Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda
How Do eSIM Plans Work?
Step 1: Purchase Your eSIM Data Pack
You'll receive an email with your eSIM after purchase, no matter where you are in the world.
Step 2: Receive Activation Details
You'll get a QR code or manual installation instructions via email and WhatsApp to activate your eSIM.
Step 3: Install And Activate Your New eSIM
Set up your eSIM before your trip, and once you reach your destination, enable the data plan to start using the internet.
Is My Mobile Phone eSIM Compatible?
- iPhone XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd & 3rd gen)
- iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, Pro Max
- iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, Pro Max, 16e
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e
- iPhone Air (eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max
- iPhone Duo (foldable, eSIM only, no SIM tray)
- iPad Pro 11″ (2018+) & 12.9″ (2018+)
- iPad Air (2019+)
- iPad (2019+)
- iPad Mini (2019+)
- iPad 10th Gen (2022)
*Two eSIMs can be active at the same time on iPhone 13 and later. *iPhones from mainland China do not support eSIM. *Hong Kong/Macao models (except 13 mini, 12 mini, SE 2020, XS) lack eSIM. *US models of iPhone 14 and later do not have a physical SIM tray. *iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are eSIM only in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Guam, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. *iPhone Air and iPhone Duo have no SIM tray in any country. They run on eSIM only.
Explore Rwanda
Rwanda eSIM: an eSIM for Rwanda that is live before you leave Kigali airport
A Rwanda eSIM from eSIM4 is a prepaid tourist eSIM, paid once, from USD 5.98 for a week of high-speed mobile data, with no physical SIM card and no registration. It roams on the local network shown above the plans, and the QR code arrives in the activation email within minutes. Install your eSIM on Wi-Fi at home, switch on data roaming when you land at Kigali International, and the driver on WhatsApp, the ride app and the gorilla permit email are on the screen before the luggage arrives; the eSIM Rwanda visitors install before they fly skips the registration queue outside the terminal.
Coverage across Rwanda
Coverage takes in Kigali from the Convention Centre to Nyamirambo and the Genocide Memorial, the road north to Musanze and the Volcanoes National Park gates at Kinigi, Rubavu and Karongi on Lake Kivu, Huye and the lodges around Akagera. On the gorilla trek above the park boundary, in the Nyungwe forest and on the Congo Nile Trail, connectivity thins, as it does on every network, so save the offline map and the permit before the walk. Hotspot is included, so a second phone shares the plan at the lodge.
Which Rwanda eSIM plan to choose
A gorilla weekend: 1 GB for 7 days at USD 5.98. A two-week loop of Kigali, the volcanoes and Lake Kivu: 2 GB for 15 days at USD 11.98 or 3 GB for 30 days at USD 16.98. A month, or a laptop on the hotspot: 5 GB for 30 days at USD 26.98 or 10 GB for 30 days at USD 41.98, with unlimited plans from 3 days at USD 30.98. Any plan tops up online in a minute, and the days only start counting when the eSIM first connects in Rwanda.
Beyond Rwanda on the same trip
Based in Rwanda, the country plan is the simpler buy. Crossing to Uganda for Bwindi, or adding Kenya or Tanzania to the safari? The Africa eSIM covers Rwanda on a different local network plus Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the rest of the continent on one plan, so a two-country gorilla trip runs on a single eSIM; pick by itinerary.
Pick a plan, check out and stay connected from the arrivals hall; the QR code will beat you to the suitcase.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, and local data is cheap: the carrier shop sits 50 metres along the covered walkway outside arrivals, opens from early morning to one in the morning, and sells a starter pack with 10 GB for about USD 8 in cash, so for a stay of a month or more a local SIM is the better buy. The catches are the registration, a passport copy and a photo that take ten to fifteen minutes after a long flight, a line that is dead until you reach the shop, and a physical SIM card to swap and keep safe for the way home. The Rwanda eSIM is a foreign line roaming on the local network shown above the plans: no shop, no registration and nothing to swap, and it works on the newer phones that have no SIM tray. Buy it at home, install it over Wi-Fi, and it is live on the walk from the gate, from USD 5.98 for a gorilla week.
At the park headquarters in Kinigi, where the morning briefing and permit check happen, and at the lodges around Musanze, yes. Once the group climbs above the park wall into the bamboo and the saddle between the volcanoes, the signal comes and goes on every network, so keep the permit, the lodge address and the offline map on the phone before you set off; the guides and trackers carry radios, and the eSIM picks up again on the walk back down. The same applies to the Nyungwe canopy walk and the chimpanzee trek in the south.
No, for a visitor. The eSIM is data-only, so it cannot run a mobile money wallet, which needs a registered local SIM, but the ride-hailing apps in Kigali, the lodge and tour bookings, the airline apps and WhatsApp with the driver all run on data and your home account, with the one-time codes arriving on your home SIM, which stays in the phone. Hotels, restaurants and the big supermarkets in Kigali take cards; keep Rwandan francs in cash for the moto taxis, the craft markets and anything outside the city.
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of swapping a plastic card, you scan a QR code, or tap one link on a recent iPhone, and the plan installs in about a minute alongside your existing SIM. Your home number stays exactly as it is, and you can switch between plans in Settings whenever you like.
You pay once, from a few dollars, instead of a daily roaming charge, and there is no airport kiosk, no ID check and no card to swap. Buy it at home, install it on Wi-Fi, and you land with maps, ride apps and WhatsApp already working in the arrivals hall. If plans change, every eSIM tops up online in about a minute.
As a guide: 1 GB covers a week of maps, messaging and a few photos a day; 5 GB over a month suits social media and daily browsing; 20 GB or unlimited suits streaming, video calls and working on the road. If in doubt, start small: every plan tops up online in about a minute, so you never pay for data you will not use.
Yes. Our regional plans cover many destinations on one eSIM, so a multi-stop trip needs nothing new at each border: Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America, Africa, Oceania and a World eSIM for trips that cross regions. The countries included are listed on each regional plan page, and you can combine a regional plan with a country plan for the best value.
No. Most people are done in under two minutes: scan the QR code from the activation email, or on iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later simply tap the Direct Installation link in the same email and the eSIM installs itself. Step-by-step guides are here for iPhone guide and Android guide, our support team is on hand, and a refund guarantee covers you if the eSIM cannot be installed on your device.
Most phones from the last five years support eSIM, including every iPhone from the XR onwards and recent Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models. Check your model in our compatibility guide before you buy. If your phone was bought on a carrier contract it may need to be unlocked first, which your carrier can do.
Open the activation email, then on iPhone go to Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM and scan the QR code, or tap the Direct Installation link on iOS 17.4 or later. On Android go to Settings, Connections, SIM Manager and scan. Most phones can scan the QR code straight from a screenshot in your photo gallery, so no second phone is needed. Once the eSIM appears in your cellular settings it is installed and ready. Full walkthroughs: iPhone guide and Android guide.
Install it any time before you travel, on Wi-Fi at home: the eSIM does not expire while it sits on your phone. When you land, switch it on and enable data roaming, and your days start counting from that first connection abroad, not from the day you bought it. You can also install on arrival, as long as you have Wi-Fi to download the eSIM.
Yes. Your phone runs as a dual SIM, with your home SIM and the travel eSIM side by side, and most phones store several eSIMs at once with one active for data at a time. Keep a plan for each country on your trip and switch between them in Settings as you cross borders.
Yes. Tethering is included on every plan, so your laptop or a second phone can share the connection whenever you need it.
Your connection pauses rather than charging you more. Top up online in about a minute using the link in your activation email, or in the Yabb app, and you are back online with the same eSIM.
The activation email includes a link to a live usage page for your eSIM, so you can see exactly how much data is left at any time and top up before it runs out.
Top local carriers at up to 5G speeds. The network for this destination is shown above the plans on this page, and the eSIM connects to it automatically when you land.
Choose a 90-day plan where one is offered, or top up your existing plan as you go. Either way the eSIM stays on your phone for the whole trip.
Travel eSIMs are data only, which is exactly why there is no ID or address check to buy one. Everything you normally use runs on the data: WhatsApp, FaceTime, iMessage, Uber, maps and your bank app. If you want a real phone number for calls and SMS abroad, our Yabb app gives you calls, texts and a temporary local number without roaming charges. In a few countries we also sell plans that include a local number, minutes and texts, shown in the plan name; those minutes and texts are for local calls and local texts within that country only.
Yes. WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal stay on your existing number with every chat intact; there is nothing to re-register. The eSIM simply supplies the data they run on.
Yes, with your home SIM left in the phone. The eSIM carries all your data, and most carriers deliver incoming text messages to your home number abroad at no charge, so one-time codes from your bank, Google, Airbnb and the rest arrive exactly as they do at home. Keep the home SIM switched on with data roaming turned off, and only the eSIM uses data. Two things to know before you fly: making a call or sending a text from the home SIM is what triggers roaming charges on most carriers, so leave calling and texting to WhatsApp and the like, and a few carriers do charge for incoming texts or block them abroad, so a quick check with your carrier before you leave settles it.