Internet in Colombia for travellers: which eSIM to choose

Which plan suits you, by trip length

Prices include VAT and match the Colombia plan page. There's also 1 GB for €4.49 (7 days), for a layover or a couple of days in Bogotá.

Booking rides through an app and getting around the city with maps uses very little. What eats through a plan is video and cloud photo backup: leave that for your accommodation's Wi-Fi. Work it out in two minutes.

Weighing up an unlimited plan instead? Compare the prices, duration by duration, in Glowi vs Holafly in Colombia.

How many GB is enough?

It isn't the number of days that decides, it's how you use your phone: video and automatic photo backup use more than everything else put together.

• Maps, messaging and ride-hailing apps: a week uses very little.
• Add social media and music: that's where 5 or 10 GB make sense.
• Video, video calls or remote work: go for the big plan.

The ranges, with figures, are in how much data a trip uses.

A Colombian SIM: getting your phone approved

If you put a Colombian SIM in your phone, the operator checks that the model is approved for use in Colombia; if it isn't, the phone ends up blocked.

• With a Colombian SIM and a model that isn't approved: according to the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), the operator sends you a text warning that the handset will be blocked within 45 calendar days. Approval is requested online and is free, but it's one more thing to do.
• With an approved model: you use it as normal. The CRC makes clear that phones brought in by tourists aren't blocked straight away.
• With roaming or a travel eSIM: you're not using a Colombian line, but your operator's or the eSIM's, connected in roaming. No SIM to buy and no shop to find when you land at El Dorado.

Source: CRC, opinion 522794 of 03-10-2022. Checked on 06-11-2026.

What about my operator's roaming?

It depends on the operator, and it isn't always expensive. Vodafone Spain includes Colombia in its Zone 6, with an add-on of €3.00 a day for 1 GB.

That add-on lasts 24 hours and renews automatically, for another €3.00, when the day ends or the gigabyte runs out. If you stay under 1 GB a day, a week costs you €21.00; ten days, €30.00; two weeks, €42.00. Compare it with the table above for your number of days: on a short break the add-on can work out cheaper, and the longer the trip, the more paying every day adds up. Calls and texts are extra.

We haven't been able to check Movistar's and Orange's current rates for Colombia on their websites: look them up in your contract before you go, because without an add-on, pay-as-you-go outside the EU can be very expensive. We explain it in eSIM vs roaming.

If you're travelling from Latin America: lines from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia share the Andean Community rules with Colombia, which abolished roaming surcharges between member countries; check with your operator what your plan includes. From Mexico, Argentina or other countries, look at your operator's travel packs and compare.

Vodafone rate checked on vodafone.es on 06-11-2026.

Coverage and where your traffic exits

In Colombia we connect to the Claro and Movistar networks, and your traffic exits via Belgium.

Some websites will see you as connecting from Europe: the language they greet you in or a search engine's local results may change, and the odd Colombian banking site may ask for an extra verification step. For maps, messaging, social media, video and ride-hailing apps, nothing changes. We say so on the plan page, before you buy.

In Opensignal's April 2026 report, Claro has the best coverage experience in the country, in 5G too, and Movistar wins on reliability. The network is 4G or 5G depending on the area: 5G is mainly in the big cities.

In Tayrona National Park, the Cocora Valley or on the boat to the Rosario Islands there may be stretches with no signal, whatever the operator. Download your maps and bookings beforehand.

Opensignal, Colombia, April 2026 report (data from January to March 2026).

How to activate it

1. Install it at home, on Wi-Fi. Installing uses no plan data and doesn't start the clock.
2. When you land, turn on data roaming for the eSIM line.
3. The days start counting from your first connection to a Colombian network, not when you buy.

Steps for each phone model are in the installation guide; if you're not sure about your phone, check the compatibility checker.

Frequently asked questions about internet in Colombia