The Solomon Islands is probably not the most popular travel destination in Oceania, but it still has a lot to offer.
Especially when it is “an affordable” country for travel (for regional standards).
What you should not do, in many cases, is roam internationally in the Solomon Islands.
International roaming can be expensive, which is why using local and travel eSIMs is recommended to save money.
And if you get a travel eSIM, you do not have to deal with the SIM card registration bureaucracy and skip the queues in Solomon Islands.
How much will a local or travel eSIM for Solomon Islands cost you?
You can get an eSIM for Solomon Islands for as little as 20 USD, with 1 GB of data for 7 days, and up to 54 USD, with 5 GB of data for 30 days, from Nomad.
Those are some generous data allowances, right?
In this guide, I will go over the eSIM options offered by the Solomon Island mobile operators & Nomad. Let's do this.
Original publication: 26th of December 2022. Last updated: 17th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
eSIMs offered by the Solomon Island Mobile Operators
To get the best service available, in terms of reception and speeds, you want to go with the local mobile operators directly instead of with a travel eSIM.
That is because you will have a higher priority on the network in case of network congestion.
However, that does not mean travel eSIMs will always be slow.
In fact, some mobile operators throttle (prepaid) on select plans or all plans for “optimization” reasons (read: we cannot be bothered to invest in our network).
You only have one option for getting an eSIM for your trip to Solomon Islands: Nomad.
You can set up these eSIMs before arriving in Solomon Islands and skip the queues.
While mobile data is already affordable in Solomon Islands, getting a travel eSIM will not break the bank – not at all.
Plus, I have plenty of experience with Nomad, and I can assure you they work well – and other Phone Travel Wiz readers also had pleasant experiences with them.
So let's see what these travel eSIM providers have to offer in the Solomon Islands, right?
Nomad eSIMs for the Solomon Islands
Nomad is one of the eSIM players on the market that managed to grow quickly.
That is because it is one of the few premium eSIM players out there, often using multiple partners to bring you the best coverage and speeds out there.
As a result, Nomad is often (slightly) more expensive than other providers.
But good people run the company.
For example, upon my recommendation, it started offering the Nordics regional eSIM – an eSIM that can be used in Denmark, Finland, Sweden & Norway.
And many more regional eSIMs are coming – I can promise you that!
In the Solomon Islands, Nomad uses the Truphone network.
You have the following three options with Nomad for the Solomon Islands:
- Solomon Islands 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 25 USD
- Solomon Islands 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 40 USD
- Solomon Islands 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 45 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in December based on data up to the 30th of December (2023 data only).
Use code ADU123 for the best deals available when getting Nomad eSIMs (on the site or their apps) and get 3 USD/2.75 EUR/2.35 GBP/4 CAD off (even on top of (some) ongoing promotions)!
But during certain promotions where you are required to enter a code for a discount (let's say Tuesdays (web sales only) or public holidays), the discount you get for these special promotions will be more than the 3 USD off with codes ADU123. I suggest using those codes instead for extra savings – I will not blame you for it 😏.
- Check out my Nomad reviews
Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM Pros
Are there any (more) reasons why you should get the Nomad Solomon Islands? Yes:
- You can activate your Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM as soon as you land in the Solomon Islands
- You get full (up to 4G/LTE) access to Truphone network, allowing you to always have the best coverage and speeds
- Nomad Solomon Islands eSIMs are affordable compared to roaming
- Multiple top-ups can be purchased when you are out of data or when your initial plan expires easily on the Nomad site or apps
But it is not all good news with Nomad though – there are some disadvantages.
Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM Cons
Why should you not get the Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM?
- Solomon Islands mobile operators have much more generous data allowances
- While you get access to Truphone network, your speeds may not be as fast as going with the mobile operators directly because you will be roaming on their networks (and not be a native customer)
- There is no 5G NR access with the Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM (yet)
- You cannot call or text with the Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM (nor can you receive them – you get no (local) phone number)
Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM Overall Thoughts
Overall, the Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM is an excellent premium eSIM offering the most options and longest validity in this guide.
And you cannot make calls and send SMS with the Nomad Solomon Islands eSIM because it is a data-only eSIM.
Overview of the Best eSIMs for the Solomon Islands (Nomad)
In this guide, I went over Nomad as the only (reasonably priced) eSIM for the the Solomon Islands.
I recognize that there are other eSIM providers that do offer services for the Solomon Islands.
But they are either crazy expensive or the quality of service is whack (based on my experience or the experiences of other Phone Travel Wiz readers).
But you are free to try them out and let me know if they were any good 😀.
Buying a SIM Card in the Solomon Islands
Want to just use a SIM card but not your current one because roaming will be criminally expensive?
Consider getting a Solomon Island SIM card instead – local SIM cards are the cheapest way to stay connected abroad.
