Staying connected abroad just got easier! ExperiencePlus! has partnered with Hubby eSIM to provide our travelers with 3GB of complimentary mobile data while on tour. What does that mean, exactly? When you book a cycling tour with ExperiencePlus!, you’ll receive access to free internet for use on your smartphone.
How does it work? It’s as simple as downloading the Hubby eSIM app to your phone, entering your unique eSIM code and activating the digital ‘card’. You’ll be able to stay connected – and worry-free from searching for WiFi – while on tour in Europe or South America (Cuba excluded). This does not provide cellular phone service abroad but you can still call using internet or data-based calling apps and message with internet or data-based messaging services.
First things first!
Here’s how to prepare and make the most of it:
Check Your Phone’s Compatibility
Most smartphones from 2019 or later support eSIMs. Check compatibility to be sure.
Make sure your phone is unlocked and ready to accept an eSIM. Call your provider to learn more.
Review Your Current Mobile Plan
If you’ve used an international plan from your phone carrier before, it may activate automatically when you travel. To avoid surprise charges, contact your carrier to confirm and deactivate it if you’d prefer to use the Hubby eSIM instead.
Know What to Expect
This eSIM provides mobile internet only — no phone calls or standard text messaging. You can still call and message using internet-based apps like WhatsApp.
Frequently asked questions
An eSIM is a digital SIM ‘card’ that is installed on your smartphone to provide you with data/internet. This will let you get online and use data-based messaging apps like WhatsApp, or call-apps like Skype. Since the eSIM provides data only, calls via your regular phone-installed call app, or texting via the regular SMS app is not supported.
Why provide free mobile data? We want to make sure you can easily and seamlessly get online to connect with family, friends, fellow tour participants, and especially your tour leaders, in the event of an emergency without being dependent on WiFi networks. What’s more, once you activate your Hubby eSIM, you’ll be able to:
Save upwards of $10 a day on mobile data
Message and/or call your contacts through WhatsApp, Skype, Facetime and other web-based communication channels. (eSIM does not cover regular phone-to-phone calls or SMS texts)
Check train schedules, access all your travel, weather and mapping apps, and never miss a day of Wordle
Most modern smartphones built after 2019 accept eSIMs. Take a look at the list of compatible phones.
Sometimes phone operators will deliver phones that are locked, which means they cannot be used with other SIM-cards than the one they came with. If you wish to use the complimentary Hubby eSIM provided by us, please call your phone operator and ask them to unlock your phone. Once unlocked, you will be able to install, activate, and use the Hubby eSIM.
10 days prior to the tour start, you will receive an email invitation from our friends at Hubby with a code to activate your eSIM with the complimentary data. Keep an eye on your spam folder.
Once you receive the invite from Hubby, just follow the simple steps explained in the invite. You’re good to go as soon as you get off the plane in your tour’s destination country.
Hubby will also send you a reminder a day prior to your tour start in case you forgot to download the app. Once you have arrived at your tour destination, Hubby will make sure to let you know if you didn’t activate it and are accidentally using roaming instead of the Hubby eSIM.
If you run into any issues at any time, use Hubby’s in-app real time chat support.
3GB – sufficient for usage throughout EP tour for normal data usage (e.g. messaging via WhatsApp, checking maps, looking at the weather forecast). If you stream videos or make a lot of video calls, you will likely run out of data. Read the next section for a more detailed explanation.
Here’s a data usage guide to give you handrails for budgeting your 3GB:
WhatsApp Voice Calls
Average Data Usage: WhatsApp voice calls typically use about 400KB (0.4MB) per minute.
So, with 3GB of mobile data, you can have approximately 125 hours of talking on WhatsApp voice calls.
Facetime takes up much more data – about 3 MB per minute or 16.76 hours
Video Streaming
Low Quality (240p): Uses about 300MB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 10 hours.
Standard Definition (480p): Uses about 700MB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 4.5 hours.
High Definition (720p): Uses about 1.5GB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 2 hours.
Full HD (1080p): Uses about 3GB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 1 hour.
Video Calls (like on Zoom or FaceTime)
Standard Quality: Uses about 500MB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 6 hours.
High Quality: Uses about 1GB per hour. So, 3GB would give you about 3 hours.
Facetime actually takes up more data – 3 GB mobile data will last about 1.25 hours
Video Messaging (like sending a video via WhatsApp or iMessage)
The data usage for sending a video message can vary widely based on the length and quality of the video:
A short, low-quality video (like 1 minute) might use around 10MB.
A longer, higher-quality video (like 5 minutes) might use around 100MB or more.
For a rough estimate, if you were sending short video messages (1 minute each, low quality), you could send about 300 of them with 3GB of data. For longer, or higher-quality videos, the number would be much lower.
If you find you need more data than 3GB, it’s easy to purchase more in the app at super reasonable rates.
No, your number will not change. However, the eSIM provides data only, not cellular phone service. You’ll need to use data-enabled messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, for phone-to-phone calls and chats while abroad.
Yes, the 3G supplied by ExperiencePlus! for your tour are entirely free.
Use the chat support directly in the app. It is prompt and direct. Other questions? See answers to the most frequent questions from Hubby.
