Those who have been to Peru know very well that the country has many wonderful places to visit and sightsee thanks to its diverse fauna and flora making it one of the most exotic and attractive countries in Latin America. Therefore, traveling to Machu Picchu with a good internet connection is essential and even more so when cell phone data plans and roaming for Peru are expensive. We don’t want you to waste time and money looking for plans or paying extra costs, so we present international eSIMs.
The eSIM is a virtual SIM card activated through a QR code. The best thing about this new format is its convenience because unlike other alternatives, like Pocket WiFi, you won't have to rely on external devices or physical chips to activate it or connect to the internet.
Besides, you can buy it comfortably from home or when you are already in Peru and avoid paying additional costs to do so. In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know, from how they work, to the providers on the market and a comparison between them.
Peru has a lot of places to explore and to go sightseeing, from visiting Machu Picchu, Cuzco, or Arequipa, to its islands or archaeological sites protected as world heritage sites. But before we go into details with that travel plan, the first thing is to know the minimum eSIM requirements, because your cell phone may not be compatible, and to avoid unnecessary expenses, we recommend you check the following list:
Before going into details with the providers on the market, we want to give you peace of mind that in case your cell phone is not compatible, you can still choose a Peru SIM card with 10GB or 12GB data for 30 days at $40.02 USD and $51.79, respectively.
Clearing that up, the eSIM providers mentioned below sell international eSIM cards intended for use on tourism or business trips abroad.
The next step is to know the plans and prices offered by each of these companies. The important thing is that you choose the service that best suits your travel plan. Just keep in mind that the price variation may be due to various reasons that can range from the coverage offered, to the data plans or the means of payment available.
| Provider | Data | Days | Price (USD) | Language | Sales channels |
| Holafly | 6GB | 15 | $44 | Spanish, English, German, and French | Web |
| WifiMap | 3GB | 30 | $85 | English, Russian | Web, Play Store, App Store |
| WifiMap | 1GB | 30 | $34.14 | English, Russian | Web, Play Store, App Store |
| WifiMap | 500MB | 30 | $17.66 | English, Russian | Web, Play Store, App Store |
| TravelSIM | 5GB | 30 | $185 | Spanish, English, Portuguese | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| TravelSIM | 3GB | 30 | $160 | Spanish, English, Portuguese | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| TravelSIM | 2GB | 30 | $109 | Spanish, English, Portuguese | Web, App Store, Play Store |
Surely you have already decided to buy an eSIM for your trip to Peru and in this section, we will go a little deeper to convince you even more, because as eSIMs are very different from the physical cards that we currently know, the following features will help you make the final decision.
Your trip to Peru may be somewhat exotic and you can decide to go to seldom visited places with a travel package. After all, it’s the third-largest country in Latin America, and therefore, when you buy your eSIM, ask the provider about the coverage offered. The plan you choose may not cover the areas you want to visit, so to make it easier, we have listed the telecommunications companies that have the best coverage in the Peruvian territory:
In case you live in Peru and want to request the permanent change of your physical SIM to an eSIM, unfortunately, the domestic companies still don’t offer this service for cell phones. Claro is the only exemption, the company offers the eSIM service but only for the Apple Watch. We hope that soon this technology will reach everyone and more devices in Peru.
We hope that your trip through Peru is a complete adventure and the information in this article has been useful. However, we leave some common questions that travelers usually have when they visit Peru. If you have more questions, leave your comments.
It’s not necessary to present a passport, but some providers do require your address. This applies only to the eSIM for tourists.
Yes, eSIMs for Peru will allow you to share your data with other devices. However, we recommend checking with the provider's customer service.
After installing the virtual SIM profile, you must choose it as the default means of cellular data, activate data, and roaming and your virtual SIM should now work.
Yes, like physical cards, virtual SIMs also have an expiration date.
From the moment you activate your eSIM, by scanning the QR code on your phone.
Cell phones compatible with the eSIM for Peru are increasing every day. Remember that if you live in a European or Latin American country and plan to travel to Peru, it’s essential that you have a cell phone that is compatible with both eSIM and its bands. If you don’t, you will be left without service in this country and you will be forced to rent or buy a new cell phone.
These are the cell phones in which you can install and activate an eSIM for Peru. Make sure the eSIM provider supports it: iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE 2020, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S20, Samsung Galaxy S20+, Samsung Galaxy S20+ Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S21, Samsung Galaxy S21+, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro, Google Pixel 3a, Google Pixel 3a XL, Google Pixel 4, Google Pixel 4a, Google Pixel 4a XL.
The eSIM is the evolution of traditional SIM cards. It works due to a chip inserted inside the cell phone, which allows the profile to be stored and configured. To learn more, we encourage you to read: what is an eSIM and how it works.
Our mission is simple: to make sure you never have to ask, “What’s the WiFi password?” again. All our tips come straight from personal experience — because we’d never recommend something we haven’t put to the test ourselves.
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