Internet
What Is a Pocket WiFi? How Does It Work? And How to Use It
In this post, we will deeply explore what Pockets WiFi are, how they work, how much they cost, and what are the alternatives.
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Considered one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean, Aruba is a tourist destination for thousands of people every year! And if this country will be your next tourist destination, it’s important that you know how to connect to the internet in Aruba. Because if it’s your first time on this heavenly island, you probably don’t have a very clear idea of how you can get an internet connection.
For this, the Roaming team has compiled the best options to get internet in Aruba. Some of them are quite pricey, such as the roaming service in the Caribbean, and others are very cheap and with advantages that will delight you, such as the eSIM with data for Aruba.
In case you still don’t know which option to go for to have internet in Aruba after reading this post, you can find our opinion analyzing important aspects. You’ll find prices, benefits, and the amount of data on each option so you can make an informed decision.
Table of Contents
Cellular data in Aruba
As you might have guessed, there are many options to connect to the internet in Aruba. Indeed, some of these options will be more affordable than others. To begin with, we anticipate that one of the best options that we will show you are the eSIM cards offered by providers such as Holafly. With these cards, you’ll be able to connect to the internet during your entire trip to Aruba at a fairly affordable price and with advantages that will considerably improve your experience on this paradise.
On the other hand, some options may not be so cheap or convenient, but they will also allow you to connect to the internet during your vacation. Among these options, we find Roaming and Pockets WiFi. We will explain each of these alternatives to you in great detail and, most importantly, with their respective rates. This way, you’ll know the price of each of these options.
Another alternative that can be tricky to find and that almost no one comments on is the free WiFi hotspots that you can find on this island. Although they are few, they can be quite useful depending on how you use them and for what purposes you do so. Since these are public spots, it’s sometimes best to use them in a situational and non-permanent option.
Internet rates in Aruba
If some of the above options caught your attention, then you’ll surely want to know how much it costs you to have internet with those alternatives. To help you, we have compiled the data rate of each of these options to save you some time. By having the price of each alternative, you can easily compare them and reach your conclusions.
| Service | Internet rates in Aruba |
| Holafly data eSIM | 7 days with 3 GB of data at $37 USD |
| Roaming in Aruba with Vodafone | $6.05 for each MB |
| Roaming in Aruba with AT&T | $2.05 for each MB |
| Roaming in Aruba with T-mobile | $15 for each MB |
| Rent Pocket WiFi | 7 days at $70.50 plus shipping at $18.70 |
| Public WiFi | Free |
Remember that another important aspect of having internet in Aruba is not only the data but also the coverage.
eSIM to have Mobile internet in Aruba
To start with this list of options to have internet in Aruba, we find virtual SIM cards, also known as eSIMs. These eSIMs are one of the best alternatives to roaming that exist. Why? Because of its low price and the number of advantages that they include. These advantages may vary depending on where you buy your eSIM. But in general, this card is sent to you instantly and free of cost.
To get one of these virtual SIM cards, we recommend that you take a look at the eSIMs that Holafly offers us to have internet in Aruba. Certainly, it’s one of the eSIM providers that offers its customers the most advantages at a reasonable price. However, remember that to buy one of these eSIMs you must have a cellphone compatible with this technology. Before buying one of the cards, we recommend you look at the list of compatible cellphones.
Holafly eSIM rates to travel to Aruba with unlimited data
- 7 days with 3 GB of data at $37 USD
- 15 days with 7 GB of data at $44
- 30 days with 15 GB of data at $54
How to get internet in Aruba with your cellular provider?
Another option to have internet in Aruba is through the roaming service offered by your operator. This roaming service consists of connecting to a foreign cellular operator during your trip at a rather expensive data rate. Then, you’ll have to pay for that at the end of your stay in Aruba. This causes a bit of irritation since, for most travelers, the total payable for using this service is a nasty surprise.
However, if you’re still interested in connecting to the internet through this service, then we will show you how roaming works with the main cellular operators.
Internet in Aruba with Vodafone
Vodafone is one of the most popular cellular carriers in Europe. So if you are a user of this company and want to enjoy the international roaming services they offer during your trip to Aruba, it will be very easy to activate it through the My Vodafone App. Vodafone roaming for Aruba has the following rates:
- $6.05 per MB used.
- $1.69 per minute plus $1.21 for call establishment (VAT included).
- $1.21 per message sent (VAT included)
Internet in Aruba with AT&T.
If you are an AT&T customer and want to connect to the internet through the roaming service offered by this cellular provider during your trip to Aruba, you will be able to access the internet through two different options. Foremost, with the International Day Pass, you can enjoy unlimited phone service for only $10 a day, but certain conditions may apply.
As a second option, there is the pay-for-consumption service. This is called pay-per-use, in which you pay only for the amount of services consumed. The prices of these are as follows:
- $2.05 per MB used.
- $3 per minute of call.
- $0.50 per message sent.
- $1.30 per message with pictures or video sent.
Internet in Aruba with T-Mobile
Finally, with T-Mobile, the conditions for using roaming services are a little different. You can enjoy different benefits depending on the plan you have with the company. For example, if you currently have one of the Simple Global Plans, then you will be able to use certain services unlimitedly at no extra cost, such as data and text messaging. You will only have to pay $2.05 per minute of call.
On the other hand, if you currently have any of T-Mobile’s other plans, then you will have to pay for your usage. We recommend that you be very careful with the amount of data you’re going to use during your trip since the price for each MB that you consume in Aruba is $15! However, calling and text messaging services are somewhat cheaper, costing $0.25 per minute per call and $0.50 per text message sent.
Portable WiFi to get internet in Aruba
Nearing the end of this list of options to get internet in Aruba, we can find one of the alternatives that are not so cheap. This is the case of Portable WiFi to have internet in Aruba. This small portable WiFi or also known as Pocket WiFi, is a small router that will allow us to connect to the internet as long as we have an active internet plan. However, one of the most negative aspects of this product, in addition to its price, is that, as it’s a product that needs to keep its battery charged. So, it limits the number of activities that we can do in Aruba quite a bit for fear that it runs out of battery in the middle of the beach.
Yet, if you’re interested in buying this product, we recommend that you do so through an online provider such as WiFi Travelers. This will charge you $70.5 plus a shipping fee of $18. Which gives us $89 for a single week of internet. We also have an alternative to WiFi Travelers, which is Travel WiFi. This company charges $47 plus a shipping fee of $18.6. Which gives us approximately $67.
Public WiFi in Aruba
As a last alternative to having internet in Aruba, we have Free WiFi hotspots. As we mentioned before, they can be a practical alternative if you don’t want to spend a lot of money to connect to the internet during your vacation. But, as it is a service open to the public, this type of WiFi network usually lags a lot. Therefore, if you want to connect to one of these networks, we recommend that you do so for a short period and avoid providing important or banking information at all costs. This type of network is also usually very insecure.
Internet coverage map in Aruba
If you’re interested in finding out which are the areas where you can receive greater coverage in cellular data or fixed internet, we recommend that you take a look at the following maps that we have for you. This way, you’ll see in great detail which are the areas with the most coverage in Aruba.
3G or 4G coverage
In the case of cellular coverage, Aruba presents the following map:
What we recommend
As you could see, there are quite a few options to have internet in Aruba. However, most of these are usually quite expensive or inconvenient. For example, the roaming service, despite being quite convenient, is expensive due to its excessive consumption rate. On the other hand, the Pockets WiFi, besides being expensive, is very uncomfortable because you have to have it charged all the time, and carry them with you wherever you go, etc.
Finally, the only alternative that is neither cumbersome nor expensive is the Aruba virtual data SIM card. Therefore, we recommend that, if you don’t know which option to choose, you give this new alternative to roaming a try.
FAQs about the internet in Aruba
What network frequencies work in Aruba?
Aruba’s internet networks work on the following frequencies: 2600, 2100,1800, and 850. If these network frequencies are not supported by your smartphone, you won’t be able to connect to the internet in Aruba.
What are the telephone companies that exist in Aruba?
There are quite a few companies that provide phone services in Aruba. However, the main ones are Digicel, SETAR, and MIO.
What kind of networks exists in Aruba?
The internet networks available in Aruba are 2G, 3G, and 4G.
Related posts
If this post was of interest to you, we invite you to take a look at the following articles that may be quite useful for your next trips.
- Internet in Mendoza
- How to get Cellular internet in Punta Cana
- How to get Cellular internet in the Caribbean
