Originally Posted by Stgermainparis

We just switched our iphones (11, 12, and 13) over to eSIMs for Google Fi (from ATT regular SIM) about 2 months ago. It was a total PITA. So much easier to just pop the SIM in the side. I'm not particularly tech challenged either. But I have to say I would not have wanted to deal with that upon landing for a trip or work. Took me a few hours to do all three phones and I had access to my desktop to help troubleshoot. And I honestly couldn't even tell you what the issue was. It was something different for each phone. SO frustrating. If it's possible to set up the Airalo eSIM before you leave so that if there are any issues, you can solve them ahead of trip, then that would be better than doing it on landing. I suppose a physical SIM installed upon landing could also give you trouble though (esp if it is not the SIM you thought you were getting). Does that Three one cover the EU countries you are visiting? Don't know if it was this thread or not, but somewhere on FT there is a discussion of some of these UK SIMs charging roaming fees for EU travel.

Originally Posted by draver

As I recall, you can install Airalo esims prior to travel and have them not begin their usage clock until a preset date or first usage in a roaming country. My experiences with them over the years is that as long as you pay careful attention to the instructions, step by step, you will not have any problems. I have not had to deal with their support for a few years but in the past they were quite helpful and timely answering any questions I posed.
I believe iPhones are supposed to be the easiest to install esims for, so at least you have that going for you.