Do you need a local phone number when you travel?
For most trips, no. Your own number keeps working for calls, texts, bank codes and WhatsApp, and mobile data covers the rest. A local number helps on long stays, when people or businesses in that country need to call you, and for a few services that only accept numbers from there. Getting one usually means a local SIM registered with your passport.
See the Europe packYour own number already does most of the work
On a normal trip, the people who need to reach you know your usual number: family, your bank, your airline and the apartment you booked from home. Keeping that number in the phone is more useful than a new one nobody has. With a dual SIM phone your usual SIM stays in place for calls and texts while another line provides data.
Messaging is not tied to a local number either. WhatsApp works with the number you registered, whichever line gives the phone internet, so your chats and contacts carry on as usual; we explain it in keep your WhatsApp number with an eSIM. If a hotel or a rental company needs to reach you, giving them your usual number with its country code is normally enough.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
When a local number really helps
A local number becomes useful when someone in that country needs to call you, and calling a foreign number is a barrier for them. That covers a landlord or flatmates on a long stay, a school or employer, a doctor's office, or couriers delivering to your address. In those cases a local number is simply more likely to get answered.
It also matters if you need to call local landlines often, because a local line pays local prices. And some local services may ask for a phone number from that country to register or receive a code. If your stay is a week of sightseeing, none of this usually applies; if it is a semester or a work posting, it probably does. Our guide to phone plans for Erasmus students covers that longer case in Europe.
What getting one involves
A local number almost always comes with a local SIM, and many countries register each SIM to the buyer's identity. In Japan, the law against the misuse of mobile phones requires identity checks when contracting a line, and the government has amended it to cover data SIMs too. In India, a foreign visitor's connection is verified with a passport and visa and cannot outlast the visa. Thailand registers SIMs to the passport, in person.
On a phone with a single slot, the local SIM also replaces yours, so your usual number goes quiet while it is in. The details for several countries are in buying a SIM card at the airport.
Two numbers in one phone
If you do need a local number, a dual SIM phone lets you keep both. The local SIM can go in the tray while your usual line stays as an eSIM, or the other way round. Each line gets a label so you can choose which one makes a call, as we show in how to rename SIM lines on a dual SIM phone.
Decide which line carries data and keep data roaming off on your home line, so it only receives calls and texts. Our guide to setting up dual SIM for travel walks through the full setup.
Calling local numbers without a local number
For the occasional call to a restaurant or a museum, you do not need a local line. You can call from your own number at your operator's roaming price, or, if your operator supports wifi calling abroad, over the hotel wifi. Messaging apps work for anyone who uses them, which in many countries includes plenty of businesses.
There is one exception that matters. WhatsApp's own terms say it does not connect to emergency services, so for an emergency you need a mobile line. Our guides on calling home with a data-only eSIM and calling for help with no signal cover both situations.
If you only need data
If after all this you mainly need internet, a data-only eSIM is enough. It has no number, so your usual SIM keeps your calls and texts, and WhatsApp stays on your own number. Snoozim's plans work that way: they install with a QR code before you leave and start counting at the first connection in your destination.
A data eSIM does not replace a local number in the cases above. It replaces the need to change SIMs just to get data, which is the most common reason travellers look for one.
Will my WhatsApp change if I use a local SIM or an eSIM?
No. WhatsApp stays on the number you registered, whichever line provides the internet.
Can I keep my number and have a local one at the same time?
Yes, on a dual SIM phone. One line can be a physical SIM and the other an eSIM.
Do I need a local number to use ride apps abroad?
Usually you sign up with your own number before the trip. Keep it in the phone so you can receive the verification code.
Can I call emergency services with WhatsApp?
No. WhatsApp's terms say it does not connect to emergency services, so use a mobile line.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See the Europe pack