Data Roaming in Mexico: Which One Should I pick?

Mexico is one of the most chosen destinations by travelers, due to its beautiful beaches and Latin culture. So if you will be visiting this beautiful country soon, something you can’t miss in your plans is the cellular internet for Mexico. And what better way to do it than with Mexico roaming services with your own operator, so you can stay connected to the internet as if you were at home. 

That’s why we have taken the time to search and tell you about the most popular international carriers, so if you are a user of one of them, you will know how to use the international roaming services in Mexico, along with their prices, features, among others. 

What is Roaming?

Have you ever wondered if you can use your cell phone in another country with your local operator? Well, let us tell you that it is possible, and it is thanks to international roaming. This is basically a service from operators that allow their users to make and receive calls, send text messages, and browse the internet, while they are in another country. 

Many operators have local plans that allow their users to use the above-mentioned services free of charge. However, in most cases, you will have to pay a certain fee for the use of these services. So with this service, you will be able to connect to different networks in the country you are visiting and therefore use your cell phone as if you were at home. 

Roaming rates in Mexico:

A fact that many of us know is that international roaming can be expensive, so if you are thinking about whether or not to use this service with your operator, we recommend you know all about the charges you could have. For Mexico, you can easily spend $10 per day on roaming. However, it will depend on the services your carrier offers, so we will talk in more detail about each of them below. 

T-Mobile

First of all, we will talk about the international roaming service of T-mobile, a famous American operator, recognized for being one of the best in the country. T-Mobile offers its users the possibility to make use of its roaming services through three different plans, such as Essentials, Magenta, and Magenta Plus Plan. Each of these plans has its own benefits, however, the most complete plan with the most benefits is the last one mentioned. 

On the other hand, in case you do not have one of these plans, you can also make use of International roaming, but on a pay-per-use basis, which can be more expensive. First of all, you will be able to make use of data at a price of $15 per MB. In addition, if you want to send messages, each message will cost 0.50 USD. The difference is that if you receive messages they will be deducted from your home messaging plan, but if you do not have a domestic text messaging plan, incoming messages will cost $0.20 USD each. Finally, for each call, you will have to pay 0.25 USD per minute.

AT&T

AT&T is an American company, so if you are a user of this operator, you can activate the international roaming through different options. First of all, let’s talk about the plans. AT&T offers its users the international Pass, with which you can have an unlimited internet connection, calls, and messages for only $10 a day. In addition, some AT&T plans allow you to use their services in Mexico and Canada at no additional cost. 

On the other hand, if you don’t want to add a package, you can make use of the pay-per-use option, with which you can use data, make calls and send messages and you will be charged according to your usage. In Mexico, the cost of this option is 2.05 USD per MB, as well as $1 per minute per call and $0.5 per text message. 

Vodafone

In case you are a Vodafone user from Australia or UK, you can make use of international roaming as well. For users from Australia, with some plans, you can activate this service for Mexico and pay only 5 dollars a day. 

Depending on the plan you have you will be able to use limited or unlimited data, including calls and messages. However, you can also use the pay-as-you-go option, paying $1 per MB, $1 per call minute, and $0.75 per SMS. 

However, if you are a UK Vodafone user, you will have to pay 7 USD per MB. Likewise, to make and receive calls the price is 2 USD per minute. As for text messages, for each message sent you will have to pay around 1.5 USD.

O2

Finally, if you are an active O2 user and want to make use of your telephony services while traveling to Mexico, you can do so with the O2 Travel Inclusive Zone or O2 Travel Bolt on option. With the first option, you will get a daily allowance of unlimited minutes, texts, and data when roaming. There is no data limit, but the speed may reduce depending on usage.

With the second option, you can pay a single fixed daily rate that will give you unlimited minutes and messages and all the data you need. There is no data usage limit, but the data speed may vary. The price to pay for this plan is 7 dollars per day. 

How to avoid roaming charges in Mexico

If you think that Mexico roaming is not the best option for your trip, don’t worry, there are many other options with which you can have cellular internet in Mexico. This way you can avoid the high costs of using your operator’s roaming service. So here we will talk in detail about 4 options with which you can have an internet connection in this country.

Prepaid International Mexico SIM Card

As a first option, we bring you the famous Prepaid SIM card, this is basically a SIM card like the ones you use from home, with the difference that it is specifically for use while you are traveling to your destination. 

The good side of these International SIM cards is that nowadays there are many virtual stores where you can buy them. Holafly is one of these stores, we recommend them for their excellent customer service, as well as the quality and price of their services. With them, you can get a Mexico SIM card with a 15 days plan, which offers you 6GB for only 64 dollars.

International eSIM for Mexico

On the other hand, we have another, slightly more innovative option. A few years ago eSIMs were created, which are literally virtual SIM cards. They have many of the functions of the common SIM cards, with the difference that they do not need a physical installation because you can get them and activate them in a completely virtual way. 

With Holafly you can also get your eSIM for Mexico, and the prices are even cheaper, since you can enjoy 5GB for 30 days for a price of 47 dollars, probably you will not find a better price with this quality. However, if you are thinking about purchasing one of these eSIMs, we recommend that you first verify that your cell phone is compatible with them, as they are usually more compatible with the latest generation of cell phones. 

Free WiFi:

Another option that can get you out of trouble is free WIFI. Of course in Mexico, you can find many places with free wifi, either in your hotel, restaurants, and even shopping malls. Besides, it is a completely free alternative, since you will not have to pay anything for it. 

However, this will not be the best option to take into account, as it could be a very unstable connection, as well as insecure because it is a free network for anyone. So we recommend you to make use of this option only in case of emergencies. 

Pocket Wifi

Finally, we will talk about Pocket WiFi, an alternative that many group travelers like to use. This is basically a physical device that works as a WiFi spot and with which you can keep your devices connected to the internet. 

As mentioned above, this is a device that is worth purchasing if you are traveling in a group, as it is somewhat expensive. The prices of their rentals can range from $60 to $105 for the plan only, you must add the costs of delivery and some companies offer insurance in case of loss of the device because if you do not have insurance and you lose the Pocket WiFi, you must pay really high penalties.