Comments on: Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Argentina

By: Kath

Kath

I travelled in Argentina in December 2018-January 2019. I originally purchased a prepaid cell package from Movistar but found that I could not access the internet. After multiple trips to Movistar branches I ended up at a Samsung store where the staff person told me that from time to time he has found the internet does not work on cell phones purchased outside of Argentina, and it is always with Movistar packages!
I switched to Claro and the internet worked like a charm. Claro also provided coverage in the rural Traslasierra Valley in Cordoba Province, where friends with Movistar and Personal packages had no signal.

By: Zab

Zab

In reply to ryan.

Hi Ryan,

Firstly, sorry for the slow response. We have been on the road and getting over jet lag. It’s great you have the year to travel around South America. I’m a firm believer in travelling slowly especially if you work remotely like we all do.

It really depends how remote you’re talking about. The most difficult time for internet connection was in El Chaltén in southern Argentina. It was painfully slow, though I have heard that much has been improved. I would suggest asking a hostel or hotel in this large village if you are planning on visiting. Also when travelling, as in on buses, and it is very remote, we most certainly didn’t get internet and on occasions no phone signal.

It’s been two years since we were in that part of the world. It’s important for folks to realise that many of these countries rely heavily on mobile internet systems (GSM masts/satellites). Installing cables around the country is just neither feasible nor cost effective.

So the upshot is we never went several days without internet and having your own sim card and using your phone as a hotspot is a good idea. I would suggest a couple of things for you. Have a spare battery pack and if you don’t have an iPhone make sure you are fully versed in how to set up the phones network and data settings. We met several people who had a lot of hassle or just didn’t get the system to work with their phones. Things may have changed but with their android OS they had to request the mobile network send a profile to the device.

Any further questions let me know.

By: ryan

ryan

I’m planning a year long trip through South America in 2016. I currently work remotely and will continue to work while traveling. I’m concerned with the Internet connections in SA, specifically in the more remote areas. I’m planning on purchasing SIM cards in each country I enter and using my cell phone as a hotspot / tethering device when there is no Internet connection. I’m concerned that in these remote areas there will be NO Cell Phone Reception which will mean No Internet Connection. How often would you say you ran into no cell phone reception? And would you say its possible to continue to work remotely in SA by using my cell phone as a hotspot?

By: Dan Gent

Dan Gent

A bit of an old article (in web terms) but great to find the answer to “what happens if i get a monthly package in Bolivia and also a daily package – which is used first?”

Just to reply to the Gringos complaining about “why do I have to register my SIM card”

Because people use anonymous SIM cards to do extorsion where they send hitman round if you don’t pay their money. This was used on even primary schools in SMP in Lima while I was there.

Safe to say if they had to choose between inconveniences for Gringos and…..

Well. you get me

By: Michael Matthews

Michael Matthews

I’ve been traveling Latin America since April 2015. I’ve run into various cell companies throughout. Claro in Guatemala has a special deal to call USA for ~$.04/min.; same with MasMovil Panama. Claro-Colombia has this rate but limited to 25min/mo. I’m currently in Peru and have a Movistar chip. Is anyone aware of other Latin American countries with special USA dialing rates? And if so how are they accessed?

By: Mikedefieslife

Mikedefieslife

Just bought a Personal SIM for Argentina. It’s rubbish. Their internal package allows you to use 10mb as full speed, then it drops to 64kbs, which of is super super slow.

For those needing decent internet access I’d recommend trying Movistar or Claro.

Hopefully I have better luck in Bolivia.

By: Katrina

Katrina

This is so useful – thanks so much. Got my Viva sim (in Bolivia) but now trying to work out the best mobile modem for my laptop. Any ideas?

By: Torsten

Torsten

So you want to buy a SIM card in Peru? Be prepared for a long
bureaucratic process – it’s a ‘fun’ way to improve your Spanish 🙂

By: Zab Scoon

Zab Scoon

Hi! I know VIVA also provide SIM cards for iPads but that may require you to have a contract as opposed to a PAYG SIM card. Some of their contracts do allow you to cancel them before the minimum time period for a small fee, so worth checking out. If they only offer contracts with no possible opt out I would try a regular SIM with a little credit on and just see what happens – at worst you could lose around £5/US$7.50.

Here are a few PDFs from the VIVA website about using 3G and 4G with your iPad.

http://www.nuevatel.com/bundles/viva/pdfs/user_guide_ipad_viva.pdf
http://www.nuevatel.com/bundles/viva/pdfs/viva_3g-user-manual-externo-18-ene.pdf

I hope you are enjoying Bolivia! Any more questions, let me know.

By: Flora @ Flora the Explorer

Flora @ Flora the Explorer

Great article Zab – and very timely, as I’ve just started my two month stint in Bolivia! I don’t have a smart phone but I do have an iPad – do you reckon the same rules apply if I want to get a 3G SIM? I assume I’ll have to cut it down (which terrifies me only slightly…) and I’m guessing from this piece that you’d suggest Viva as the best carrier. Love to hear your thoughts on this!