Africa

Staying connected in Africa

The Africa plan groups six destinations spread across the continent: Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria on the Mediterranean, Ghana in West Africa, South Africa at the southern tip, and the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. It suits business travellers visiting several African markets, trips pairing South Africa with a Réunion break, or an Egypt and Tunisia loop.

Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania and the rest of East Africa are not on the list; if your safari is in the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, check the country table before booking.

Coverage and networks

This plan covers the destinations listed below, as published in the plan information (6 in total). Check every stop on your route against the table before buying.

For Morocco or Tanzania, see their own pages; for more African countries, look at the 123 countries plan.

Signal and speed depend on where you are, your device and network conditions, and can differ between plans.

Choosing a data allowance

eSIM plans for Africa currently last 1 to 30 days and come in these types:

• Daily data (500MB, 1GB, 2GB and 3GB per day): suits a steady routine. Check when the daily allowance resets and what happens once it is used.
• Total data (3GB to 50GB): one allowance for the whole trip, handy when some days are heavier than others.
• Unlimited: always read the fair-use policy; after a set amount, speed may be reduced.

Suggestions for this trip

• A 5 or 7-day business trip to Cairo, Accra or Johannesburg, mostly email, online meetings and rides: 1GB or 2GB a day, depending on how many video calls you have.
• Longer trips across two or three countries: 10GB of total data for about a week or 20GB for 15 days; resort days with Wi-Fi will use less.

Count your arrival and departure days. Before paying, check the exact plan for when validity starts, how days are counted, and whether hotspot, calls or SMS are included; these differ between plans.

Before you go

• Ride-hailing: Uber and Bolt work in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Accra; in Cairo you can use Uber and Careem.
• Payments: Cards are widely accepted in South Africa and Réunion; in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Ghana carry cash for markets, taxis and tips.
• Réunion: The island uses the euro and French is the main language, so install a translation app with a camera mode.
• eSIM setup: Before buying, make sure your phone supports eSIM and is not carrier-locked. Install the eSIM before you fly, on a stable Wi-Fi connection, following the instructions sent with your plan.
• On arrival: Set the travel eSIM as your mobile data line and follow its roaming instructions. Turn off data roaming on your home SIM to avoid unexpected charges.