Zambia eSIM

Staying connected in Zambia

The simplest way to get online in Zambia is to install a travel eSIM before you fly and switch it on when you land in Lusaka, Livingstone or Mfuwe. AirOva sells Zambia plans from $5.99, with a fixed amount of data or unlimited, all data only, with no call minutes, SMS or local number. Zambia plans run on Airtel, with 4G and 5G where available.

Which Zambia plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips, since messaging, maps and booking 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 longer stays, video calls home and sharing safari photos. Not sure? See how much data you need.

Airtel and coverage in the parks

A plan card that says Celtel or Zain means today's Airtel Zambia, which began as Celtel Zambia in 1998, became Zain in 2008 and Airtel in 2010. Airtel, MTN and Zamtel are Zambia's three largest mobile operators; MTN and Zamtel are not on our plans. In the parks, plan on gaps: the South Luangwa wilderness is among the places least likely to have any cell coverage, and while many lodges there offer Wi-Fi, more basic camps have no coverage at all.

Arriving in Lusaka, Livingstone or Mfuwe

Kenneth Kaunda International (LUN), 27 km northeast of central Lusaka, is Zambia's largest airport. Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International (LVI) in Livingstone is 15 km by road from Victoria Falls, and Mfuwe (MFU) serves South Luangwa National Park. 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 data is prepaid, so roaming adds no charge. Keep roaming off on your home SIM.

Victoria Falls and safari lodges

Victoria Falls lies on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. If you cross to the Zimbabwe side, check first whether your plan covers Zimbabwe too, or add a separate plan before you go. For the Luangwa Valley and other parks, ask your lodge what connectivity it offers and download offline maps and bookings while you are still in town.

Tip: treat game drives and bush camps as offline time, and send large uploads from town or over lodge Wi-Fi. Carry a power bank, and keep your home SIM in for bank codes with its roaming off.