eSIM Guinea-Bissau
This data eSIM from 9,95€ runs on the Orange network in Guinea-Bissau: 1 GB for 7 days or 3 GB for 30 days, prepaid and with no contract. Switch it on after you land in Bissau and you are online right away.
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 Guinea-Bissau?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Install it before you fly
You buy the eSIM and the email arrives straight away. Set it up calmly at home: either tap the link or scan the QR code. The validity does not start yet, so you lose no days.
Switch it on after you land
At Osvaldo Vieira airport in Bissau (OXB), the country's only international airport, turn on the eSIM line and enable data roaming for that line. If you come overland from Ziguinchor, do the same at the São Domingos border. The validity only starts with the first connection to the Orange network.
Get going
No APN to type in, nothing else to set. You may open a hotspot, and a laptop or tablet can just hang off it. If your data runs low you top up online — the eSIM stays on your phone, there is nothing new to install.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
Which networks will you be on in Guinea-Bissau?
In Guinea-Bissau this eSIM runs on the Orange network — there is nothing for you to pick.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.01.2024–31.12.2024). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
As soon as you switch the eSIM line on, your phone finds Orange by itself. There is nothing to type in and no APN to create. Only one thing matters: data roaming has to be on for this specific line, otherwise you will see bars but nothing will load. If nothing works after a long flight or a boat ride, airplane mode for thirty seconds fixes it almost every time — or switch once from automatic to manual network search and tap Orange.
The network is densest in Bissau and along the main roads towards Bafatá, Gabú, Mansôa, Canchungo and São Domingos on the Senegalese border. In the capital you get 4G; outside it the connection often drops back to 3G, and in remote areas you will have no data connection at all for a while. There is no 5G network in the country. On the Bijagós it gets thin: on Bubaque you usually still have signal, on Orango, Caravela or João Vieira often none at all. It is much the same at Varela beach and in the Cantanhez forest. So download maps, bookings and translations while you are still in Bissau, before you get on the boat.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Guinea-Bissau?
Guinea-Bissau tips the balance to the eSIM: you install it yourself with no passport recorded, and you need no CFA cash — a local card means a shop, Portuguese or Kriol paperwork and an ATM you will only find in Bissau.
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up | No ID needed, you buy and install it yourself | In the shop your passport is usually recorded |
| Timing | Installed at home, switched on after landing | Only after arrival: find a shop, wait, fill in a form |
| Paying | Card or wallet, in your own currency | Cash in CFA francs; most shops do not take cards |
| Cash | None needed for the eSIM, you pay online | For a local card you need CFA francs in cash; ATMs are basically limited to Bissau, none on the Bijagós |
| Phone number | None — data only, no calls, no SMS over the network | A local +245 number is included, calls and SMS work |
| Topping up | Online any time, no new eSIM and no second shop visit | Scratch card at a kiosk or mobile money, usually in Portuguese or Kriol |
| Your home number | Stays reachable on the second line | You swap the SIM or need a dual-SIM phone |
| If something goes wrong | Email support in German or English | Back to the shop, the conversation runs in Portuguese or Kriol |
Why your home contract gets expensive in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau does not even appear on most providers' roaming lists. And where it does, you rarely find a bundle price — you find per-megabyte billing or a daily pass that charges a full day for every day you touch it. The tricky part is not one high price, it is the lack of overview: when you set off you have no idea what an uploaded photo or a video call will end up costing, and you only find out weeks later on the bill.
A prepaid eSIM turns that around. You pay a fixed amount once and nothing can be added afterwards — when the data is gone it is gone, and you either top up or you do not. There is no contract, no notice period and no sign-up. Your usual number stays active on the second line so people at home can still reach you, while the data runs over the eSIM.
Where the network reaches — and where it does not
The Orange network is concentrated on Bissau and the corridors inland: Bafatá, Gabú, Mansôa, Canchungo, Buba, Catió and São Domingos on the Senegalese border. You get 4G in the capital, along the country roads it switches between 4G and 3G depending on where you are, and in remote corners you get nothing at all; there is no 5G network in the country. Orange has been extending rural coverage for some years now, but the rule still holds: the further you get from the main roads, the longer everything takes.
The honest part is about the islands. The Bijagós archipelago is the reason many people come, and that is exactly where coverage is thinnest. On Bubaque, the best-connected island, you usually still have signal; on Orango, Caravela or João Vieira you should firmly expect to have nothing at all. It is much the same at Varela beach in the north and in the Cantanhez forest in the south. No eSIM and no local card changes that — what helps is preparation: download the offline map, get your accommodation and your ride back confirmed in writing, and tell the people at home that you will be out of reach for a few days.
How much data do you need in Guinea-Bissau?
So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.
The Netflix and Spotify figures come from the providers themselves (Netflix Help Center, Spotify Support, retrieved 28 Aug 2026). The rest are network-operator estimates (o2, Vodafone, EE) and vary with picture quality and reception.
A local SIM usually means showing ID — the eSIM does not
If you buy an ordinary prepaid card in Guinea-Bissau you normally have to hand over your passport in the shop and your details are recorded. This eSIM you buy online: no ID is asked for and there is nothing to register locally.
Still plan ahead for the islands: on Bubaque you usually have signal, on Orango, Caravela or João Vieira often none at all. Download maps, bookings and translations while you are in Bissau — and take cash in CFA francs, because there are no ATMs on the Bijagós.
What does an eSIM for Guinea-Bissau cost?
Simbye offers 2 plans for Guinea-Bissau from €9,95 to €27,95 — prepaid, no contract.
Plans for Guinea-Bissau range from 1 GB to 3 GB.
Validity runs from 7 to 30 days and starts with your first connection in Guinea-Bissau.
| Plan | Validity | Price | Per travel day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | 7 days | €9,95 | €1,42 |
| 3 GB | 30 days | €27,95 | €0,93 |
- Networks
- Orange
- 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 Guinea-Bissau eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
