Thailand eSIM

In Thailand your phone is your taxi rank, your map, your translator and often your hotel reception desk, since many guesthouses answer guests on LINE. Being online from the moment you leave Suvarnabhumi makes the first evening in Bangkok far easier. The Thailand catalog has 27 plans, with fixed data bundles of 0.5–50 GB and validity of 1–30 days. Plans start at €4.99, the lowest price per gigabyte is €0.44/GB, and VAT is already included.

How the plan types compare:

Fixed data plans. You buy a set number of gigabytes for 7, 10, 15 or 30 days. They suit most itineraries. A ten-day loop of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and one beach usually fits in the 10 GB plan; if you mostly message and check maps, 5 GB will do. For a month of island hopping, start at 20 GB and top up from your account if you need more.

Daily plans. These reset every day with a set amount of high-speed data. After you use it, you remain connected at a reduced speed until the next day's allowance, as set out in the fair use policy. They are a good match for digital nomads in Chiang Mai, for anyone tethering a laptop, and for travellers who post videos from every viewpoint. Think of them as unlimited in volume, with full speed capped per day.

Premium plans. Your connection gets a Thai local IP address. Standard plans route traffic via Hong Kong or Singapore, which makes no difference for maps or messaging but can trip up Thai banking, payment or booking services that expect a domestic connection.

Planning a longer loop through Southeast Asia? The Asia (20 destinations) plan and the Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand plan let you cross borders on a single eSIM. To check how we compare, see the Airalo price comparison.

The eSIM uses AIS, DTAC and TrueMove H, all three with 5G, plus True Move on 4G. Each plan page tells you whether it includes 5G. Your phone chooses the strongest network on its own.

Coverage is strong in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and other cities, along the main roads and on the popular islands such as Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Lanta. 5G is available in many urban areas. Things get less predictable in national parks, jungle areas and the remote mountains of the north, and on boats between islands, where the signal can come and go during the crossing. If you are trekking in Khao Sok, riding the Mae Hong Son loop or taking a long ferry, download your maps and tickets beforehand.

Hotels, cafés and shopping malls almost always have free Wi-Fi. What they cannot do is get you a Grab outside a temple at closing time, which is where mobile data matters. LINE is the most widely used messaging app in the country, so it is worth installing before you arrive. Your eSIM is data-only, without a Thai number, but LINE and WhatsApp keep working with your existing account.

Set the eSIM up at home before flying to Bangkok, Phuket or Chiang Mai. Right after payment you get an email with the QR code and the manual details, which are also on your order page; on an iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later, a single button handles the whole installation. Installing early costs you nothing, because validity starts only when the phone first connects to a network in Thailand.

When you arrive, open your mobile data settings and:

• select the eSIM as your mobile data line and switch on its data roaming;
• keep your home SIM for calls and texts, with data roaming turned off;
• rename the line from "Carrier" to "Startia".

An eSIM that has not been installed can be refunded, and you have 180 days to install it if the trip moves. The iPhone guide and the Android guide walk you through each screen.

Book rides with Grab or Bolt rather than flagging a street taxi or tuk-tuk; the app fixes the fare before you get in. Grab also delivers food, which is handy on rainy evenings. In Bangkok, the BTS Skytrain and the MRT metro are the quickest way past the traffic.

Cash still rules at street food stalls, markets and small shops. Thai ATMs usually charge a fixed fee on foreign cards, so it pays to withdraw less often and in larger amounts.

Heat and all-day map use drain batteries quickly, so keep a power bank in your day bag. Before visiting national parks or remote islands, download offline maps; the signal there can be unreliable.

Sockets vary: types A, B, C, F and O are all in use, at 230 V and 50 Hz. A universal adapter covers every case. Thailand runs on UTC+7 all year, and the country code is +66.

Emergency numbers are 191 for police, 1669 for ambulance, 199 for fire, and 1155 for the tourist police. Call them from your home line, as the eSIM has no number.

Useful apps: Grab, Bolt, Google Maps, LINE and Google Translate.

Crossing overland to Cambodia or heading south to Malaysia? Check those plans before you leave.