eSIM Colombia
Colombia eSIM from 3,95€ with 4G/5G where available: prepaid data packs, no contract and no sign-up — set up by QR code and you're connected the minute you land in Bogotá.
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Colombia?
Set up in one tap at home
After the purchase you get an email with one link inside. Tap it and the eSIM lands on your phone, right next to your everyday SIM. It stays asleep for now — no data, no days ticking — so you can sort this out days before you leave.
Landed? One switch
Landed in Bogotá, Medellín or Cartagena? Open Settings and turn on data roaming for the Simbye line — that single switch is all it takes. The phone finds the local network on its own and you are online within moments, before your bag even reaches the belt.
Stay reachable, top up anytime
You keep both worlds: the Simbye line carries the data, while your own SIM keeps your number reachable for calls and texts as usual. Should the plan run low before the trip ends, add more in the app with a couple of taps — the eSIM stays untouched.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Colombia?
One network carries you across Colombia — Claro — and your phone joins it on its own wherever you happen to land.
| Networks | Download | Upload | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 52Mbit/s | 15Mbit/s | 55ms |
Source: nPerf averages, 01.04.2025 – 31.03.2026.
You do not choose anything and you do not set anything up. Your Simbye line runs on Claro and registers by itself, usually while you are still taxiing at El Dorado in Bogotá or José María Córdova above Medellín. No APN to enter, no profile to pick, no app to open before it works — all of that was handled when you installed the eSIM at home. If you land and the bars stay empty, switch flight mode on, count to about ten and switch it off again; that makes the phone search for the network from scratch. If it still refuses, go into network selection, turn off automatic and choose Claro by hand — worth knowing on the coast and up in the mountains.
Cities are the easy part: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga and Santa Marta, plus the towns people actually stop in — Guatapé, Villa de Leyva, Salento and the coffee farms around it, San Gil, Minca. It thins out fast once the road runs out. Expect gaps deep in Tayrona, on the Ciudad Perdida trek through the Sierra Nevada, along the Cocora valley trails, out in the Tatacoa desert, across the Llanos, and almost everywhere on the Pacific side of Chocó around Nuquí and Bahía Solano, where boats replace roads. The Amazon around Leticia holds the town and little else, and Caño Cristales in La Macarena is a place to leave your phone in your bag. Long bus climbs over the Andes drop in and out between villages.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Colombia?
You land in Bogotá already connected. A Colombian prepaid SIM is easy to find at El Dorado or a corner shop, but it gets registered to your passport and paid for at the counter.
| Feature |  Simbye eSIM |
Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| How fast you're online | Ready before the seatbelt sign goes off, because you installed it at home. | After immigration, a queue at a stand and an activation call in Spanish. |
| Papers and ID | Nothing shown to anyone on arrival; no forms, no photocopy of documents. | Colombia registers prepaid SIMs to an ID, so your passport gets copied. |
| Point of sale | Straight to your phone from home, days before the trip if you like. | Claro stands at El Dorado, shopping centres and street vendors across the city. |
| Settling the bill | Card or wallet in your own currency, one payment before you fly. | Cash at the stand, during opening hours, and change is often expected. |
| Your number stays | Your everyday number keeps ringing beside it, so family still reaches you. | You carry an unfamiliar number and your own SIM sits in a pocket. |
| More data later | Top up in the app in seconds, still sitting in the taxi. | Recargas at shops, pharmacies and kiosks, asked for in Spanish. |
| Signal quality | Runs on Claro, from Bogotá and Medellín out to the coffee region. | The same Claro masts and the same thin spots in the mountains. |
| Colombian +57 number | No +57 number is included; WhatsApp calls and messages work regardless. | A +57 number, handy when a Colombian hotel or driver calls back. |
For most travelers the eSIM is the simpler choice: set up before departure, no queuing on arrival.
How much data do you need in Colombia?
Trip length
How you use your phone
What does an eSIM for Colombia cost?
from 3,95€
4 plans · 7–30 days
Simbye offers 4 plans for Colombia from 3,95€ to 28,95€ — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Colombia range from 1 GB to 10 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in Colombia.
Data plans
- 1 GB 7 days 3,95€ 0,56€ per travel day
- 3 GB 30 days 8,95€ 0,29€ per travel day
- 5 GB 30 days 16,95€ 0,56€ per travel day
- 10 GB 30 days 28,95€ 0,96€ per travel day
Good to know
- Networks
- Claro
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
Frequently Asked Questions about Colombia eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
You can get an eSIM for Colombia here on this page, before you fly. Pick a plan, pay by card, and the email arrives within minutes with an install link and a QR code. One tap at home on Wi-Fi puts the eSIM next to your normal SIM. No stand at El Dorado, no queue, no activation call in Spanish.
Yes, an eSIM works in Colombia. An eSIM for Colombia is a digital SIM card built into your phone. Your Simbye line runs on Claro and registers by itself, usually while you are still taxiing at El Dorado in Bogota or Jose Maria Cordova above Medellin. What matters is your handset: it needs a built-in eSIM chip and must not be locked to one operator. Nothing has to be arranged locally.
An eSIM for Colombia starts at 3,95€; the price depends on how much data you take and how long you stay. The plans and their prices sit in the table above on this page, shown in your own currency. You pay once, before you travel: no contract, no monthly fee, and nothing is added to your home phone bill afterwards.
The network for eSIM use in Colombia is Claro, and you don't choose or configure anything. The line registers on it by itself once data roaming is switched on for the Simbye line, with no APN to enter and no profile to pick. If a spot refuses, turn off automatic network selection and choose Claro by hand, which is worth knowing on the coast and in the mountains.
No, Colombia won't block your phone by its IMEI here. Colombia does run a device registry, and handsets used on a line from a Colombian operator are expected to be entered in it. Phones connecting through international roaming sit outside that process, and a travel eSIM is exactly that, so there is nothing for you to register and nothing gets blocked.
No, not with your passport in Colombia. Colombia registers prepaid SIM cards to an identity document, so buying one locally means handing over your passport at a stand or a shop. Your eSIM is issued before you travel and rides the Colombian network as a foreign line, so nothing is shown to anyone and no form is filled in on arrival.
No, you don't get a Colombian +57 number - this is a data plan, so there's no +57 number for local calls or SMS codes. Keep your own SIM in the phone and switched on and your usual number stays reachable, while WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal and Telegram calls run over the eSIM's data. Anything that verifies you by a Colombian number stays shut.
Yes, Uber, banking apps and WhatsApp all work on it over the data connection with your existing accounts, and WhatsApp keeps its number because that's tied to your account, not the SIM. What cannot be done is any sign-up or verification that insists on a Colombian +57 number, since this plan does not include one.
Data needs for Colombia run about 100 to 200 MB a day for maps, ride-hailing, WhatsApp and email in Bogotá or Medellín, so a fortnight lands near 3 GB. Posting photos daily from Cartagena or the coffee farms takes you towards 5 GB. Streaming and a laptop on the hotspot are the heavy end; the larger sizes are in the plan table above.
The eSIM that's best for Colombia depends on where you travel, how much data you use, how long you stay and whether you need a Colombian number. This one runs on Claro, strong in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena, Santa Marta and the towns travellers actually stop in, and thinner in the mountains and on remote coast. It is data only, so calls go through apps.
Ready for Colombia?
Pick a plan, tap the link in your email — you are online from the moment you land.
Choose a planPrepaid, no contract. The plan simply ends on its own.
