Some years ago it was a piece of cake to snap up a sim card right on the border, load it with credit and be on your way. Many countries have since required telecom operators to register sim cards with the purchaser. You typically need to present your passport and an agent for the telecom company needs to link your identifying information with the sim card.

Now when you buy a “pre-registered” sim card on the border, there is a good chance it will be inactive by the time you reach the first major city. There are a few ways to deal with this:

1. Take your chances with the insistent promises of the ambulant vendor you meet 5 meters across the border. Hey, if the sim does cut out, it likely only cost a couple of dollars.
2. Wait until you get to a bigger town or city where you can go to a telecom office and get a sim card properly registered.
3. Use an e-sim service like Airalo.

What is an E-sim?

E-sims are virtual sim cards. There is no physical card. Your phone identifies itself to the cellular network and off you go. Not all phones are compatible with e-sims so check this before you travel.

We have recently started using Airalo on our trips. If your phone allows e-sims, this is an easy way to get connected before you even arrive in a country. You can buy individual country plans or you can get a regional package.

The regional e-sim for Africa from Airalo covers the following countries in West Africa: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. It costs $27 and it includes 1GB of data. You are not paying for cheap data here. It is the convenience of having it work on arrival.

For individual countries the price is often around $10 and includes service for at least a week. For example, Airalo has plans for Togo and Benin (two countries that are not included in the regional package) that are $9.50 and they are valid for 7 days.

How Does Airalo Compare to Local Sim Cards?

I am currently in Mali and it costs 10,000 CFA (about $16 at the time of this writing) for 25 gb. So yes, the data in Airalo’s plan is not cheap. It’s certainly more economical to stay offline for a bit.

While it is not cheap, it is reliable. Airalo syncs up with a local network and we have had no issues with connectivity. We have been using it throughout our Coast to Coast trip to South Africa. While other travelers are trying to track down working sims, we are already connected.

And keep in mind that in some countries — hello, Nigeria — getting a sim card can be a headache even once you make it to that telecom office in a major city.

If you can’t afford to go offline or you want access in case of an emergency, Airalo offers an excellent service. We are aware of some other e-sim services, but this is the only one we’ve tried. Anyone have a different experience with Airalo? Anyone use a different service? Let us know in the comments.