I've used the O2 Travel E-sim from Esim.net for my last several trips to UK and Europe and have been quite pleased. You get a UK phone number (+44) with unlimited local calls, and 50gb data in UK (35gb roaming in Europe) for $23 USD for 30 days. They also have a $20 plan with a lower amount of data. My wife and I have used these e-sims in UK (England and Scotland), Ireland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia and have been pleased with performance. My wife did just have some connectivity issues in Slovenia and Croatia, but when I wrote esim.net support, they answered within an hour saying they did something to fix it and to just re-boot the phone. This fixed the problem. One important unusual thing to be aware of is that the 30 days starts immediately upon purchase so I typically buy them on day of departure from America, install immediately (still in America) and then it activates upon landing in UK or any European country. https://www.esim.net/o2/travelplus

I spent a week in Dubai using only Firsty Free without any issues. The only reason it worked is because I spent 95+% of the time in locations with Wifi, so only needed data when travelling between locations. On the final day there when I was in tourist mode and outside much of the day I elected instead to use a real data plan for the day.

This is great! Much better deal than either of my previously researched options. Thank you!

I also recommend the O2 Travel E-sim although recently switched plans that now include international coverage and surprised how seamless that’s been as well.

Can anyone suggest an esim for Italy that offers voice and data and an Italian phone number? I can't find a website in English that sells esims with voice as well as data, except the O2, which offers a UK number. I expect to make & receive quite a few local calls, so a UK number won't work.

I'm going to Italy next week.

Their main carriers don't seem in general to offer eSIM for prepaid, though I've heard the the stores may convert a physical prepaid SIM to eSIM for you.

But among the plans I found is this WindTre tourist eSIM promotion for some Jubilee this summer.

https://www.windtre.it/giubileo/tour...pilgrim-web-en


It appears to offer an eSIM which you can activate online, without going into stores.

But the rest of their offerings are not like that so it may be a one-off type of offer.

Kind of wary about charging €25 in case there's some fine print which might make tourists ineligible for some reason, even though the product is claimed to be for tourists.

Thanks for the link. I signed up for $29.62 USD, as it looks like the best option I've seen for a month of voice and data. One early hiccup:

Hope you get a QR code but you have to be in Italy to activate.

Thought that eSIM includes 19 GB of EU roaming so it will work in other EU countries but you may not be able to activate while roaming.

The proven alternative is the Orange Euro eSIM, 100 GB for €39 and it includes Switzerland and the UK as well I believe.

That I've activated in different countries than France.

The O2 Travel Esim allows local calls within country for every country in Europe. That is if you're in Italy, you can call Italian numbers for free. But if you're in a different European country and want to call Italy it doesn't work. Sometimes you need to call using the full country code plus phone number (+39 for Italy) and sometimes just the local phone number starting with a 0 (zero). It seems to vary by country and sometimes by phone number within country so some trial and error might be needed, but it does work and has no added charges. I use it for restaurant reservations all the time.

You can also call a UK number from anywhere in Europe for free as long as that UK number is in the UK (and not roaming in Europe)

The issue is incoming calls - I need an Italian number so that the people I'm dealing with can easily reach me.

That is a lot more data than she will likely use in 2 weeks. I have used Airalo and Ubigi in the past in the UK. Earlier this month I used Jetpac for a two week to Greece, with a layover in Ireland. A European plan, 5GB for 30 days, cost $7. Everything worked well, I was very happy with it. I will use them again if the price is competitive, which it was for this trip. I used less than 3GB for 2 weeks, which is normal for me.

You'd be surprised sometimes. I had a 16-day on the ground trip in Portugal and I used over 160 GBs because one place I stayed in for 6 nights had poor wifi. Virtually no reception in hotel room but if I walked out about 30 feet towards the elevator, got some reception or better yet, go down to the lobby 4 floors down.

So I used the mobile data and fortunately, Portugal has an "unlimited" 15 GB eSIM that I was able to order online from their #1 carrier MEO.

In many cases, even 4G is faster than some hotel wifi and nowadays, you seem to be able to get 5G almost everywhere in relatively developed places.

Did you download their app to upload the ID scan and record the video? Or do they have some link to a website to send them the ID can and this video?

I know that Italy requires ID for any kind of Internet access.

Sounds like a more complicated process.

Update on https://www.windtre.it/giubileo/tour...pilgrim-web-en promotion:

AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS.

Paid the money, spent about 45 minutes uploading the ID through a link, filing out multiple forms, etc. Got an email saying everything had been received. Upon arrival in Italy, got an email saying there was a problem with the ID not being photographed on both sides, which considering the photo was of my passport's 2 pages with the photos and data, didn't make much sense. Could not reach WindTre by phone or email, could not find English contact info for them. Had to find a WindTre office in Rome, and the clerk there said the eSims never work, no one should buy them. My next move will be to file a chargeback request with the credit card company.

Thanks for the update, that's too bad.

I was able to upload my passport with Singtel in Singapore but I guess Italian carriers aren't ready to do that yet.

They said their eSIMs don't work or eSIMs in general don't work?

I've used WindTre last year but it was a physical SIM. It worked well and it was only €20.