Ditch Roaming: Why Travel eSIMs Are Now the Smarter, Cheaper Choice for UK Travellers

A Brit who knows how to plan an international trip usually sets a budget for every expense in advance. Flights are booked months ahead, a hotel is reserved at the best available rate, and travel insurance is chosen from all the options on an aggregator and purchased online. Only one part of the budget remains unpredictable until the trip is over: mobile data abroad.

Instead of clear terms and a fixed price agreed in advance, travellers have to navigate pricing zones, daily charges, and data limits that can be used up after just a few hours of navigating an unfamiliar city. Next-generation eSIM providers offer an alternative to roaming, including Swiss company Yesim, one of the pioneers in the travel eSIM market.

Roaming was designed for occasional calls and SMS, while modern travel depends on constant data connectivity.

Tariff Zones Make Pricing a Mystery

The cost of mobile data from UK operators can vary sharply depending on the zone. With O2, for example, a gigabyte under a data roaming bolt-on costs less in nearby zones and significantly more in distant ones, while the most expensive zone typically includes dozens of countries, including popular destinations across Asia and the Middle East.

A traveller flying from London to Seoul and then from Seoul to Bali pays for gigabytes under different rules and only finds out the final cost when the bill arrives.

Daily Packages Charge Money Faster Than They Provide Data

Operators such as EE divide the world into groups of countries with different daily charges for a limited amount of data. For example, 500 MB per day costs £6.74 in Canada and the US, while the daily charge is £8.45 in nine countries ranging from Australia to the UAE. This amount is enough for a few hours of using maps, messaging, and banking apps, after which the data runs out, while the daily charge has already been applied.

The daily fee is charged for the entire calendar day, even if the smartphone only connected to the network for five minutes. For business travellers with tight flight schedules, this means paying for days when the connection was barely used.

Connection Quality Depends on Someone Else's Agreements

When roaming, a subscriber connects to the local operator that has a partnership agreement with their home network. In some destinations, there is only one partner, making it impossible to switch to a network with better coverage.

In places where large numbers of travellers gather, this single partner's network can become overloaded. Roaming is technically working, but making a video call with the office is impossible.

Travellers are left in the role of passive payers, as the operator chooses the zones, limits, and networks. Travel eSIM, however, changes this logic.

Internet With Terms Fixed Before Departure

An eSIM is a built-in microchip that allows mobile operator profiles to be downloaded and activated remotely. Around this technology, a travel eSIM service model has emerged, including an app where travellers can choose a package based on their itinerary and see the final price before paying. This is how the alternative to roaming works, increasingly described as the standard for those who value controllable costs for wireless mobile internet while travelling.

The Price Is Known in Advance and Is Significantly Lower Than Roaming

During a week-long trip to Japan, seven days of daily roaming with UK operators would cost around £49. A seven-day unlimited Yesim package, meanwhile, costs £18.90 with the discount applied.

The data remains available throughout the entire package period without being tied to calendar days, meaning that travelling without unexpected extra charges becomes more than just a marketing promise.

Set It up at Home

The eSIM profile is installed through the app before departure. Choosing a plan, paying, and setting it up takes just a few minutes from the comfort of home, while activation takes place after landing. The first few minutes in a foreign country are no longer spent trying to find a connection in an unfamiliar terminal.

The main UK number remains active on the smartphone for important functions, such as banking SMS messages and two-factor authentication, while mobile data runs through the travel eSIM. After returning home, the traveller simply needs to switch mobile data back to the home profile.

Choose a Plan for Your Specific Itinerary

The package is selected for a specific country or region. If plans change, a new package can be activated in the same app within minutes.

The amount of data, coverage area, and validity period are parameters chosen by the traveller rather than determined by the operator's tariff structure.

Yesim: The Swiss Standard for Travel Connectivity

The travel eSIM market has dozens of players, but Yesim stands out for its experience, flexibility, and scale. The company has been operating since 2019, has helped shape the industry, and has got more than more than 3.5 million users worldwide connected. The service's credibility is also reflected in its status as the official eSIM partner of the World Players Super League (WPSL), the world's largest golf tour, which hosts more than 1,800 tournaments across 50+ countries every year.

Tariffs for Different Travel Styles

• Global Package (80+ countries): prepaid plans ranging from 10 to 80 GB, as well as unlimited options for 7, 15, and 30 days — for those who know their itinerary in advance.
• Global Plus Package (140+ countries): plans ranging from 5 to 40 GB, plus unlimited options for 7 and 15 days — for broader geographic coverage.
• Pay & Fly with a pay-as-you-go model (170+ countries): one eSIM covering 170+ countries, with payment only for the data actually used — suitable for short trips, visits to several countries during a single journey, and unpredictable itineraries.

Technology that works on the road

• A network of 800+ operator partners with automatic switching to the strongest signal. The app selects the network automatically, which is especially valuable in overloaded airport hubs and conference venues.
• The Multiple eSIMs feature allows users to manage several profiles from a single account. One person can share a profile with family members or a group of colleagues on a business trip, while the others do not even need to install the app.

Try It Risk-Free

• A trial package for a nominal fee allows users to test network quality at their destination before purchasing a full plan.
• Installation is completed through the Yesim app, with no paperwork, queues, or SIM card counters at the arrival airport. Smartphone compatibility can easily be checked on the service's website.
• The promo code GETYESIM15 gives new users 15% off their first order.

Roaming solved a problem from an earlier era — keeping your home number while abroad. Travel eSIM meets the needs of today's traveller by providing a fixed price before departure, a plan tailored to a specific itinerary, and control over connectivity through an app. For a Brit accustomed to the convenience of digital travel services, it finally offers a mobile internet solution of the same standard — and, with it, a clearer way to think about travel eSIMs as a category.

'For Yesim, freedom of connectivity is a basic human right that helps people stay close, communicate, and share meaningful moments despite the distance. We are proud to help millions of travellers around the world understand one another, and we are delighted to be part of their exciting journeys,' explains Dmitri Verbovski, founder and CEO of Yesim.