.
• Keep your Indian SIM active alongside it for OTPs.

Local SIM cards

Buying a local SIM at the airport is often the cheapest option for longer stays in places like Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

• Pros: cheap local data and sometimes a local number.
• Cons: you need a dual-SIM or spare phone to keep your Indian number active; registration with your passport is usually required.

Which to choose

• Short trip, one country: roaming pack or eSIM.
• Multi-country Europe trip: a regional eSIM.
• Long stay in one country: local SIM.

Tips

• Download offline maps before you travel.
• Turn off data roaming on your Indian SIM if you use an eSIM for data, to avoid accidental charges.
• Save hotel addresses in the local language for taxi drivers.
• Wi-Fi is widely available in hotels, but do not rely on it for banking.

See our Your first international trip: a step-by-step checklist.