How to have Mobile Internet in Ireland: Which option to choose?

There’s nothing worse than running out of internet far from home, even more so when we’re on vacation. If you don’t want to go through this situation, we recommend that you pay attention to this article. Here we will show you how to connect to the internet in Ireland without dying trying. We’ll present the options available to connect to the internet along with the data rate of each of these options. At the end of this post, you’ll find an additional recommendation if you still don’t know which option to choose.

Among the options to have internet in Ireland, we find two of the best and the most used by travelers. We are talking about the data SIM card and data eSIM. We also find others that are not so recommended due to their high price or because they aren’t as convenient as the other two options, such as international roaming or Pocket WiFi. Without further ado, get ready to say hello to international data connection and goodbye to travelers stress!

Mobile data in Ireland

As you may have noticed, there are now endless options for internet access almost anywhere in the world, including Ireland. However, not all these options offer the same thing, much less at the same price. Therefore, it’s important to know each of these alternatives to determine which one suits you the best. From SIM cards and eSIM to the roaming service and Pocket WiFi, we will show you how you can get these alternatives. Moreover, we will briefly show you their prices and data rates.

Starting with the two most prominent, SIM and eSIM cards earn their place as the best options to have internet in Ireland due to the advantages and prices that we will show you throughout this article.  On the other hand, the roaming service, due to its consumption rate, is one of the most expensive options, along with Pocket WiFi, which in addition to paying a rental fee, you will also have to pay an additional data rate and don’t forget about insurance!

Internet prices in Ireland

We are aware that one of the most important aspects when buying any product, including one of the options seen above to have internet in Ireland, is the rate that the product offers us. In this case, you must know the data rate that each option offers you so that you can compare them and draw your conclusion. For this, we have made the following comparative chart with the data rate of all the available options.

SIM card to have internet in Ireland

To begin with, we have one of the most popular options, since it’s the one we normally use to connect to the internet in our country from our smartphones. However, this product can also help you connect to the internet in Ireland. All you have to do is, once you buy it in a virtual store or at the airport in Ireland, insert it into your smartphone and that’s it, you can start browsing!

Although you can easily buy it from the airport in Ireland, we recommend that you buy it before traveling through a virtual store. In this way, your internet connection in Ireland will be guaranteed from the moment you arrive at the airport, saving you the long queues in those stores.

The one we recommend is the Holafly virtual store, where you can get an Ireland SIM card at a good price and with certain advantages, such as coverage in multiple countries, free shipping, 24-hour customer service, and telephone number for incoming calls, etc.

Rates available for Ireland:

• 30 days, 8 GB in 4G for 34 dollars
• 30 days, 12 GB in 4G for 33 dollars

eSIM card to have internet in Ireland

Along with the SIM card, we find the eSIM with international data, a fairly new product that allows us to connect to the internet without a plastic card, but using a QR code that we receive instantly from anywhere in the world. This way, we don’t need to wait for the product to arrive at our home. However, since it’s a fairly recent product, keep in mind that not all cell phones are compatible with it. Therefore, before buying it, check carefully if your smartphone supports this product.

In addition to the advantages seen above, if we buy our eSIM for Ireland in a Holafly store we will have access to even more advantages! These range from unlimited data on your trip to Ireland, connecting to the best cellular network in the country, keeping your WhatsApp number, and having 24-hour customer service available.

To buy this product, the first thing you should do is verify the compatibility between your cell phone and the eSIM from the official Holafly eSIM page. Once you do this, you only have to select your data plan, fill in the purchase form and that’s it! You will receive a QR code to the email that you registered in the purchase form. To activate the eSIM you will have to scan the code with your cell phone from the screen of another device.

The data rate of the eSIM for Ireland

• 5 days with unlimited data for 19 dollars.
• 15 days with unlimited data for 47 dollars.
• 20 days with unlimited data for 57 dollars.
• 30 days with unlimited data for 69 dollars.
• 60 days with unlimited data for 87 dollars.

How can I connect to the internet in Ireland through my operator?

Continuing with the options available to have internet in Ireland, we find one of the most common ways, but also one of the most expensive, depending on where you are and the cellular operator you use, we are talking about the roaming service. With this service, you will have to pay for every MB you use, for every minute, and for every SMS you send. The price of these services will depend on the operator.

Internet in Ireland with Verizon

If you use the cellular operator Verizon from the USA, and you’re interested in connecting to the internet through this roaming service, then stay tuned, we have several options for you. The first option is the Travel Pass, a service that will allow you to enjoy your phone services for $10 a day. With this, you will be able to use of data, make calls, and send messages.

On the other hand, you can also make use of the pay-per-use option, with which you will be able to enjoy telephone services charged only for your consumption. If you use data, it will be charged at $2.05 per MB, and calls will be charged at $1.78 per minute.

Internet in Ireland with T-Mobile

On the other hand, if you are a T-Mobile user. They have different plans depending on the user’s needs. The company’s plans cover more than 210 countries, including Ireland. T-Mobile offers 50 GB at $60 USD, 100 GB at $70 USD, and unlimited data plans at $85 USD, each of these plans calculated on a monthly basis.

As we mentioned before, depending on the plan you choose, you can have different international roaming services. If you have one of the Simple Global Plans, you will be able to connect to the operator’s telephone services at no additional cost, you will only have to pay 0.25 dollars per minute of call. On the other hand, if you have any other T-Mobile plan, you will have to pay 15 dollars per MB of usage.

Internet in Ireland with AT&T

Finally, if you use the cellular operator AT&T, you can activate the international roaming in different ways.  First, the International Pass will allow you to use your phone services for $10 per day. However, if you prefer the pay-per-use option, you will be able to use that as well. You will have to pay 2.05 dollars per MB usage, as well as 3 dollars per call minute.

Portable WiFi to have internet in Ireland

Coming to the last option to have internet in Ireland we can find the Pockets WiFi. In short, these are small router devices that we can carry in our pocket, and that will give us internet for as long as they are on and active. Among its features, we find one that is quite attractive if you’re going to travel with a large group of friends since the Pocket WiFi can provide internet to more than one cell phone at the same time without losing quality in the internet networks.

However, the main disadvantage of this product is its high price. Apart from paying the fee for renting the Pocket WiFi, you also have to pay an additional fee for the data plan that you want your Pocket WiFi to have. Not to mention the additional prices which add quite a bit to the final price. These additional costs can be shipping costs, anti-theft insurance, etc.

But, if you’re interested in acquiring one of these products, then we will show you how you can do it, the company offering this product, and what is the price of renting one of these small routers.

Travelers Wifi

With Travelers WiFi you can buy a Pocket WiFi for the time you want, and the data plan you need. Still, you should consider that renting this product with them for 7 days, and with a data plan of 1 GB at 4G per day + unlimited 3G data is priced at 64 dollars. In addition to this, you also have to pay 9 dollars to return the product and 5 dollars for shipping. So, this gives us a total of 78 dollars for 7 days on the internet.

Places offering public WiFi in Ireland

One of the cheapest ways to connect to the internet in Ireland is through public WiFi spots. These public WiFi spots can be found in squares, parks, restaurants, bars, metro stations, etc.

Although they can provide us with free or almost free internet, it’s not recommended that we use these networks very frequently, since they usually have security issues. To clarify, there’s a risk that our information is leaked while we are connected to them.

Internet coverage map in Ireland

If you want to know the areas with greater or lesser coverage, don’t worry because below, we present the map of cellular internet coverage in Ireland. In this way, you will identify the areas with some latency in your networks.

4G and 3G coverage

What we recommend

In case you’ve read all the options and still have doubts, we will give you our recommendation based on the advantages, disadvantages, and prices of each of the options that we saw previously. That said, our final recommendation is the data SIM and eSIM card offered by Holafly.

With these two options, in addition to being the one that gives us the most advantages, they are also one of the cheapest that we can find. They have customer service available whenever you need it, which is helpful when looking for or asking for help urgently during the trip.

FAQ about how to have internet in Ireland

Carolina Silva