Holafly offered strong 5G coverage across Texas, especially in Austin (photo above) and San Antonio.
My mission to find the best eSIM card for travel continues this summer. (If you’re skeptical about eSIMs, give my Pros and Cons of eSIMs post a read.)
In July and August, I tested Holafly’s USA eSIM on an extensive road trip across eight states from South Carolina to New Mexico. Holafly offers unlimited data in over 200 destinations with a built-in safety feature, the Always On benefit, 1 GB of free backup data every 30 days. Keep reading to see how Holafly performed on my 5,300-mile road trip.
Affiliate Disclosure: Please note this is a sponsored post with affiliate links. All opinions are my own. If you make a purchase, I earn affiliate revenue at no cost to you, which goes toward blog maintenance costs.
How to Install Holafly eSIM in Your iPhone
The Holafly installation process is simple with on-screen instructions walking you through the process.
Go to Holafly’s website or download the app to purchase a plan with a credit card or PayPal. Next, create an account and install the eSIM through the app or via a QR code. After arrival at your destination, turn on the eSIM for mobile data and enable data roaming. For help with setup, read Holafly’s setup guide. If you decide to try Holafly, use code TravelLikeAnna for 5% off any Holafly eSIM or 10% off Holafly Plan subscriptions.
Trip Details
I tested Holafly’s USA eSIM for 45 days across the Southeast, Texas and New Mexico.
States Visited: South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico
Plan Tested: eSIM for the USA (Starts at $3.90 USD/day and decreases with amount of days on your plan)
Usage: Google Maps for navigation, GPS maps for hiking, WhatsApp for texts, calls and audio messages, Strava to track my runs, uploading video/photos to social media, and using a hotspot to connect to a computer
Holafly USA Speed Tests
In larger cities, I ran speed tests on the Ookla app:
- Atlanta, Georgia: 523 Mbps download, 41.3 Mbps upload
- Austin, Texas: 693 Mbps download, 48.5 Mbps upload
- Amarillo, Texas: 62 Mbps download, 1.30 Mbps upload
- San Antonio, Texas (Riverwalk): 236 Mbps download, 8.14 Mbps upload
- Birmingham, Alabama: 204 Mbps download, .73 Mbps upload
Holafly eSIM in the U.S.
I spent a day hiking in Valle Caldera Natural Preserve in Northern New Mexico on my road trip.
The three main cellular networks in the U.S. are AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. Since I’m American, I have a monthly U.S. voice and cellular plan with Verizon. I was really interested to test out Holafly’s eSIM because they rotate between AT&T and T-Mobile. I always burn through my Verizon data, so it was refreshing not to have to worry about data thanks to Holafly’s unlimited plans.
My trip started with a visit to my parents’ farm in rural South Carolina, located in a cell tower dry zone, and shockingly, I had two bars of service. This means that photos and videos were sent instantly instead of taking hours!
For the most part, I had 5G in all locations with service automatically switching from AT&T to T-Mobile. During the times when I thought service was slow, I’d switch over to Verizon. But it was always just as slow due to the rural location, not the network.
When my tire light came on in rural Louisiana, I was able to easily navigate to a local tire shop.
In Texas, I always take the backroads because it’s faster (speed limit is 75 mph) and more relaxing. I’ve made the trek from Austin to Santa Fe for years, so there are always cellular dead zones. With Holafly, I had solid service in towns like Coleman that I hadn’t previously with my Verizon plan.
In between cities, I usually had at least a couple bars but still experienced some dead zones in the rural stretches of highway (typical Texas). T-Mobile had a rare nationwide outage in late July as I was driving to the Panhandle, which thankfully didn’t affect me because Holafly automatically switches between carriers. I had solid service on AT&T during the outage.
The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas is the halfway point for Route 66.
I had strong 5G coverage from Amarillo, Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. In Santa Fe, coverage switched between LTE and 5G depending on the part of the city. Service was always limited indoors no matter the network due to the thick adobe building walls.
I sat outside at a downtown Sante Fe brewery with a friend one Sunday afternoon creating an Instagram account for his tortoisewith full 5G. We drove two hours to hike at Valle Caldera National Preserve, a 13-mile volcanic caldera, near Los Alamos. We had a few bars of service at the ranger station, but none (on any carrier) once we hit the back country roads. I was able to download the offline maps on our drive over, making it easy to explore.
One night in Austin, I was making an Instagram story while walking home and felt the network was dragging. Maybe I’m impatient or I hit the local network’s daily fair usage limit? Either way, that’s the only glitch I experienced, and it was minor.
When I made a call using my Verizon number, I had issues surfing the web simultaneously until I turned on cellular data switching, which switched over to my Verizon plan while I was on the phone. If you are already on a call, you must hit this option when the pop-up appears for it to work instantly. No data-only eSIM (regardless of brand) will allow you to surf the web while on a call (using another eSIM) unless you turn on this feature. After the call, my data switched back to my Holafly plan.
The Always On benefit offers a 1 GB of backup data every 30 days if the eSIM is installed. I tested this when my plan ended, and it worked perfectly! Please note that the hotspot is not supported by this benefit.
Holafly Customer Service
Holafly offers 24/7 support via in-app chat, WhatsApp or email. While I didn’t have any issues, I reached out through the in-app chat to test the experience. I was connected to a person quickly and asked general network questions.
What type of plans does Holafly offer?
One of the perks of Holafly is the Always On benefit that provides 1 GB of backup data every 30 days as long as the eSIM is installed.
Holafly offers country, regional, and city-specific plans with unlimited data only. While most brands sell eSIMs for a set time frame , Holafly lets you choose the exact number of days needed for your trip.
In addition, there are two types of monthly global data plans: Unlimited and Light (25 GB). The Unlimited Plan has an unlimited hotspot, while the Light Plan is capped at 25 GB. These plans use the same eSIM continuously, while the pay-by-day plans require a new eSIM with every purchase.
All plans include the Always On benefit with 1 GB of backup data every 30 days while the eSIM is installed.
Do Holafly Plans really have unlimited data?
Holafly states that unlimited plans have “ no strict data limits ” but are subject to the Fair Usage Policy of local networks, which means speeds are throttled after hitting the local network’s daily limit and reset the next day.
I couldn’t find published daily limits for AT&T and T-Mobile. From my experience testing eSIMs over the past three years, fair use limits usually range from 2.5 to 5 GB/day.
Do Holafly plans have a Hotspot feature?
Yes, and the amount varies by destination. The U.S. pay-by-day plans have a 1GB daily limit. The Unlimited Plan has an unlimited hotspot, while the Light Plan is capped at the 25 GB. Keep in mind that speeds will be likely be throttled by the local network once you hit their daily fair use limit and will reset the following day. I briefly used the hotspot a few times with no issues on my trip.
Does Holafly offer a Rewards Program?
Yes, Holafly offers a cashback program, HolaCoins. Every purchase earns a percentage that can be traded for instant discounts or free eSIMs.
The Pros and Cons of Holafly
I had an excellent experience with Holafly, with consistent 5G coverage for the majority of the 45-day testing period and feel confident in recommending Holafly for travel in the U.S.
The pros of Holafly:
- Pay-per-day unlimited plans (& longer subscription options)
- Easy Installation
- Always On Benefit, 1GB of emergency backup data
- 24/7 customer support via chat, WhatsApp or email
- Free refunds up to six months after purchase (if eSIM was not activated)
Honestly, the only cons to me are small. As a remote worker, I’d prefer a higher daily hotspot limit for the U.S. pay-by-day plans than 1GB. You also must install a new eSIM with every pay-by-day plan purchase, which is a little annoying but easily manageable if you label them properly.
Overall, Holafly is a solid choice for travel across the U.S. with strong partner networks.
Want to try Holafly ? Use code TravelLikeAnna for 5% off any Holafly eSIM or 10% off on Holafly Plan subscriptions.
