Internet in the United Arab Emirates and Dubai: which eSIM to choose

Which plan suits you, by trip length

Prices include VAT and match the United Arab Emirates plan page. The largest plan we sell here is 20 GB, for €51.95.

Look at the validity as well as the GB: the 1 GB plan, 7 days; 3 to 5 GB, 30 days; the 10 GB plan, 60 days; the 20 GB plan, 30 days. There's also an unlimited GB plan with 2 GB a day at full speed (then 1 Mbps until the next day): 3 days for €14.95. Work it out in two minutes.

How many GB is enough?

In Dubai almost everything is booked and ordered from your phone: the taxi, the observation deck ticket, the desert safari. That uses very little. What eats through a plan is video and automatic photo backup to the cloud: switch it off on mobile data and upload on the hotel Wi-Fi.

• Maps, messaging, taxis and bookings: a week uses very little.
• With social media and photos every day: that's where 5 GB fits well.
• Video, video calls or sharing data with another phone: better 10 GB.

These are estimates, not official figures. The ranges, with figures, are in how much data a trip uses.

WhatsApp and internet calls

WhatsApp messages work in the Emirates: text, photos, voice notes and groups. WhatsApp voice and video calls, on the other hand, are blocked on the country's networks, including hotel and café Wi-Fi.

The UAE telecoms regulator (the TDRA) only allows internet calls from licensed apps, and requires operators to block the rest. The permitted ones include BOTIM, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. If you want to talk to people back home, agree beforehand which one you'll use: the other person needs the same app. And you can always call from your usual number, at your operator's roaming rate.

What about with a travel eSIM? With ours, your traffic reaches the internet through a European country. Some providers say WhatsApp calls work that way; others say they work on and off, or not at all. We haven't tested it, so don't count on it for an important call.

Sources: Jetpac (08-07-2026, sells eSIMs), on messages and calls; Gulf News (09-09-2024) and Khaleej Times (31-10-2022), on the permitted apps; Khaleej Times (08-09-2024, updated 20-10-2024), on VPNs.

Free airport SIMs and local SIMs

• The free e& (formerly Etisalat) eSIM gives you 10 GB, but valid for one day only. It's activated after immigration, with a QR code and facial recognition.
• du's free tourist SIM, handed out at immigration at Dubai airport, comes with 1 GB for 24 hours, according to Gulf News.
• A paid visitor line requires a valid passport and visa to buy in store, and e& sells no more than two per passport.

The free ones get you out of the airport and through the first day. For the rest of the trip you need a paid plan, either local or an eSIM you've installed at home that works from the moment you land.

Sources: e& press release (16-09-2024); Gulf News (updated 14-04-2025); e& Visitor Line website (checked on 06-11-2026).

Where your traffic exits

In the United Arab Emirates, your traffic exits via a European country.

Some websites will see you as connecting from there: the language they greet you in or a search engine's local results may change. It's on the plan page, before you buy.

The network is du's 5G, with whatever coverage each area has. In the desert, as with any operator, there may be patches with no signal: have your maps downloaded.

What about your operator's roaming?

The Emirates are outside the EU, so roaming isn't included in a Spanish tariff and is charged separately.

Without an add-on, the bill can shoot up: Movistar, for example, has the Emirates in its Zone 3, where data without an add-on is charged per megabyte, according to Kelisto: a single video can end up costing a lot. Before you go, check your operator's rate on its website or app, and if you're not going to use it, turn off data roaming on your usual line.

Movistar rate according to Kelisto, with rates updated on 26-11-2025; checked on 06-11-2026.

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 UAE network, not when you buy. If you're only on a layover, the eSIM starts counting when your phone connects there.

Steps for each phone model are in the installation guide; if you're not sure about your phone, check the compatibility checker. If it doesn't connect when you arrive, the APN for the Emirates is in troubleshooting.

Frequently asked questions about internet in the United Arab Emirates