French Guiana: Buy the Best eSIMs | 2024 Guide

French Guiana – also known as Guyane in French, not to be confused with neighboring English-speaking Guyana, is popular for its beaches, forests/reserves & hiking trails.

It is an overseas department of France, meaning it is part of the French Republic (France).

If the locals love or hate this construction – I do not know.

What I do know is that French Guiana has a lot to offer – up north, at least.

From various islands, like Devil's Island and Salvation's Island, to the (French) Guiana Space Center.

The (French) Guiana Amazonian Park is a hiking trail for the adventurous among us.

And, of course, the many luxurious resorts the department has to offer.

What may not be wonderful is the cost of travel in French Guiana. It is not the cheapest travel destination (in South America).

But before you share your colorful French Guiana experiences online, be aware that international roaming can be expensive.

Travel eSIMs can be a much more affordable way to stay connected, even in French Guiana.

How much will a travel eSIM for French Guiana cost?

You can get an eSIM for French Guiana for as low as 8.50 USD and up to 54 USD from Airalo and Holafly offering between 1 GB and 15 GB to be used locally, in the Americas, or globally.

While this may sound a bit pricey but international roaming will be even more expensive.

So yeah, these travel eSIMs can be worth it – especially if you favor convenience

In this guide, I will go over the travel eSIM options offered by Airalo and Holafly. Let's go.

Original publication: 14th of September 2022. Last updated: 19th of October 2023.

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Table of Contents

In a Hurry? A Quick Introduction

I will write about five eSIM options in French Guiana (and explain why they are included).

But if you want to quickly check out what the best eSIMs are for French Guiana without my analysis and explanations, here is an overview of the eSIMs covered in this guide:

• Airalo KAWCOM eSIM (best value for money)
• Holafly French Guiana eSIM with three options for 7 to 30 days (straight to the point eSIMs – use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off)
• Airalo Latamlink eSIM with four choices between 1 GB and 5 GB (best value for money for 19 American countries)
• Nomad Global eSIM with six choices between 1 GB and 5 GB (extensive global coverage (109 or 139 countries) at high(er) prices – use code ADU123 for 3 USD off)

Note: the promo codes mentioned above can also be used for regional and global eSIMs (they are not restricted to country-specific eSIMs only). In other news, the eSIM providers are in alphabetical order per grouping (French Guiana-only, regional & global) – not in order of preference (you would have to read the complete guide to find out which eSIMs I love the most for French Guiana 😜).

Let's truly get started, shall we?

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eSIMs offered by French Guianese Mobile Operators

Suppose you want to get the best service and reception available in French Guiana.

In that case, it is better to get a SIM card or travel eSIM from the local mobile operators, which in this case would be the French Guianese ones.

Not only will you not have to deal with latency, but you also get a higher priority on the network because you are a direct customer of the mobile operator instead of a roamer.

And with most travel eSIMs, you are roaming on the network(s) of the local mobile operator(s).

But that is not always the case – the slow speeds part, that is.

Some mobile operators throttle the speeds of prepaid customers because they want more people to get a postpaid plan.

Unfortunately, travelers cannot get postpaid plans – so one way to avoid throttling is by using a travel eSIM.

Yes – travel eSIMs sometimes have faster speeds than native prepaid customers because of throttling.

So, which French Guianese mobile operators offer eSIMs to prepaid customers?

At the moment, no French Guianese mobile operator offers eSIMs to prepaid customers.

However, you have these two options for getting an eSIM for your trip to French Guiana: Airalo (with KAWCOM) and Holafly.

One of the main advantages of getting a travel eSIM for French Guiana is that (1) you do not have to try to speak (broken) French to get a local eSIM, (2) you can set up the eSIM before arriving in French Guiana and activate it upon landing (with most eSIMs listed in this guide) & (3) you do not have to deal with French Guiana's SIM card registration laws.

(Why does this matter? Because hackers can steal your (critical) personal data if the mobile operator does not secure your data properly, like what happened in Australia (10 million Optus customers were affected, where info, like passport numbers, were stolen (including mine – luckily not my passport number but my boyfriend was not as lucky) or Indonesia (1.3 billion SIM card-related data was hacked)).

I have to mention that travel eSIMs will be more expensive than local eSIMs and SIM cards, but they are more convenient.

Moreover, I have plenty of experience with the eSIMs from Airalo, Holafly & Nomad so I can vouch for them – so can many Phone Travel Wiz readers!

So let's go over what the travel eSIMs offer for French Guiana!

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Airalo eSIMs for French Guiana (KAWCOM)

If you have read any of my eSIM or SIM card buying guides before, then you know I am a big fan of Airalo.

Not only does Airalo have eSIMs for most countries (200+) of any eSIM platform, but they are also often one of the cheapest while offering fantastic service in terms of speeds and reception.

That is because Airalo usually partners up with the mobile operator with the best coverage, the fastest speeds, both, or even multiple operators.

That way, you get the best bang for your buck 🤑.

Wait… you have no idea who or what Airalo is? I have an in-depth review explaining how Airalo works and all its options, based on four years of using Airalo eSIMs – you can read it now or later (I will briefly introduce Airalo anyway in this guide).

Back to French Guiana, the Airalo KAWCOM uses the SFR French Guiana network.

Tip: I recommend manually selecting the SFR French Guiana network instead of SFR French Guiana for the best network performance (best coverage and fastest speed).

You only have one Airalo KAWCOM eSIM option:

1. French Guiana/KAWCOM 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 8.50 USD

I can already tell you that Airalo has the cheapest eSIM option for French Guiana in this guide.

Moreover, you will have one of the, if not the best, best network experience with the Airalo KAWCOM eSIM compared to some/most other travel eSIMs because of the network the eSIM uses.

What makes things even more pleasant is that you can top up your eSIM when it is expiring or when you are out of data without the need to purchase a new eSIM.

But you may think that a local SIM card or eSIM will (still) be cheaper than Airalo or any other travel eSIM.

And you are right – that is true in most cases.

But with some countries making getting a prepaid SIM card a hassle, involving long queues, excessive registration requirements, and long activation periods, the (slightly) higher prices for an Airalo eSIM can be worth it.

• Find out which countries have SIM card registration regulations and what is required from you (lookup tool)

So while you technically could get cheaper plans, the question is whether you can actually get them or not.

Most mobile operators will only sell you (overpriced) tourist SIM cards or the most expensive plans because of “mandatory top-up requirements” (which are often lies to take more of your money anyway).

Anyway, you should be aware that while you can get up to 4G/LTE connection with the Airalo KAWCOM eSIM, your speeds will most likely not be faster than someone using a local SIM card.

That is because you are roaming on the SFR French Guiana network instead of being a native customer.

But that does not mean you will have (extremely) slow speeds – just slower than native customers.

In the Americas, mobile data speeds are not that fast as other regions (East Asia and Europe) anyway, so the difference is small.

Anyway, the Airalo KAWCOM eSIM is an eSIM LOVED by many Phone Travel Wiz readers, and the complaints about it are minimal.

The eSIMs are affordable, the data allowances can be tailored to your needs (1 GB + top-ups are available) & you will have a smooth network experience (in most cases).

I test and use Airalo's eSIMs in every country I go to, so you better check out my Airalo eSIM reviews and see if I have written a review for the eSIM you are interested in.

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Holafly eSIMs for French Guiana

Another eSIM provider I recommend is Holafly, which covers 150+ countries.

In June 2022, Holafly introduced something that no other travel eSIM provider had done by that time (that I am aware of).

You can now get unlimited data plans in all European Union member states, many East- and Southeast Asian countries & a handful of others.

Wait… there is an eSIM provider offering unlimited data plans, and I (you reading this) have never heard of it? Who is Holafly? 🤔

I have an in-depth review explaining how Holafly works and all its options, based on two years of using Holafly eSIMs – you can read it now or later (I will briefly introduce Holafly anyway in this guide).

Unfortunately, unlimited data plans are unavailable in country for now, but Holafly informed me it intends to have unlimited data eSIMs for all supported countries (but it will take a while).

What about myself? I have yet to be throttled, it seems. But unlike most travelers, I usually have multiple local SIM cards and travel eSIMs for testing purposes while I travel, so I can spread out my data usage among them. For countries without unlimited data plans, Holafly does not throttle speeds at all.

In French Guiana, Holafly's eSIM uses the Digicel French Guiana network.

You have the following three French Guiana eSIM options with Holafly:

1. French Guiana 3 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 37 USD/34 EUR/27 GBP/49 AUD/44 CAD
2. French Guiana 7 GB eSIM for 15 days, costing 44 USD/47 EUR/34 GBP/67 AUD/59 CAD
3. French Guiana 15 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 54 USD/59 EUR/49 GBP/84 AUD/77 CAD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in October based on data up to the 11^th of October (2023 data only).

Yes, these are not the cheapest eSIMs out there.

Do note that the Holafly French Guiana eSIM cannot be topped up or extended.

So you need to buy another eSIM when you are out of data or the eSIM expires; you have to purchase a new one.

And do not install the eSIM (by scanning the QR code or manually entering the activation code) too early – preferably

But… you can get 5% off each and any Holafly purchase (so it does not have to be the French Guiana eSIM) when you use code PHONETRAVELWIZ – fantastic, right 🤩?

I test and use Holafly's eSIMs in every country I go to, so you better check out my Holafly eSIM reviews and see if I have written a review for the eSIM you are interested in.

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Best eSIMs for the Americas & the World (including French Guiana)

So what if you plan to visit a neighboring country of French Guiana?

Unfortunately, you cannot use your Airalo, Alosim, Holafly, or Nomad eSIMs in any country than French Guiana

Luckily, some of the eSIM providers mentioned so far do have eSIMs that can be used throughout most or all of the Americas.

And there are also some global eSIMs with attractive prices that can be useful if you visit the Americas and another continent or region.

I highly recommend these Americas or global eSIMs if you plan to visit multiple American countries to save money!

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Airalo Latamlink eSIM

Following Airalo's popular Eurolink eSIM, which can be used in 39 European countries, Airalo introduced the Asialink eSIM, which can be used in 14 East- and Southeast Asian countries ¹ a bit later.

Eventually, it also launched the Latamlink eSIM, which can be used in 19 countries in the Americas.

There is not much to say about this eSIM because it is straightforward, except that the data allowances are not as generous as the Asian and European counterparts.

But as I said in the Alosim section, it is difficult for eSIM providers to enter the Latin American market, let alone selling eSIMs at reasonable prices, so we gotta take what we have, I guess.

The Airalo Latamlink eSIM can be used in the following 19 countries:

¹ on 3G only

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Nomad Global eSIM

Besides Nomad's eSIM for French Guiana, it also has a global eSIM that can be used in French Guiana and a total of 109/139 countries (including most European ones).

While Nomad's Global eSIM covers a few more countries than Airalo's Discover(+) eSIMs (109/139 vs. 130 (previously 85+)), it is significantly more expensive than Airalo (but not the most costly global eSIM in this guide).

Even so, Phone Travel Wiz readers have shown interest in this eSIM and have had positive experiences with it, especially after Nomad improved it (with its 139 Country Plan powered by eSIM Go (has 5G NR access in 50+ countries) instead of the 109 Country Plan by Truphone (4G/LTE only).

Anyway, you have these six Nomad Global eSIMs:

1. Global (109 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 25 USD/24 EUR/21 GBP/34.50 CAD/23 CHF – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
2. Global (139 Countries Plan) 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 19 USD/18.50 EUR/16 GBP/26 CAD/17.50 CHF
3. Global (109 Countries Plan) 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 40 USD/38.50 EUR/33.50 GBP/55 CAD/37 CHF – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
4. Global (139 Countries Plan) 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 40 USD/38.50 EUR/33.50 GBP/55 CAD/37 CHF
5. Global (109 Countries Plan) 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 45 USD/43 EUR/37.50 GBP/61.50 CAD/41.50 CHF – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
6. Global (139 Countries Plan) 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 57 USD/54.50 EUR/47.50 GBP/78 CAD/52.50 CHF

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in October based on data up to the 11^th of October (2023 data only).

The Nomad Global eSIM can be used in the following 109 (Truphone)/139 (eSIM Go) countries:

¹ 109 Countries Plan (Truphone) only
² 139 Countries Plan (eSIM Go) only
³ 5G NR access (if you have the 139 Countries Plan (eSIM GO) – does not apply to the 109 Countries Plan (Truphone)

Remember to use code ADU123 for 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off your first Nomad purchase!

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Overview of the Best eSIMs for French Guiana

So, we reviewed some eSIMs that can be used in French Guiana.

I will give you a quick recap of each and link to their product pages in case you need more info or want to purchase an eSIM already (just remember the activation policies of Holafly and Nomad – do not buy their eSIMs too early):

• Airalo KAWCOM eSIM (best value for money)
• Holafly French Guiana eSIM (straight to the point eSIM options)
• Airalo Latamlink eSIM (best value for money for 19 American countries)
• Nomad Global eSIM (extensive global coverage (109/139 countries) at high(er) prices)

Remember to use code the relevant discount codes for (ADU123 (Nomad), PTW (Alosim), or PHONETRAVELWIZ (others)).

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Buying a SIM Card in French Guiana

Want to just use a SIM card but not your current one because roaming will be criminally expensive?

Consider getting a French Guianese SIM card instead – local SIM cards are the cheapest way to stay connected abroad.