I first used Holafly in 2023, when my husband and I moved to Berlin for three months. Since then, I’ve bought it for trips through Germany, France, Spain and Italy, used it while working on the road, and recommended it to both clients and travellers I’ve hosted.
So, is Holafly worth it? For the way I travel, yes. It costs more than some eSIMs, but after trying another provider once and regretting it, price stopped being the thing I cared about most.
This Holafly eSIM review is based on years of actually using it, not a one-trip test. There are things I would change, but there is also a reason I keep buying it.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase something through the links, at no additional cost to you. Read my Affiliate Disclosure.
My Experience Using Holafly in Europe
My first Holafly eSIM was also my first eSIM, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.
My husband and I were moving to Berlin for three months in 2023, and both of us would be working while we were there. We each installed Holafly before leaving Canada. We landed in Germany, activated the eSIMs, and they worked.
That was exactly what I needed while juggling far too much luggage and collecting our dog from cargo.
Over the next three months, we used Holafly every day while living in Berlin and travelling around Germany. That included Hamburg and Leipzig, but also smaller places such as Quedlinburg and Wittenberg. Neither of us had problems with the service, and neither of us ever needed support.
That first three-month test is really why I kept buying it.
Since Berlin, I’ve used Holafly in France, Spain and Italy, as well as during another month-long trip through Germany when I used Frankfurt as my base and travelled extensively by train.
Italy gave it an even better workout. I spent a month travelling by train from Tuscany through Milan, Verona, Lake Como, Genoa, Turin and Bologna before returning to Rome. I was moving constantly and using my phone heavily on the trains. I never found myself wondering whether the connection would still work in the next city.
My experience hasn’t been completely flawless. On a later trip to Frankfurt, my eSIM didn’t connect when I landed. It was the first time I’d needed Holafly customer support, and how they handled it became another reason I’ve continued using them. More on that below.
How Reliable Is the Holafly eSIM?
I use my phone hard when I travel. Between Lightroom, photo uploads, train apps, maps, email and running my business, a sluggish connection would become obvious pretty quickly.
I haven’t run formal speed tests on Holafly because that isn’t how I judge whether an eSIM works for me. I’ve used it on trains, in major cities and in smaller towns, and I can’t remember having to stop what I was doing and hunt for Wi-Fi because the connection wasn’t keeping up.
Coverage will naturally vary depending on the mobile network available where you’re travelling, but I haven’t had recurring problems with speed or reception that affected a trip.
What Happened When I Needed Holafly Customer Support
I can actually speak to Holafly’s customer support because I’ve had to use it.
The one problem came after landing in Frankfurt, when my eSIM refused to connect. Thankfully, I know Frankfurt well, so I could still get to my hotel. Had I landed somewhere unfamiliar, I would have been considerably less relaxed about it.
I contacted Holafly, and they worked through the setup with me. Eventually, they had me reinstall the eSIM, and that fixed it.
What I remember most is that I wasn’t left trying one thing after another on my own. Someone stayed with the problem until we had a solution. I’ve had the opposite experience with Airalo, another eSIM provider, which is why customer service now factors heavily into what I’m willing to recommend.
Using Holafly as a Hotspot While Working Abroad
Bologna is where hotspotting became more than a nice extra for me.
My rented apartment technically had Wi-Fi. In reality, the signal was too weak for me to work reliably. It was an old building, which certainly didn’t help, but there were enough other problems with that rental that I also suspect the internet package wasn’t particularly good. It isn’t a property I would recommend to one of my clients.
Rather than spend the week fighting with the Wi-Fi, I used my Holafly connection to hotspot my laptop.
I could work normally without having to find a café or reorganize my day around the apartment’s internet.
That matters because travel is also my work. There are days when I need to answer emails, work online and keep my business running regardless of what the accommodation Wi-Fi happens to be doing.
If you work while travelling, check the hotspot allowance on the plan you’re buying. Unlimited data on a regular travel eSIM doesn’t necessarily mean unlimited hotspot data.
There is one exception worth knowing about if you travel or work abroad frequently. Holafly’s Unlimited monthly Plan includes unlimited hotspotting, which makes it much more interesting for digital nomads or anyone regularly working from a laptop while travelling. For someone like me, who has already had to rely on my phone when apartment Wi-Fi wasn’t good enough, that’s a useful bonus upgrade.
The Biggest Benefit of Holafly’s Unlimited Data
Unlimited data is where Holafly earns its higher price for me.
With a limited plan, you start making little calculations. Should I upload these photos now? Should I turn Lightroom off? Do I really want Google Maps running all afternoon? Should I connect to airport Wi-Fi so I don’t waste data?
I don’t want to spend a trip doing that.
With Holafly, I leave my apps running, let my photos upload to cloud storage, use photo editing tools, check trains, listen to audiobooks and work exactly as I normally would.
I also rarely switch my phone to hotel or apartment Wi-Fi simply because it’s available. I’ve stayed in enough old European buildings to know that “Wi-Fi included” and “good Wi-Fi” are not necessarily the same thing. If Holafly is faster, I keep using Holafly.
The same goes for open Wi-Fi in airports, stations and cafés. If I already have my own mobile connection, I see little reason to join a public network just to save data because we’ve all heard the horror stories of personal data breaches.
I learned the limited-data lesson once. Watching a 10GB allowance disappear in less than a day was enough.
Now I just use my phone. For someone who uses very little data, unlimited data may not justify paying more. For the way I travel and work, it does.
Always On: Backup Data I Don’t Have to Think About
Holafly has also added a benefit called Always On, which gives you 1 GB of global backup data every month from the moment your eSIM is installed. It refreshes every 30 days and is there if your regular plan ends and you need data as your trip gets extended unexpectedly.
After having an eSIM fail on me during a trip to Spain or a cancelled flight, I appreciate knowing there is a small amount of data sitting there without having to top up or buy another plan. It is enough to pull up a map, send a message or work out what to do next.
How Easy Is Holafly to Install?
Holafly only takes me a few minutes to install, although the way I do it has changed since I first started using eSIMs.
I traditionally used the QR code Holafly sends after purchase. I would open it on my iPad and scan it with my phone, which worked perfectly well but always felt slightly awkward if you were travelling with only one device.
That’s no longer the only option. On compatible phones, Holafly now offers automatic installation directly through the app. Newer iPhones can also install the eSIM by pressing and holding the QR code on the phone itself, so you don’t necessarily need a second screen. Manual installation is still available too.
I still tend to install mine before I leave Canada. I’d rather sort out phone settings at home than after an overnight flight.
I saw how manageable the process is during the Tuscany retreat I hosted. Several guests bought Holafly after arriving in Italy, and I helped them set it up. They were first-time eSIM users and had no trouble once we went through the steps.
I’m hardly a technology expert myself, so I understand why installing an eSIM can sound intimidating the first time. In practice, it takes a few minutes, and there is now more than one way to do it.
Can You Keep Your Phone Number With Holafly?
Yes. When I use a regular Holafly travel eSIM, Holafly handles my mobile data while my Canadian phone number stays with my regular SIM.
I make sure Holafly is selected for cellular data and that data roaming is turned off on my Canadian line. Most of my communication abroad happens through data anyway, including iMessage, WhatsApp, FaceTime and email.
If you use your home SIM for traditional calls or SMS while abroad, your carrier may still charge you, so that’s worth checking before you leave.
There is now another option for people who travel frequently.
Holafly Plans is a monthly subscription rather than an eSIM you buy for an individual trip. The Unlimited Plan includes its own phone number that can receive SMS, which is particularly useful for things like verification codes and alerts while you’re abroad. It also includes unlimited data and unlimited hotspotting.
I can see that being especially useful for digital nomads, frequent travellers or anyone spending extended periods abroad who wants something more permanent than buying a new travel eSIM for every trip.
Holafly vs Airalo: Why I Went Back
I probably wouldn’t have gone looking for another eSIM provider if I hadn’t been offered a complimentary Airalo eSIM to test in 2024.
By that point, I’d already used Holafly successfully in Germany, so I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from an eSIM.
My experience with Airalo was very different. I had problems getting connected after landing in Madrid, spent hours trying to resolve the issue with customer support and then used up the data allowance far faster than I expected.
What matters here is what I did next. I ended the agreement with Airalo and bought a Holafly eSIM myself while I was still in Spain.
I’m not suggesting Airalo won’t work well for someone else. I’m saying my own experience was poor enough, including the lack of customer service, that I paid for Holafly before the trip was over. I haven’t had a reason to try another provider since.
The Pros and Cons of Holafly
After using Holafly repeatedly since 2023 while travelling frequently to Europe, I don’t think it’s automatically the right eSIM for every traveller.
For the way I travel, though, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
What I Like About Holafly
- Unlimited data: I use my phone normally instead of rationing data.
- Reliability: I’ve had no recurring speed or coverage issues across repeated European trips.
- Customer support: They solved the one connection problem I’ve had.
- Hotspotting: It gives me another option when accommodation Wi-Fi isn’t good enough for work.
- Easy setup: Once you’ve done it once, installation takes only a few minutes.
- Less reliance on Wi-Fi: I don’t need to look for free Wi-Fi simply to preserve a data allowance.
What I Don’t Like About Holafly
- Price: Holafly costs slightly more than many limited-data eSIMs on the market.
- Most short-trip eSIMs are still data focused: Your regular phone number remains with your home SIM. If receiving SMS on a separate Holafly number is important, the Unlimited Holafly Plan now includes a phone number for incoming texts.
None of those has been enough to make me switch, but price is the one I’d weigh most carefully if you use very little data.
Is Holafly Worth It?
Yes, for me.
I’ve used Holafly since 2023, through long stays, multi-city and multi-country trips. I’ve also tried leaving once and ended up buying Holafly again before that trip was over.
As a Canadian, there is another consideration. International packages with Bell Canada and Rogers are ridiculously expensive, and other eSIM providers will charge you for roaming, which can become expensive very quickly. I would rather sort out my mobile data before I leave than spend a trip worrying about accidentally triggering roaming charges.
When clients ask what is on my own phone, the answer is Holafly. I’m very selective about what I recommend to clients; I need to be able to trust a product or service, as one poor experience may have negative consequences for me with that client.
If you use very little mobile data, spend most of your time somewhere with reliable Wi-Fi and only need occasional messaging or directions, I’d save the money and choose a smaller plan.
But if you travel heavily, work on the road, use your phone throughout the day or simply don’t want to monitor every gigabyte, I think Holafly earns the higher price. I’ve kept getting it, and that’s probably the simplest review I can give it.
