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GigSky eSIMs are widely considered the best for cruise travel, so it’s only fair for you to be wondering what a GigSky review is doing on our website.
As advocates for sustainable travel, it’s no secret that we’re not great fans of cruises. Yet, we’re huge fans of staying connected while travelling.
This is why we try out and review eSIM providers to help you pick the best for your needs. This GigSky review is part of a series of similar articles aimed at saving you valuable time deciding on the best eSIM for travel.
So, here’s what we found while researching before writing this GigSky eSIM review. It turns out that GigSky doesn’t cater to cruise line travellers alone. It’s a great option for every type of traveller, be it on land or at sea.
Oh, and did we mention that this GigSky review comes with a promo code for our readers? Keep reading to claim your discount.
Stay Connected While Travelling
Most people travel to disconnect. We get it. We do that, too. Not as often as we’d like, as most of our trips are for work these days, but we know the feeling.
Travel is the best way to leave your routine behind for a while, be fully present, embracing the cultures, traditions and people of faraway lands.
Yet, even if truly disconnecting is the dream, staying connected is of equal importance.
Whether travelling solo or not, staying connected via a reliable Internet connection helps you be safe or, worst case scenario, seek help in moments of, let’s call it, unpredictability, to put it mildly.
But even if everything works like a charm, you still need to stay connected to share the happy news with your loved ones back home – or make them envious with your Instagram and Facebook posts.
Which brings us to the goal of this GigSky review. We want to help you pick the best eSIM for travel, ensuring carefree and safe travels.
Why Choose an eSIM
But first things first. What is an eSIM? An eSIM (short for embedded SIM) is the digital version of a traditional, physical SIM card.
Instead of inserting a plastic SIM card into your phone, though, eSIMs reside directly in your mobile device’s motherboard.
Besides their obvious upside for responsible travellers like us, which is their eco-friendly nature, eSIMs come with a multitude of other benefits for travellers.
First of all, without the need for inserting a physical SIM card for the new country you’re visiting into your phone, often swapping it with your home SIM card, you eliminate the risk of losing or damaging either.
Moreover, unlike a local SIM card that would only work in a single country, eSIMs are ideal for multi-country trips.
They offer regional plans – or even global coverage – that allow you to hop between different countries without ever changing your SIM card.
However, the most striking advantage of eSIMs compared to physical SIMs is cost-related.
Using your home SIM card abroad can and will incur excessive roaming fees that can cost you three or four times more than purchasing and activating an eSIM plan.
Even if money isn’t an issue when planning a trip, it’s not worth handing it over to mobile carriers when you can save it for truly worthwhile experiences during your holidays.
GigSky eSIM Discount Code
As we mentioned very early in this GigSky review, we’ve secured a discount code just for you. So, if you’d like to have a look at available plans and how much they’d cost with our promo code, give it a try.
Follow this link to purchase your GigSky plan. Make sure you apply the promo code ALLTRIP10 at checkout to get a 10% discount.
Please note that this discount is non-cumulative. If you see other offers running on the GigSky website, which they often do, sometimes reaching a generous 30% off, make sure you pick the one that gives you the best value.
GigSky Review – Is This One of The Best eSIMs For Travel?
GigSky eSIM & Cruise Travel
As mentioned in the very beginning of this article, GigSky is famous for being the best eSIM provider for cruises.
GigSky eSIMs offer seamless connection on board the cruise ship, no matter if it’s sailing in the vast ocean or docked at the port.
With exclusive Cruise & Land Data plans, GigSky keeps you connected even while touring the destinations you’re stopping by during the cruise.
But cruise ships aren’t our thing, so let’s jump straight to what this GigSky review is all about: is this the best eSIM for travel when you’re not on a cruise?
How We Tested GigSky
When the GigSky team invited us to test and review their data plans, it so happened that we had decided to spend some time in our home country, Greece, with no trips abroad in our immediate plans.
But, when we’re spending time in Greece, who said we’re not travelling anyway? Researching for this GigSky eSIM review coincided with a cheeky trip to Mouzaki, a small village in Central Greece that not many know of.
So, on our way to Mouzaki, we activated our GigSky Greece plans and were ready to test them out once we reached our destination.
Tucked away in the embrace of tall mountains, Mouzaki had other plans. Apart from the hotel WiFi, no other mobile networks worked properly. It seems that the village wanted us to be literally disconnected.
After thorough tests, we confirmed that this wasn’t a GigSky issue. Far from that. Not even our home SIM cards, aka our Greek mobile network providers, worked.
We had to play along. After a long weekend infused with great amounts of tsipouro and dancing, we decided to resume testing in Athens.
In the Greek capital, our GigSky eSIMs worked perfectly, ensuring high-speed Internet access that covered all our needs, from work and multitasking to entertainment, like Netflix streaming and endless hours of Spotify music.
What’s Special About GigSky eSIM
But why choose GigSky? One of the features we love is that GigSky offers new customers a free plan for select destinations. No strings attached, no credit card required.
Even though 100 MB – or even 500 MB – won’t get you far these days, this free eSIM trial is valuable as it allows you to test the service before actually purchasing a plan.
Another great advantage is that GigSky eSIMs are data-only. Your phone number never changes, which means that you stay logged in to your messaging and other apps.
Just make sure you don’t make or receive any calls, or your home network provider will charge you unreasonable fees.
With your GigSky eSIM, you can speak or text your loved ones back home via Internet-based apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or – the Greeks’ favourite – Viber to your heart’s content.
Another feature we particularly liked was that GigSky sent us notifications when our plans were about to expire, mentioning the exact hours left in our plans, in case we wanted to top them up or buy new ones.
With years of experience in the telecommunications industry, it’s no wonder that GigSky boasts a 4.6/5 star rating on Apple and Google.
Purchasing Your GigSky Plan
Once you visit the official GigSky website to buy the best eSIM for your next trip, the first thing to do is create an account. You can’t purchase GigSky eSIM plans if you haven’t created an account first.
As with most websites, you can create a GigSky account by using your Google or Apple account or by filling in your email and password.
Once your account is set, you can either buy a plan online via the GigSky website or download the GigSky app.
Before you do, though, double-check if your mobile phone is compatible with eSIMs here.
You’re now ready to purchase the best eSIM for travel for your upcoming trip.
There are many plan types available, like one-country plans or regional plans that cover multiple countries within a geographical area, such as Europe, Africa, Latin America, etc.
Choose your preferred unlimited data plan depending on the duration of your trip and hit the Buy Now button.
Don’t forget to apply our code ALLTRIP10 at checkout for a 10% discount, unless there’s a better offer running at the time of purchase. In that case, grab that one instead.
Setting Up Your GigSky eSIM
After your purchase, you’ll receive an email with your order and data package details.
The same email links to easy video tutorials with detailed instructions on how to set up your GigSky eSIM on your phone. There are separate videos for iPhone and Android devices.
If you’ve already downloaded the GigSky app and prefer to set up your eSIM via the app, open it and follow the instructions on your screen. Your eSIM will be ready to use in no time.
No matter which way you choose to install your GigSky eSIM, the setup process is very easy and straightforward, even for non-tech-savvy users. Therefore, we won’t bore you with technical details here.
Here’s something important to remember, though. Your GigSky eSIM will be automatically activated once your device connects to a network in a geographical area covered by your plan.
Therefore, if you’re already in your destination, only install the eSIM if you want to start using it immediately.
Using Your GigSky eSIM
Once you’ve followed all the setup steps, your GigSky eSIM is ready for use. You can work (hopefully not on your vacation), stream your favourite shows, watch cat videos on social media, or do all of the above at the same time.
Moreover, you can text and make phone calls or video calls with anyone anywhere using Internet-based messaging and video call apps, like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Most importantly, you can use navigation or translation tools, like Google Maps and Google Translate.
On top of that, you have access to your email or airline and accommodation apps to check important information related to your bookings, flight status, etc.
The Verdict of This GigSky eSIM Review
Reaching the end of this GigSky eSIM review, which is part of a series of reviews on eSIM brands on our website, we can safely say that GigSky could easily be the best eSIM for travel right now.
Some of the features that make it stand out are the free eSIM trial, ease of use, data-only plans and alerts that let you know when your plan is about to expire.
Speaking of that, if there’s one thing we didn’t particularly enjoy about GigSky, it was the somewhat large amount of app and email notifications we got from the moment we created an account and downloaded the app.
That said, this is by no means a deal-breaker and we’d definitely use GigSky again. In fact, we’ve yet to try it on a trip abroad, so stay tuned as we may be updating this guide soon.
WORDS & EDITING: Maria
IMAGES: Katerina
Disclosure: This GigSky review was published in partnership with the GigSky team, who invited us to test some of their eSIM data plans.
