Especially when traveling as a family, it can quickly get expensive to buy an eSIM for every family member. Since you’re usually traveling together anyway, a Wi-Fi hotspot—that is, a Wi-Fi box—is an affordable way to keep everyone connected.
There are several ways to do this:
- Option 1: You only want internet access at the hotel, vacation rental, or RV. In that case, you can get a affordable router with eSIM functionality that requires an external power source—a power adapter for anywhere between 100 and 230 volts or the vehicle’s onboard voltage. The router also needs an eSIM adapter card, which it can program directly within the device.
- Option 2: You want a mobile device that fits in your pocket.
Option 2a: Devices with a rechargeable battery and eSIM functionality are available from Netgear and Gl.inet —but the price is over 400 €.
Option 2b: Or you can use an eSIM adapter card and an affordable 5G mini hotspot or 4G mini hotspot. However, you’ll also need an Android smartphone to write the eSIM to the eSIM adapter. An eSIM adapter card is a physical SIM card onto which the eSIM is written. It’s then removed from the smartphone and inserted into the mini hotspot with a battery.
The relevant devices are each linked to the Amazon store, with the exception of the eSIM adapter—for that, you'll find a link to a German store that has a lot of experience with it.