Holiday.com eSIM Review

Seasoned travellers will know the routine, stepping off the plane and immediately facing a cluster of SIM card stalls, each promising the best deal.

Sometimes it can be fun, but often after a long flight the last thing you want to do is being called over by 5-6 different stalls all claiming to offer the best price when in reality they’ve all got the exact same pricing.

Prices are usually inflated and you often find better deals at local stores once you’ve headed into the nearest city or twon. With a language barrier in the mix, figuring out what you’re paying for can be more hassle than it’s worth.

That’s where eSIMs come in. They let you set everything up before you fly, no physical card needed, and if you don’t need mobile network phone calls they almost always work out much cheaper.

On my latest trip to Japan and Thailand, I put Holiday.com from VPN provider ExpressVPN to the test and compared it against the service, Saily, also from a VPN provider, NordVPN, which I tested simultaneously.

How easy was it to set-up Holiday.com?

This is where things got a little mixed.

On a newer iPhone the eSIM worked fine with little fuss, but on an older iPhone the instructions were a little confusing. This is made worse if you’re trying to set the service up in another language because it doesn’t mirror the online set-up instructions language.

You may have more luck if the language you’re using is widely used, such as Spanish or French, but I didn’t test these so can’t comment.

On my Android phone, set-up was even trickier.

I had to adjust APN settings manually before data worked, which isn’t overly difficult but could put off less technical users. It was frustrating and I had wished it had just worked out of the box. If it was my parents, this would have been a complete no-go.

Compared to Saily’s one-click app method, it definitely felt less polished, even though initially I disliked having an additional app for setup.

However, saying all this, since my testing, Holiday.com have released an iPhone app which should make set-up and use much easier. I would expect to see an Android app follow in the coming months. Once this is the case I will retest and give you my views.

How did Holiday.com perform?

Once set up, it worked as expected. I used it around Bangkok, in Krabi and in some more local areas outside of the tourist hubs. For everyday browsing, messaging and social media it was smooth and reliable.

The main drawback was the IP routing. In Japan I didn’t notice this to be an issue, but while in Thailand, my IP address showed as Singapore.

This meant some region-restricted apps, such as Lazada, simply wouldn’t work unless I used a VPN. For casual browsing this isn’t an issue, but if you rely on local apps it can be inconvenient.

As a tourist you’re unlikely to be using localised apps, but if you’re travelling for a longer period in a location you could run into an issue. So, for this, decide on your travel type if it’ll cause problems or not.

Features of Holiday.com I liked

Once the service was set up it worked well.

There aren’t really any particular features of an eSIM, it either works or doesn’t.

What I disliked about Holiday.com

The messy set-up process on Android was the biggest frustration. Needing to tweak APN settings might not faze a confident user, but it adds unnecessary hassle compared to rivals.

As I mentioned earlier in the review, there is now an iPhone app which wasn’t available in August when I tested the service. Again, I would expect an Android app to arrive in the near future so hopefully this rectifies the issues I had.

The lack of a local IP address was also a drawback, as it blocked some local services. For most short term travelers you’re unlikely to need local apps but if you’re traveling a little longer term it may be an issue.

How does the price compare to other eSIMs?

When it comes to pricing, Holiday.com is close to other competitors like Saily, but with some important differences.

For small plans, Saily usually gives 1 GB for 7 days at $4.99, while Holiday.com is slightly cheaper at $4.50 but only valid for 5 days.

For longer stays, both are competitive, Saily’s 10 GB for 30 days is about $35.99, compared to Holiday’s $35. For more data, currently, Holiday.com is offering 20 GB for 30 days at $50, while Saily’s longest and biggest plan consists of 50 GB for 90 days at $95.99.

Saily also offers plans with unlimited data starting at $35.99 for 10 days. While Holiday.com doesn’t offer unlimited plans, there is a third option with similar prices to Saily called Holafly. They only offer unlimited packages, starting at $36.90 for 10 days.

In the global coverage, Saily and Holiday.com are head to head in the smallest plan with 1 GB. But, then, Saily’s worldwide plans are generally cheaper per GB, while Holiday.com charges more but offers the convenience of a single eSIM working across 200+ countries.

In short, Saily is better value for single-country trips, while Holiday.com suits multi-country travellers who don’t mind paying extra for the flexibility.

It’s quite difficult to pin down who is the most cost effective as they both offer different types of packages in terms of length and data. From my point of view it’s best you check them both out to see which is best for your needs.

Conclusion

Overall, Holiday.com worked well once running and delivered reliable data throughout my trip. It’s priced fairly and is a good alternative to overpriced airport SIMs.

However, I found that the setup experience isn’t as beginner-friendly as it could be, especially on Android or older iPhones, and the non-local IP issue may caused me headaches when relying on regional apps.

That said, an iPhone app has now been released and I would expect an Android one to follow along shortly. Now that the iPhone app is released it should remove most of the issues I suffered and an Android app would iron out the others.

If the apps sort out this issue then I would highly recommend the service as it worked well once set up.

For now, if you’re comfortable troubleshooting yourself, it’s a good choice. But if you want something effortless with extras like virtual locations, Saily is the better option currently.

I do however like the fact you can get an ExpressVPN subscription plus a Holiday eSIM as a combination package.

I’ll be sure to re-test when both iPhone and Android apps are available to let you know if this made a difference.

Have you tried the new apps, did your experience match or differ from mine? I’d love to continue this conversation so let me know in the comments section below.