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Mexico is one of those countries I keep coming back to because I think the history, the people, the food, and the diving are unparalleled. What I don’t like there is having to hunt for a local SIM card.
What is easy and inexpensive in so many other countries always turned out to be overly expensive and complicated when I tried it in Mexico. Fair, I don’t speak much Spanish, but neither do I speak Thai or Vietnamese, and I never had any issues there.
To avoid frustrations, I have been using eSIMs more and more when traveling to a country where getting a local SIM card is a bit tricky. In this post, I’ll show you what the Holafly Mexico eSIM can do, what it costs, and when it comes in handy.
What is a Holafly Mexico eSIM?
Holafly is an eSIM provider with eSIMs for over 200 destinations, from single countries to whole regions. The one-of-a-kind concept: each Holafly eSIM comes with unlimited data.
- Read more: Holafly eSIM Review 2026
The Holafly Mexico eSIM gives you unlimited data across the country, and you can choose a validity period of 1 to 90 days. It runs on the Movistar Mexico and Telcel networks. You connect to 5G where it is available and to 4G and LTE everywhere else.
Like most eSIMs, it is data-only, so you don’t get a Mexican phone number. In practice, that hardly matters, though. Many businesses these days use WhatsApp, and since you keep your SIM card from home and, with that, your phone- and WhatsApp-number, you can call and message through your app as usual. For other calls, I usually use apps like Rebtel or Satellite that let me call regular phone numbers while using my phone’s data.
You buy and install your eSIM before you leave and as soon as you land – hola, Holafly! You can go online immediately and it works whether you are admiring the works of Frieda Kahlo in Mexico City, diving off Cozumel, or hunting for the best tacos in Tulum.
The advantages of using a Holafly eSIM in Mexico
So what makes a Holafly eSIM a good choice for Mexico? A few things:
No roaming & no issues getting a local SIM card
Besides using hotel wifi, travelers get online in Mexico in one of two ways: you can either roam with your home SIM card or buy a local one. Neither scenario is ideal and without problems, though.
How tricky and expensive roaming is depends on where you are from. If you are from the US, your plan may already include Mexico, though often with a cap on high-speed data. Check with your provider before you fly.
For everyone else, roaming in Mexico gets expensive quickly. That includes travelers from Europe like myself, because free roaming ends at the EU border. That means I can use my regular SIM card when traveling to Greece or Italy, but I wouldn’t have any money left for mezcal if I tried roaming in Mexico.
This is why I usually get a local SIM card, but it isn’t so easy in Mexico. And yes, I tried a few times. In both Mexico City and Cancun, I never even found a SIM counter at the airport. I made do with the airport wifi to get into my taxi, and I ended up buying a SIM card at a store later. It was expensive, and because I don’t speak Spanish, it was difficult too.
On top of that, there is now a registration requirement, and every mobile line in Mexico has to be registered with a photo ID. Until the SIM card is registered, it doesn’t work. For visitors, that means you have to show your passport. And nothing makes me more nervous than running around with my passport in tow when it could be napping in the hotel safe.
With a Holafly eSIM you skip the store, the paperwork, and the language barrier. You buy it online, get it by email or through the Holafly app, and install it before you leave. At the same time you can keep your original SIM in your phone for banking SMS, etc.
Unlimited data & flexibility
Trips to Mexico come in all shapes and sizes. A long weekend in Mexico City, two weeks of beach hopping on the Yucatán, or a whole winter in Oaxaca.
Holafly doesn’t make you choose a fixed package and instead gives you ultimate flexibility. You choose the exact number of days, from 1 to 90, and pay for those.
Each day, you get unlimited data. This way, you are never caught without data and don’t have to worry about how much maps, ride apps, a translator for the menu, and the cenote videos you want to send home will take up.
1GB hotspot per day
The unlimited data applies to the phone your eSIM is installed on. For other devices, the hotspot allowance is 1 GB per day. I usually use my phone to make a hotspot for my laptop, but you can also use it to share with your tablet or someone else’s phone. This way, you can share an eSIM when traveling with a friend or partner, or help someone who doesn’t have data on their phone.
Always On
Things happen, and plans can change, sometimes voluntarily and sometimes not. You may have a delayed flight and need to stay longer, you may have an unplanned layover, or or or…
For moments like this, every Holafly eSIM includes Always On that gives you 1 GB of backup data per month. This is free and available every month as long as your Holafly eSIM stays installed on your phone.
Always On works in over 150 destinations, including Mexico!
How much is a Holafly eSIM for Mexico?
Holafly Mexico eSIM: The more days you buy, the more days you save, and the more you have left for tacos!
Holafly keeps its pricing simple, and Mexico is no exception. You choose the number of days you need, anywhere from 1 to 90, and get one price that includes unlimited data. No data packages to compare and no top-ups to think about.
The longer your eSIM is valid, the less you pay per day. Here is what that currently looks like for Mexico:
- 1 day – $4.90
- 7 days – $24.50 ($3.50/ day)
- 15 days – $44.90 ($2.99/ day)
- 30 days- $66.50 ($2.22/ day)
The biggest difference is between a single day and a full month. On a 30-day eSIM, each day costs less than half of what you pay for a single day. So if you are torn between 2 weeks in Mexico and 4, your eSIM price is nudging you to stay longer, and the savings will pay for your tacos.
Alternatively, Holafly also has three regional eSIMs that include Mexico:
- eSIM for North America – $5.90/ day
- eSIM for a Caribbean Cruise – $9.50/ day
- eSIM for Latin America – $9.50/ day
These are great options if you are traveling to countries other than Mexico. However, as you can see, they are quite a bit more than the regular Mexico eSIM. Unlike in Asia, where the regional Holafly Asia eSIM costs the same as many single-country ones, the regional eSIMs here cost more than the Mexico eSIM.
That said, they still get less per day the longer you book, but if Mexico is your only stop, stick with the Mexico eSIM.
Where to use your Holafly Mexico eSIM
One eSIM covers all of Mexico, so you don’t have to switch when you travel from Mexico City to the Yucatán. In cities and at the big sights like Chichén Itzá or Teotihuacán, the connection is pretty good. In rural areas, on islands, and along remote roads, it can get weaker or be a bit spotty.
As Holafly confirms, there are a few places where your eSIM unfortunately doesn’t work at all. These include Holbox Island, Contoy Island, Chiquilá, Ojo de Agua, and certain sections of the road between Playa del Carmen and Mérida. Plan accordingly with offline maps and check the wifi speed at your hotel before you arrive.
Still, this doesn’t diminish just how useful a Holafly Mexico eSIM is. Here are just a few examples when it comes in handy:
Eating your way through Mexico City
I have only been to Mexico City once so far, but I can already say it has skyrocketed to the top of my favorite foodie cities. Finding some of the best restaurants in Mexico City is easy enough – if you have data and can browse Google Maps, that is.
With a Holafly eSIM, you can plan your lunch on the go and check how to get from A to B. A feature I particularly love on Google Maps: if you are looking for a specific item, i.e., a matcha latte (yes, I will drink matcha even in Mexico), you can just type it into the search bar. The app will show results near you based on cafe menus and reviews.
Avoiding scams on the way to Cozumel
The ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel takes about 40 minutes and is an easy trip. For me, the tricky part was buying the ticket.
On one trip, I bought mine at a small office near the pier. It was decked out in the ferry company’s colors and looked very official. It turned out to be a third-party seller, and I paid 200 pesos extra for a Cozumel tourism tax that doesn’t exist.
My lesson: book online. With an eSIM, you can do that on the bus to Playa del Carmen or on the walk to the terminal. And if someone asks you for a fee you have never heard of, you can look it up before you hand over your cash.
Alternatively, you can Google on the ferry and confirm on Reddit that yes, you have just been scammed…
Underwater adventures
Wherever you dive in Mexico, staying connected is always a good idea. Dive days start early, and plans change with the weather. And if you are an overplanner like me, chances are you will have last-minute questions you need answered on WhatsApp before you get to the dive shop.
A highlight when diving in Isla Mujeres is watching the resident turtles mate. If you are anything like me, you will want to share some inappropriate footage with your dive bestie at home while you are still on the boat – because picture or it didn’t happen!
Crocodile emergency
An eSIM also comes in handy if the worst happens and Pancho, the crocodile at Case Cenote, misbehaves and bites you. Just kidding. Well, almost; he did bite someone this year, but it was the first time and, in all fairness, the tourist was throwing rocks at poor Pancho for a video. So I say, he had it coming…
Still, accidents do happen, and it is nice to know you can call an ambulance or the police in an emergency – crocodile-induced or otherwise.
*(for the first 12 months)
