eSIM Australia & New Zealand

For the first weeks, yes. You land in Sydney or Auckland with data already working, so you can sort out a room, a bank appointment and transport before signing up for anything local. For a stay of several months, a local prepaid SIM usually works out cheaper and gives you an Australian or New Zealand number, which employers, banks and landlords tend to ask for. In Australia you’ll show ID to activate one. A sensible pattern is the eSIM for arrival and the first month, then a local SIM once you’ve settled.

In towns, yes; between them, often not. Optus thins out quickly once you leave the east coast and the main cities, and the Nullarbor and the drive to Uluru have long stretches without coverage. In New Zealand, expect gaps in the Southern Alps, in Fiordland on the road to Milford Sound and along the West Coast between Haast and Franz Josef. Save offline maps before each long drive.

If you’re only visiting one of them, probably not. The single-country plans, our Australia eSIM and New Zealand eSIM, are often cheaper for that. The combined plan makes sense once the trip includes both, because one data allowance covers the whole route and you don’t end up with two plans that each sit half-used.

Most recent iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel models do, as long as the phone isn’t tied to one carrier. The full list is on our supported devices page.

You can. Hotspot and tethering are allowed, so a laptop or a second phone can share your data on the road. The outback and South Island gaps apply to the hotspot too: no signal on the phone means none on the laptop.

Through your Esimy dashboard or the app. Top-ups go onto the eSIM you already have, so there’s no new QR code to scan.

• 3 GB: light use, mostly maps and messaging, with hotel Wi-Fi each night
• 5 GB: the usual pick for two weeks of navigation, rideshare, photos and social media
• 10 GB: you stream, upload video or run a laptop on hotspot

All three last 30 days. If you run low on a long road trip, top up instead of buying again.

No, the plan has no number and no calls or SMS. Use WhatsApp, FaceTime or Messenger instead, and keep your home SIM active alongside the eSIM to receive bank codes.

It does, and all you have to do is turn off flight mode after landing. Your phone drops Optus and connects to One NZ within a minute or two. Validity runs on from your first connection in Australia, so a 30-day plan bought for the whole trip covers the New Zealand leg as well.

Optus, on 4G/LTE. It handles Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and the Cairns area well. Telstra isn’t included, and you’ll notice that away from the coast: on the Nullarbor, in the Red Centre and along long outback highways, Optus has big gaps.

Just the two in its name. Fiji, the Cook Islands, Samoa, New Caledonia and the rest of the Pacific aren’t included, and neither are stopovers in Asia.

For a trip that takes in both countries, a plan that covers both is the simplest option: one eSIM, one balance, no swapping lines halfway. Esimy’s runs on Optus in Australia and One NZ in New Zealand, with sizes up to 20 GB for 30 days. The real choice is Optus against Telstra. Optus is good in the cities and on the east coast, but if you’re spending days in the outback, Telstra (not included) reaches further.