Sim card for travel in US and Mexico area, or other option?

[Lysrin]

My wife is taking a trip with her mom and sister, cruise out of Florida then stops in Mexico and I think Belize and Honduras.

Her work phone, although okay for personal use in Canada, isn't allowed to be used for travel, so I'm planning to set up my old phone for her to take. In years past I've bought sim cards for use in the US, before I added international to my current plan, but I can't remember what company that was.

Anyone buy sim cards for travel and have a company they would recommend, or perhaps do it some other way?

I know I can add lines to my Koodo plan, but I don't think that would make sense in this case. That isn't temporary I don't think.

 

[Sagath]

I do this all the time for work and leisure. There are many options, but by far the easiest is to get an E-sim from a provider of your choice; Just find out whos local (Digicel is big in the Caribbean for example), and a lot of times you can set up an account with them and get an esim online. This leaves you with no hassle of finding a local store, dealing with language barriers, and wasting time getting a hard-sim.

Alternatively I highly recommend

Buy eSIMs for international travel - Airalo

Find travel eSIMs for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices in over 200 destinations. Purchase data for countries, regions, or global connection.

www.airalo.com

I've used these guys several times for Europe and south/central america. Their prices are comparable to local providers on ground, and you can set it up before you leave, or while on wifi travelling. Super easy, and you can top up your e-sim if you ever go back with a few clicks, and it doesnt even change your number.

There is a Caribbean package good for multiple countries for a week for 15 USD. Only 1 gig of data, but probably more than enough considering how often she'll have wifi.
Edit: The Latin american one might be better suited for her; Check the countries list to decide.

 

[Lysrin]

Thanks for that. Good info. Trying to sort out eSim... Googling it looks like the Pixel 6 may only support eSim on a Google Fi account.

I've never used eSim before, so I'll do some more research to make sure that's true info.

 

[Jokester]

I bought a sim off amazon for Mexico and it worked well. just activated it before we left. eSim seems easier though.

 

[Bond007]

100% use the Airalo app mentioned by @Sagath . I have also used it several times in different countries and it is easy, and cheap…I am actually using it right now. Get one for a country or for a region. Data only, or get a phone number.

Literally hit buy before you go, tap install e-sim (right away while you have your own data/wifi), then before you get to the new area (for example on a flight) you go into cell settings to turn off your normal cell line (so you don’t get dinged for roaming etc) and leave the other one on. Very easy.

If you go that way, let one of us know…you can get a referral code that gives $4.50 CAD to both people.

EDIT: and then after the first you can just refer yourself to any more lines that you want to double dip on the savings!