The Best Travel eSIM for Families: How to Cut Your Holiday Phone Bills

As a family, we’ve been travelling abroad together, since the kids were tiny. Those early days of juggling pushchairs and nappy bags through airports feels like a lifetime ago now though and I really feel that travel with children certainly gets far simplier as they get older. 

I’m genuinely amazed at how much easier it’s become. The children are older, more independent, and honestly, so much better at navigating new places than I ever expected. My son, for instance, has become our unofficial map reader, he’s far better with Google Maps than I am, and I’m very happy to hand that responsibility over.

But with this newfound independence comes a whole new set of considerations. Gone are the days when we could simply rely on the hotel Wi-Fi and stick together as a unit. Now that the kids have their own phones and the confidence to explore a bit on their own (even if it’s just popping to the local shop or finding their way back from the hotel pool), we need to make sure they’re properly connected. They need to be able to call us if something goes wrong, access maps when they’re out and about, and generally have that safety net that comes with being contactable.

This shift has also opened up exciting possibilities for us as a family. We’re ready to branch out from the all-inclusive resort holidays and try more adventurous trips. The kind where we might not all be together every moment, where local exploration is part of the experience, and where reliable phone connectivity isn’t just convenient, it’s essential.

Which brings me to something I’ve been researching lately: travel eSIMs…

Now we’ve got multiple devices to think about, I’ve been looking into whether travel eSIM plans actually help us save money, while keeping everyone properly connected?

Having looked into it, Sim Local keeps coming up on top because it seems to tick all the boxes that are genuinely important to us as a family…

How Reliable Are International eSIM Networks for Family Travel?

The first thing I looked into was network reliability. As when your teenager is out exploring and needs to call you, or when you’re trying to navigate unfamiliar streets using Google Maps, the last thing you want is a patchy connection or dropped signal.

What sets Sim Local apart is that they’re apparently the only travel eSIM company that partners directly with the best local network providers in each country. We’re talking about established names like Lyca Mobile, Three, EE, Orange, and AU. The networks that locals actually use and trust. For a family like ours, where the kids might wander off to explore (within reason!), this kind of reliable connectivity gives me genuine peace of mind. There’s something reassuring about knowing that when my son is confidently navigating us through a new city using his phone, or when my daughter wants to call to let us know she’s made it safely to the hotel lobby, they’re using the same network infrastructure that locals depend on every day.

What Should Families Actually Look for in a Travel eSIM?

Another consequence of the kids getting older? We’re no longer travelling with just two phones between us adults. Now we’ve got tablets for entertainment, laptops for when work inevitably creeps into holiday time, and of course, multiple phones to keep connected. It’s quite the digital entourage compared to our early family travel days!

Something else I discovered is Sim Local’s approach to data allowances. While I was researching travel eSIM options, I noticed that many providers seem to offer what they call ‘unlimited’ plans, but when you dig into the small print, you often find daily caps of just 1-3GB at full speed. For a family like ours, with teenagers who seem to think streaming and social media are essential travel activities, that could disappear pretty quickly!

How Much Mobile Data Do Families Need When Travelling?

What caught my attention about Sim Local is their 10GB daily allowance on their unlimited plans, thats more generous than what I’ve seen elsewhere. But perhaps even more practically useful, is the fact that all their plans include hotspot and tethering as standard. This means we could potentially connect multiple devices from one plan, sharing that daily allowance across phones, tablets, and laptops without any extra charges.

The idea of being able to work from a café if needed or check some holiday admin on a tablet and still have plenty of data left for maps and communication is great. Especially when I think about those more adventurous holidays we’re now ready for, where reliable connectivity across all our devices could be the difference between a smooth trip and a stressful one.

Is Sim Local Right for Families?

There are also few other things about Sim Local that have caught my attention… 

There are over 220 destinations to choose from, so you can pick the plan that best suits you. Whether that’s a simple 1GB option or full unlimited data. As someone who’s spent far too much time trying to guess how much data we’ll actually use on holiday, the idea of a system that helps you pay only for what you need is quite refreshing. Some of their plans include calls, which is fantastic if you want to stay 100% connected.

The customer support side is worth mentioning too, they’ve got a 4.3-star rating on Trustpilot and Google, with multiple ways to get help if something goes wrong: email, WhatsApp, online chat, and even phone support for specific markets. When you’re dealing with technology in a foreign country with kids who need to stay connected, knowing you can actually reach someone who can help is invaluable. If you cancel your trip or change your plans, Sim Local will give you a no-questions-asked refund. 

Ready to give it a try? I’ve got a 5% discount code for readers: just use code SUFFOLKMUM when you sign up over on Sim Local