eSIM for Antigua & Barbuda

Viasimo's Antigua & Barbuda eSIM starts at $6.99 for 500 MB over 1 day, running on FLOW with 4G LTE where available. Plans last 1 to 180 days, arrive by email in minutes and install from your phone's settings, with no app.

Works everywhere in Antigua & Barbuda

Barbuda
Redonda
Saint George Parish
Saint John Parish
Saint Mary Parish
Saint Paul Parish
Saint Peter Parish

Select your planIn stock

Duration

Quantity

Unlimited data · 3 Days$45.99

Unlimited data · 3 Days ×1

$45.99

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Dial *#06# on your phone. If you see an EID number, your phone takes an eSIM. Most phones sold since 2019 do.

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Network

Which networks does the Antigua & Barbuda eSIM use?

Host networks: FLOW

Your eSIM picks one automatically; you do not choose or switch between them.

Data: 500 MB – 20 GB or unlimited
Validity: 1–180 days
Speed: 4G LTE
Hotspot / tethering: Supported on most devices
Activation: Starts when you first connect in your destination
Speed management: Roughly 2-3 GB per day at full speed, sometimes less depending on the local carrier, then reduced
Top-ups: Add more data from your account, before the plan expires
Text messages (SMS): Data only: use an app for verification codes
Unused validity: 180 days before it must be installed

Setting up Buy, scan the QR code we email you, and switch on the travel line when you land. How it works

Choosing a plan

How much data do you need?

The allowances below are our sizing recommendations, not measurements. The plan beside each one is the cheapest option on this page that covers it.

Recommended data allowances matched to the plans sold for this destination
You are	Plan for	Cheapest plan that covers it
LightMaps, messaging and the occasional lookup	About 1 GB a week	$10.991 GB, 7 days
TypicalMaps, social, photos and some browsing	About 3 to 7 GB a week	$42.005 GB, 30 days
HeavyVideo streaming, video calls and uploads	10 GB a week or more	$76.0010 GB, 30 days
Working or sharingTethering a laptop, calls and cloud sync	20 GB a week or more	$104.99Unlimited, 7 days

Work it out from your own habits

What a week abroad costs

eSIM, local SIM or roaming?

Charged per day

Your carrier roaming

Queue and plastic

A SIM at the airport

$6.99

Viasimo, one bundle

Only the Viasimo figure is a price: it comes from today’s live catalog. The other two rows are directional, not quoted rates.

About this eSIM

Two islands, two entirely different connectivity stories. Antigua is busy, hilly and thoroughly wired around its harbours and resorts; Barbuda is flat, nearly empty and has a fraction of the infrastructure. A single eSIM covers both, but only one of them will behave the way you expect a holiday connection to behave, and knowing which is which saves you a lot of guessing.

Getting online when you land

V.C. Bird International sits just outside St John's and clears quickly. Have the profile installed before you fly, keep the line switched off in transit, then enable it and turn on data roaming for it once you are through immigration. The handset should find a network before you have finished at the car hire desk.

Yacht arrivals are the other common route in, clearing at English Harbour, Falmouth or Jolly Harbour. Same procedure, with one addition: if you sailed in from Guadeloupe, Montserrat or St Kitts, your phone may still be clinging to a network from there. Force a fresh search with airplane mode rather than assuming it will hand over on its own.

Keep your regular SIM in place with its data disabled. Your usual number stays reachable, which matters when a charter company or a bank tries to confirm something by text.

The networks you'll be on

Data here runs through FLOW, on 4G LTE. No 5G, which nobody on a sailing holiday is going to miss, and 4G across the areas where visitors spend their time. 3G picks up the slack where 4G does not reach.

The useful thing to understand is that the network was built around where people actually are: the capital, the cruise berths, the harbours on the south coast and the resort strip in the northwest. Those places are dense with users and correspondingly well served. The further you get from that pattern, the more you are relying on a single distant tower, and the more the landscape between you and it decides your fate.

Where coverage holds, and where it thins

St John's, the airport corridor and the whole northwest around Dickenson Bay and Runaway Bay are dependable. So is the southern yachting belt: English Harbour, Nelson's Dockyard, Falmouth and up at Shirley Heights, where the view is the point and the signal happens to be good. Jolly Harbour and the west coast beaches hold up fine.

Antigua's interior is where terrain starts to matter. The hills around Fig Tree Drive and the rise toward Mount Obama create shadows, and the eastern side near Devil's Bridge and Half Moon Bay is quieter than the west. None of it is a serious problem on an island you can cross in under an hour.

Barbuda is the real caveat. Codrington, the only settlement of any size, has service. Beyond it the island is a long, low expanse of sand, lagoon and scrub with very little on it, and the famous stretches of pink beach are not places to count on getting a message out. The crossing itself, whether by the fast ferry or a short hop by air, is largely offline. If you are day-tripping, agree your return arrangements before you leave Antigua rather than assuming you can adjust them from the other side.

What you'll actually use data for here

Sailing dominates. Charter handovers, mooring availability, customs clearance appointments and crew coordination all happen over the phone, and the wind and swell forecasts get checked obsessively. Anyone spending time on the water here has at least one weather app open more or less permanently, and during Sailing Week the whole island runs on schedule updates and WhatsApp groups.

On land it is more ordinary. Taxi drivers work by phone and are usually the fastest way to arrange anything. Restaurant reservations along the south coast and up at Shirley Heights on a Sunday evening need booking ahead. Cruise ship days change how crowded St John's feels, and knowing what is in port is genuinely useful for planning a quiet afternoon.

Then there is the Barbuda logistics layer: ferry times shift with sea conditions, boat operators confirm by phone, and the frigate bird sanctuary trips are arranged locally rather than online. Sort those out while you still have a solid connection.

Before you fly

Download offline maps for both islands. Barbuda in particular is one of those places where the road you are on will not appear unless you cached it.

Save contact numbers as numbers: your villa or charter company, a taxi driver you trust once you find one, and the ferry operator. Screenshot booking confirmations rather than leaving them in an inbox.

Check the handset is unlocked and supports eSIM, install the profile at home, and pack a power bank plus something waterproof. Sun, salt and long days on a boat are harder on a phone than any coverage gap here.

Unlimited runs at full speed up to a fair-use limit, then continues slower.

Before you buy

Important to know

This is a data-only eSIM. It carries no calls or SMS on its own number.
Your existing number stays on your primary SIM, so calls and verification texts keep working.
Your phone must support eSIM, and some carrier-locked phones cannot install one.
Signal varies with location, terrain, congestion and your handset. Dense urban areas are consistently better served than remote ones.
The eSIM selects a host network automatically. You cannot pick or switch between them.
Unlimited plans run at full speed up to a fair-use limit, then continue at a reduced speed. Read the fair usage policy

Looking for more information?

Frequently asked questions

Does an eSIM work in Antigua & Barbuda?

Yes. Your Antigua & Barbuda eSIM connects automatically the moment you arrive, with no roaming fees and nothing to set up at the airport. The host networks it can use are FLOW. Coverage runs on 4G LTE. There is no 5G on our host network in Antigua & Barbuda yet.

Do I get 5G in Antigua & Barbuda?

No. FLOW do not yet offer 5G to visitors in Antigua & Barbuda, so your eSIM connects over 4G LTE or slower. Anyone claiming 5G for this destination is quoting a spec sheet, not the network you will actually get.

Which mobile networks operate in Antigua and Barbuda?

There are three: FLOW (Cable & Wireless), Digicel, and inet, the mobile brand of the state-owned Antigua Public Utilities Authority. Each runs its own 4G network. This eSIM connects to FLOW on 4G LTE, so if a friend on Digicel or inet has signal where you don't, that is the reason: the masts are different.

Is there 5G in Antigua?

Don't plan around it. This eSIM works on FLOW's 4G LTE network, which is what you'll use across Antigua and in Codrington on Barbuda. For maps, messaging, video calls and checking marine forecasts, 4G is more than enough, and the island is small enough that you are rarely far from a mast.

How long is the ferry from Antigua to Barbuda?

The Barbuda Express catamaran takes about 90 minutes from the ferry dock at the bottom of High Street in St John's. It runs six days a week, and day tours leave at 6am daily except Sunday. Barbuda is still rebuilding after the 2017 hurricanes, so book transport and accommodation on the island before you travel.

Do I need a local driving licence in Antigua?

Yes. Visitors need a temporary local driving licence, issued on presentation of your home licence by car hire companies, the Transport Board or local police stations. Driving is on the left. Download an offline Google Maps area for Antigua before you collect the car, since signposting on country roads is limited.

What is the emergency number in Antigua and Barbuda?

Dial 911 or 999 for police, fire or ambulance. Emergency calls need a voice line, so use your home SIM (keep it switched on alongside the eSIM) or any local phone. This eSIM is data only and has no phone number of its own.

How much data do I need for 7 days in Antigua & Barbuda?

For 7 days in Antigua & Barbuda, Viasimo sells 1 GB for $10.99 and unlimited data for $104.99. Our sizing recommendation, not a measurement: maps, messaging and the occasional lookup, about 1 GB a week; maps, social, photos and some browsing, about 3 to 7 GB a week. The data calculator on this site works it out from how you actually use your phone.

Installing, keeping your number, topping up and hotspot work the same everywhere: see how it works →

Know before you go

Antigua & Barbuda: what to know before you land

Antigua and Barbuda has three mobile operators, FLOW, Digicel and the state utility's inet, and this eSIM gives you data on FLOW's 4G LTE network from the moment you land at V.C. Bird International (ANU). Plan for Barbuda separately: the ferry takes about 90 minutes and the island is still rebuilding after the 2017 hurricanes.

Emergency: 911 or 999
Plugs: AB 220V in most areas, 110V in some hotels and districts
Currency: Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD); US dollars widely accepted

Main airports

ANU V.C. Bird International Airport

Apps worth having WhatsAppGoogle MapsWindyXE Currency

FLOW, Digicel and inet: Antigua's three networks

Antigua is a small market with three mobile operators. FLOW is the Cable & Wireless brand, Digicel is the regional rival found across the Eastern Caribbean, and inet is the commercial telecoms arm of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), which sells mobile on what it describes as an island-wide 4G LTE-Advanced network alongside home broadband and fibre.

This eSIM connects to FLOW on 4G LTE. That matters if you are comparing notes with other travellers or crew: someone on a Digicel or inet SIM may get a signal in a spot where you don't, and the reverse is equally true, because each operator has its own masts.

Buying a local SIM means finding a store or kiosk and handing over a passport. With the eSIM installed before you leave home you skip that, and your home SIM stays active for calls and texts from banks or your charter company. Local numbers use the +1 268 prefix, so a taxi driver's or guesthouse's number dials like a North American one from your home line.

Crossing to Barbuda on the Barbuda Express

Most visitors reach Barbuda on the Barbuda Express, a wave-piercing catamaran that leaves from the ferry dock at St John's Harbour, at the bottom of High Street. The crossing takes about 90 minutes and runs six days a week. Organised day tours leave at 6am every day except Sunday, with an extra 9:30am departure on Thursdays, so check the timetable the evening before while you are on hotel wifi or a strong signal in town.

Barbuda took a direct hit from the hurricanes of 2017 and the UK Foreign Office notes that reconstruction is still ongoing. Accommodation and services are thinner than on Antigua, so confirm where you are sleeping and how you will get from the dock to Codrington before you sail.

Before boarding:

Save the ferry operator's and your Barbuda contacts as phone numbers, not just WhatsApp chats.
Screenshot tickets and tour vouchers.
Download an offline map of Barbuda in Google Maps.
Charge a power bank: the 6am start makes for a long day.

Taxis, EC dollars and the temporary driving licence

Taxis on Antigua do not run on meters. Agree the fare before you set off, and confirm whether it is in US dollars or Eastern Caribbean dollars (XCD), since drivers often take both. The Foreign Office advises using only licensed taxis. Ask your hotel for a driver's number and save it; once you find one you trust, a quick WhatsApp message is the easiest way to arrange pick-ups.

Cash machines dispense Eastern Caribbean dollars, while many hotels quote and bill in US dollars. Check which currency a price is in before you agree to it. A currency converter app with an offline rate saved is handy for markets and beach bars.

If you plan to hire a car, you need a temporary local driving licence. You get it by showing your home licence at the car hire company, the Transport Board or a police station. Driving is on the left. Download the Antigua map for offline use before you collect the car, because the roads around Fig Tree Drive and the east coast wind through low hills.

Hurricane season from June to November

The Atlantic hurricane season runs roughly from June to November, and Barbuda's experience in 2017 shows what a direct hit can do to power and communications on a small island. If you travel in these months, treat your phone as part of your storm plan.

Follow official updates. The Foreign Office advises monitoring local and international weather reports and following local authorities, including any evacuation orders. Bookmark the US National Hurricane Center site and your hotel's emergency information.
Keep a battery reserve. Charge a power bank every night and keep the phone topped up when a system is forecast.
Save key details offline. Store your accommodation address, insurance policy number and airline contact details in a note or screenshot, not only in email.
Use your home SIM for texts from your airline. Rebookings often arrive by SMS, which this data-only eSIM cannot receive.

The emergency numbers are 911 and 999 for police, fire and ambulance.

Researched October 2026 · 5 sources

gov.uk Antigua and Barbuda travel advice (GOV.UK)
apua.ag Telecommunications - inet (APUA)
visitantiguabarbuda.com Barbuda Express (Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority)
worldstandards.eu Plug, socket and voltage by country (WorldStandards)
countrywifi.purple.ai Connectivity in Antigua and Barbuda (Purple)

7-day itinerary

Seven days in Antigua and Barbuda: St John's, English Harbour and a Barbuda day trip

A beach-and-history week for first-time visitors, based on Antigua with a full day on Barbuda by ferry. Expect the Georgian dockyard at English Harbour, Atlantic-coast drives, a day on the water and plenty of unhurried beach time.

Length: 7 days
Bases: 3

When to go December to April is dry and breezy and the busiest period; June to November is hurricane season, with the highest risk from August to October, when some boat trips and the Barbuda ferry can be cancelled at short notice.

Day 1 Dickenson Bay or St John's

Arrive and settle in on the west coast

Taxi from the airport to Dickenson Bay or St John's takes 15 to 25 minutes.

Land at V.C. Bird International and take a licensed taxi to your base, agreeing the fare and currency first. Spend the afternoon on Dickenson Bay or Runaway Bay, both calm, west-facing beaches north of St John's. Walk to Fort James at the mouth of St John's Harbour for sunset over the water, then stock up on water and snacks in town before shops close.

Signal FLOW's 4G is strong around the airport, St John's and the hotel strip on the north-west coast, so this is the easiest day to install apps and download offline maps.
Day 2 Dickenson Bay or St John's

St John's on foot

Start at the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda in the old courthouse on Long Street, then walk up to St John's Cathedral with its twin towers. Drop down to Redcliffe Quay and Heritage Quay by the cruise pier, best visited when no big ships are in. On Saturday morning, the public market at the south end of Market Street is the place to see local produce. Spend the late afternoon at Fort James beach.

Signal Good 4G throughout St John's; expect a slower connection near Heritage Quay when several cruise ships are docked and thousands of phones share the same masts.
Day 3 English Harbour

English Harbour and Shirley Heights

Taxi or hire car from St John's to English Harbour takes about 30 to 40 minutes.

Move south to English Harbour and spend the morning in Nelson's Dockyard, part of the Antigua Naval Dockyard UNESCO site, with its restored Georgian workshops, Officers' Quarters and the Dockyard Museum. Walk the trail from Galleon Beach towards Pigeon Point or take the road up to Shirley Heights for the view over English and Falmouth harbours. If it is Sunday, stay for the evening steel band and barbecue at the lookout.

Signal 4G is reliable in the dockyard and Falmouth Harbour area; on the hill trails between Galleon Beach and Shirley Heights it can dip to one or two bars in the gullies.
Day 4 English Harbour

The Atlantic coast: Betty's Hope, Devil's Bridge and Half Moon Bay

Allow about 1 hour of driving in total around the eastern loop; roads are narrow and you drive on the left with a temporary local licence.

Drive across to Betty's Hope, a former sugar estate with a restored windmill and small visitor centre. Continue to Devil's Bridge in Indian Town National Park, a natural limestone arch where Atlantic waves blow through the rock; stay back from the edge. Finish at Half Moon Bay on the east coast for a swim, keeping to the sheltered end because the surf can be strong.

Signal Coverage holds on the main roads, but expect weaker 4G at Devil's Bridge and parts of Half Moon Bay on the exposed east side; keep Google Maps downloaded for the back roads.
Day 5 English Harbour

Day trip to Barbuda

The Barbuda Express crossing takes about 90 minutes each way; day tours leave at 6am Monday to Saturday, so leave English Harbour around 5am.

Catch the early Barbuda Express from the ferry dock at the bottom of High Street in St John's. On Barbuda, day tours take a boat across Codrington Lagoon to the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, then visit caves used by Amerindian peoples and the ruins of the Codrington estate before lunch and swimming on one of the long pink-tinged beaches. Barbuda is still rebuilding after the 2017 hurricanes, so services are limited.

Signal Expect little or no signal for much of the crossing and only patchy coverage on Barbuda outside Codrington; save tour contacts and screenshots of tickets beforehand.
Day 6 Jolly Harbour

Fig Tree Drive and the south-west beaches

From English Harbour, Fig Tree Drive to Jolly Harbour is about 45 minutes of driving.

Take Fig Tree Drive through the rainforest hills of the south-west, past roadside fruit stalls. Fit walkers can hike Mount Obama, formerly Boggy Peak, the island's highest point, with a guide from the Cades Bay side. In the afternoon, swim at Darkwood Beach or Ffryes Beach, then settle in at Jolly Harbour, where you can arrange a boat trip for tomorrow.

Signal Fig Tree Drive and the slopes of Mount Obama have the weakest coverage of the week; signal returns to solid 4G along the coast road and at Jolly Harbour.
Day 7 Jolly Harbour

On the water, then fly out

Jolly Harbour to the airport takes about 30 minutes by taxi.

Spend the morning on a half-day boat trip, either to the shallow sandbar of Stingray City off the east coast or a snorkel and beach stop at Great Bird Island in the North Sound. Return in time to shower and head to V.C. Bird International, leaving plenty of time because afternoon departures to Europe and North America cluster together.

Signal Offshore and around Great Bird Island the signal comes and goes; once back on the main roads to the airport, 4G is dependable for check-in and boarding passes.

Staying connected on this route

Download an offline Google Maps area covering both Antigua and Barbuda before day 4; the east coast and Barbuda roads are poorly signposted.
Save the Barbuda Express and your tour operator's numbers as phone contacts and screenshot tickets before the 6am sailing.
In hurricane season, keep weather and local alert apps on and check ferry and boat-trip status the night before while you have strong 4G.

Itinerary sources · 3

visitantiguabarbuda.com Barbuda Express – Visit Antigua and Barbuda
whc.unesco.org Antigua Naval Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites – UNESCO World Heritage Centre
gov.uk Antigua and Barbuda travel advice – GOV.UK

Where this comes from

Information and verification

Each block below says what was checked and when. Anything we cannot date, we do not claim.

Prices and plans: Every price and allowance on this page is read from the live catalog, not typed in.; Verified October 30, 2026
Host networks: The operator list comes from the network partner that carries this eSIM.; Verified October 30, 2026