How to organise eSIMs for a round-the-world trip
Plan it as a chain of legs, not as one plan. Outside Europe, one country pack for each country; for the European part, the Europe pack if you cross several countries or a country pack if you stay in one. Each can be bought up to 180 days ahead and only starts at its first connection in the destination, so the first legs can be bought before you leave and the later ones on the road.
See all destinationsWrite the route as a list of legs
Start with the route in order, one line per country, with the approximate arrival date for each. Every line outside Europe is one eSIM, because a country pack only works in its own country: the Japan pack carries data in Japan and nowhere else, the United States pack in the United States. Crossing a land border means switching lines, as our guide on crossing a border with a country eSIM explains.
Europe is the one place where several lines of the list can merge into one. The Europe pack covers 33 countries on a single eSIM, so a stretch through France, Italy and Switzerland is one leg, not three. Mark on the list where each eSIM starts and ends. A short stopover in a third country you never leave the airport for is usually covered by airport Wi-Fi; our layover guide explains when it is worth a pack of its own.
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.
The European leg: one pack for the region, or one country
For the European part, count the countries. If you stay in one, a country pack is enough. If you move between two or more, the Europe pack saves you an eSIM and a line switch at every border; its 33 countries include the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway, which matters on routes that leave the EU.
Where the European leg falls in the trip changes one setting. If you start the trip from a European country the pack covers, the eSIM could make its first connection at home and start counting before you have even left. Install it, then leave the line switched off, or its data roaming off, until the European leg actually begins. If Europe is the last stop before you fly home, the same applies in reverse: it simply waits on the phone, untouched, until you land there.
When to buy each one: the 180-day window
Paying, installing and starting are three separate moments. You can pay up to 180 days before the trip, the QR code arrives by email, and the plan's days only begin at the first connection in the destination. On a trip of a few months, that means you can buy every eSIM before leaving and none of them loses a day while it waits.
On a longer trip, the window decides the order. Buy before you leave the packs for the legs that begin within 180 days of the purchase, and leave the rest for the road. Buying from abroad works the same way: you need a connection to pay and to open the email, which the current leg's data or a hotel's Wi-Fi gives you. What you cannot do without a connection is install. Apple says an iPhone must be on Wi-Fi or a hotspot to set up a travel eSIM, so install the next one the night before the flight, not at the arrivals hall.
Install them all at home, or one at a time
Installing everything before you leave means you never depend on a hotel's Wi-Fi to set up the next country. Phones can hold more profiles than most trips need: Apple says an iPhone can manage eight or more eSIMs, and Samsung says a Galaxy can download up to 20, sometimes fewer because the chip's memory runs out first. Our guide on how many eSIMs a phone can hold has the details for each brand.
The cost is a long list of lines, and that is where mistakes start. A middle way works well on long trips: install the first two or three legs at home and the rest along the way, a day or two before each one. Whichever you choose, keep the QR emails private and in one folder, and remember that an installed eSIM stays on that phone: changing phones in the middle of the trip means new eSIMs for the legs still ahead.
Keeping several eSIMs in order on the phone
Give each line a name with its position and its country: 1 Thailand, 2 Japan, 3 Europe. The number tells you which one comes next, and the country tells you where it works. Renaming takes a minute, and the steps for iPhone, Pixel and Samsung are in our guide on renaming SIM lines.
Then keep one rule: only the current leg's line is switched on, and it is the line chosen for mobile data, with data roaming on. Every other travel line stays off. Your usual SIM stays on for calls and text codes, with its data roaming off. On landing in the next country, switch on the new line, choose it for data and switch the previous one off. If the phone offers to switch data between lines automatically, turn that off; our article on cellular data switching explains why.
Long legs, top-ups and what to keep at the end
Plans in a long trip rarely match the guess you made at home. If you stay longer in a country or use more data than expected, top up the eSIM you already have instead of buying a new one: with Snoozim the data lands on the same profile, with nothing to reinstall, as our top-up guide shows. Check the usage now and then on the current line, so the top-up happens before the data runs out and not after.
When a leg ends, switch its line off rather than deleting it, especially if you might return to that country. Deleting is permanent and the same QR will not install it again. At the end of the trip, keep the lines you could top up next time and remove only those you are sure you will not use; our guide on deleting an eSIM lists what to check first.
Is there one eSIM that covers a whole round-the-world trip?
Not with Snoozim. The Europe pack covers 33 European countries, and outside Europe each pack covers one country, so a trip across continents uses several eSIMs on the same phone.
Can I buy all my eSIMs before I leave?
Yes, for the legs that start within 180 days of the purchase. Each one only starts counting at its first connection in its destination, so buying early does not shorten it.
Do I have to delete one eSIM before installing the next?
No. Switch the previous line off and leave it on the phone. Deleting is permanent and is only worth doing when the plan has ended and you will not top it up.
Will my WhatsApp keep working with all these eSIMs?
Yes. The travel eSIMs are data only, with no number, and WhatsApp stays linked to your usual number while it runs over whichever line carries the data.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
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