Chile eSIM

Staying connected in Chile

Install a travel eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land in Santiago. AirOva sells Chile plans from $2.99, with a fixed amount of data or unlimited, all data only, with no calls, SMS or local phone number. GB plans run on WOM and unlimited plans on Movistar and WOM; each plan card shows whether it is listed as 3G, 4G or 5G.

Which Chile plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips, since maps, ride apps and messaging take little data. Unlimited plans give unlimited data with no data cap and no fair-usage limit; you only choose the number of days, which suits long stays, remote work and video calls home. Our Chile eSIM guide suggests how much data to bring for each region.

Movistar, Claro, WOM and Entel

Chile has four big mobile operators, Movistar, Claro, WOM and Entel, and Entel is not on our plans. Movistar Chile now belongs to Millicom, the company behind Tigo, and NJJ, but it still trades as Movistar, with no date set for a name change.

Arriving at SCL and flying on

Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL), Chile's busiest international airport, is in Pudahuel, 15 km north-west of central Santiago. UK travel advice says to book official taxis inside the terminal. For the Atacama, fly to Calama (CJC), about 100 km from San Pedro de Atacama; Torres del Paine lies 112 km north of Puerto Natales and 312 km north of Punta Arenas (PUQ). After landing, turn off airplane mode, switch the eSIM line on, choose it for mobile data and enable Data Roaming for that line; the plan is prepaid, so roaming adds no charge.

Atacama, Patagonia and Easter Island

Around San Pedro de Atacama, our Chile guide finds coverage good in town but not at the geysers, salt flats and stargazing sites. Inside Torres del Paine there is no mobile signal even for Chileans, says the Chilean travel site GoChile. Easter Island lies more than 3,500 km off the mainland and gets its internet by satellite; we cannot confirm our networks' coverage there, so check with our support before you fly. Crossing into Argentina? Check the plan card first.

Tip: download offline maps for the Atacama and the south, and tell the local authorities before you go mountaineering, as UK travel advice suggests. Keep your phone off café tables in Santiago and Valparaíso, and your home SIM in for bank codes with its data roaming off.