Roaming for El Salvador: prices and how to activate it

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Are you planning to travel to El Salvador? If so, here we will show you how to get quality internet without depending exclusively on roaming with your cellular provider. Not only will we explain what Roaming for El Salvador is about, but we will also show you other options so that you’re always connected, such as eSIM with data for El Salvador and the bundles offered in the country.

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Comparison of Roaming rates in El Salvador with mobile providers in the UK, USA, and Australia

Certainly, one of the aspects that you’re most interested in is the price that your cellular provider will charge you to connect to the internet in America through roaming in El Salvador. Therefore, we have gathered all the roaming information of the main cellular providers in the UK, USA, and Australia, such as AT&T, Vodafone, and Telstra. So, this way, you can compare them, be well-informed, and choose the one that best suits your needs.

Cellular operatorCellular data or Internet
AT&TData, texts, and calls for $10/day
T-Mobile$15.00/MB, $0.50/texts, and $0.25/min for calls
VodafoneData, minutes, and texts for £6/day*
Telstra$3 for every MB of data
Table 1. Comparison of roaming prices in El Salvador to access to internet

How much does the roaming service cost in El Salvador?

Certainly, we believe that you should be familiar with the roaming rates of the main Latin American operators. The rates charged will depend on where you are. Why? Because roaming works through the cellular networks of other providers that operate in the country you’re visiting. Thus, when using other cellular networks, your operator has to pay an additional fee, and that fee is included in your bill for services such as data consumption, talk time or SMS sent.

As a result, international roaming is one of the most expensive options you can find to connect to the internet during your trip. So, if you’re going to sign up for this service, you should use it in a restrained manner.

Roaming for El Salvador with AT&T

With the international day pass from AT&T USA, their customers can use the roaming service in El Salvador for $10/day. If you are an AT&T customer, you will have data, unlimited calls, and texts included in the price. They will automatically charge you a $10 daily fee the first time you use data, make or receive calls in El Salvador.

Roaming for El Salvador with T-Mobile

Through the T-Mobile Roaming service during your vacation in El Salvador, you can get data, text, and calls at the following rates:

  • Internet: $15.00/MB
  • Text: $0.50/SMS
  • Calls: $0.25/min

Roaming for El Salvador with Vodafone

For your vacation in El Salvador, Vodafone UK offers a Pay Monthly plan for their clients, this costs £6 pounds per day, and you will be able to use up to 25 GB of data per month, but if you exceed this limit, they will apply a fair consumption policy. In other words, they will charge you £0.033 for a minute of talk time, £0.01 per SMS, and £3.13 for each 1 GB of data.

Roaming for El Salvador with Telstra

Are you coming from Australia and planning to connect to the internet through roaming with Telstra in El Salvador? Well…actually, Telstra doesn’t have this country under its International Day Pass, so you will have to pay for the Pay-As-You-Go service. This means that each MB of data will cost you around $3 USD. Keep in mind that the roaming fees can vary at each destination.

You will receive an SMS when you land with all the roaming price information for El Salvador and the activation process.

Alternative to Roaming for El Salvador

If the roaming option didn’t convince you or you’re looking for an alternative that fits with your travel budget, there’s no need to be alarmed. In addition to roaming, there are various options to connect to the internet during your vacation at a more reasonable price. This is the case with eSIMs with data for El Salvador, which we consider the best alternative to roaming, along with other options we will show you below.

Holafly eSIM cards

international travel esim for el salvador
eSIM rates for El Salvador. Source: Holafly

In case you don’t want to depend on roaming or you need an option in line with your budget to get online during your trips abroad, we believe that eSIM with data for El Salvador is the alternative you’ve been looking for. They offer very affordable rates, and because they are digital cards, you won’t have to wait for them to arrive or pay for shipping fees. The only thing you need to do is check if your cellphone is compatible with this technology.

So, if you’re interested, you can contact an international eSIM provider, among which we recommend Holafly. On its website, you can find eSIMs for different destinations such as Colombia, or even an eSIM for all of America. For your trip to El Salvador, you have to choose the eSIM and the data plan that best suits your needs. Once the payment process is complete, your eSIM should arrive instantly as a QR code.

Advantages

  • You can buy the service in less than 1 minute.
  • 24-hour customer service is available.
  • You can share data with your friends.
  • You keep your original number.

Disadvantages

  • You can’t make calls unless it’s through an app such as WhatsApp or Skype.
  • Your smartphone must be compatible with eSIM. To achieve this, we recommend that you check the list of compatible cellphones by clicking here.

Free WiFi in El Salvador

Example of free WiFi spot
Example of free WiFi spot. Source: Pixabay

In addition to the eSIMs for El Salvador and America, there’s also another low-priced alternative to have internet during your vacations in this country. Despite this option being basic, you can connect to unlimited internet for free. Certainly, it’s a lifesaver. We are talking about the free WiFi spots that you can find in public areas of El Salvador such as parks, squares, metro, and bus stations.

Important to realize that this option has its disadvantages. They offer quite slow browsing speeds and are often unsafe. For this reason, we recommend not providing sensitive or personal information while connected to these open networks.

Advantages

  • Free unlimited internet.
  • It’s found in different places.

Disadvantages

  • It’s not usually stable, and the browsing speed is limited.
  • They are rarely protected against third parties.

Rent Pocket WiFi for El Salvador

Finally, as the last alternative to roaming (although the most expensive) we have Pocket WiFi. This is a small router that will allow you to connect to the internet during your trips through a private WiFi network that only you and your friends can connect to. In particular, this is the distinctive feature of Pockets WiFi, since you can share the internet with other devices without losing internet access. Therefore, it’s more convenient if you travel with a large group of people.

Advantages

  • A large amount of data included.
  • It’s portable.

Disadvantages

  • If you lose it, you’ll have to pay for the replacement, since it’s not protected against loss or theft.
  • You must top it up in advance; otherwise you won’t be able to go online.
  • Is more expensive than eSIM cards with data for El Salvador.
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