El Salvador eSIM

Staying connected in El Salvador

Install a travel eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land at El Salvador International. AirOva sells El Salvador plans from $2.99, with a fixed amount of data or unlimited, all data only, with no call minutes, SMS or local phone number. GB plans run on Claro and unlimited plans on Movistar, all on 4G.

Which El Salvador plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips, since maps, messaging and ride apps 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 surf stays, remote work and video calls home.

Claro, Tigo and Movistar

Claro is El Salvador’s largest mobile operator, followed by Tigo and Movistar with similar shares, and Digicel is a smaller fourth. A plan card that says Telefonica El Salvador means Movistar: Telefónica sold its Movistar business in the country to General International Telecom in January 2022, and the network still trades as Movistar. Tigo is not on our plans. 4G reaches about 87% of the population, and there is no 5G in the country yet.

Arriving at SAL

Saint Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez International Airport (SAL), also called El Salvador International and formerly Comalapa, lies in San Luis Talpa, La Paz department, about 42 km by road from San Salvador. Install the eSIM over Wi-Fi before you fly. 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. For surfers, La Libertad is El Salvador’s surf capital, home to the Punta Roca break, with spots such as El Zonte and La Bocana in the same region.

Crossing to Guatemala or Honduras

El Salvador borders Guatemala to the northwest and Honduras to the northeast, and the CA-4 agreement of 2006 gives El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua a common visa regime. If your trip continues overland, check on the plan card whether your plan also covers the next country, or buy a plan for it in advance. For routes through several countries, read our Central America overland guide.

Tip: download offline maps before heading into the mountains or to quieter beaches, since coverage away from towns is not guaranteed. Keep your home SIM in the phone for bank codes, with its data roaming off.