Best eSIM for India

India's climate varies dramatically across its 3 287 263 km² of territory, but general patterns help narrow down the ideal travel window. The coolest and driest months run from November through February, with average temperatures between 21.4°C and 24.9°C and virtually no rainfall — just 0.2 mm per month. This is peak season for destinations like Rajasthan, Kerala, and Goa. From March onward, heat builds rapidly, reaching a scorching 34.5°C in May before the monsoon arrives in June with 6.2 mm of precipitation, peaking at 7.6 mm in July.

During the high season from October to February, tourist hotspots across New Delhi, Jaipur, and Varanasi experience heavier network traffic, which can slow down mobile data in crowded areas. Installing your eSIM before departure ensures you land at Indira Gandhi International Airport already connected — essential for booking rides, navigating Hindi and Tamil-speaking regions, or contacting your hotel.

If you're planning a broader itinerary, browsing eSIM plans for Asia before your trip lets you compare regional options and avoid the hassle of sorting connectivity after a long-haul flight into UTC+05:30.

India's sheer scale — 3.28 million km² across 28 states — makes reliable mobile data essential from day one. Activate your eSIM before landing in New Delhi or Mumbai and keep your home SIM in the second slot using dual SIM mode. This setup lets you receive banking verification codes and security SMS while routing all data through your Indian eSIM. Many Indian banks and payment platforms send one-time passwords via SMS, so having both lines active avoids frustrating lockouts during transactions.

India operates on a single timezone, UTC+05:30, with the country code +91. That means a 4.5-hour gap ahead of London and 10.5 hours ahead of New York — schedule video calls home carefully to avoid ringing at dawn. While Hindi and English are widely used in cities like Delhi and Bangalore, Tamil dominates in Chennai and across Tamil Nadu. Download Google Translate with offline Hindi and Tamil language packs before departure; they prove invaluable when navigating local markets or reading signage outside tourist zones.

Driving is on the left side of the road, and traffic in cities like Jaipur or Kolkata can be unpredictable. Download offline maps for your route in Google Maps or OsmAnd, especially if you plan road trips through Rajasthan or Kerala where signal can thin out in rural stretches. If your itinerary continues east toward Dhaka, preparing an eSIM for Bangladesh in advance will save you time at the border crossing.

Buying a physical SIM card at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport or Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is possible from operators like Airtel, BSNL, or Vodafone. However, India enforces strict telecom regulations requiring foreign visitors to present their passport, a passport-sized photo, and sometimes a local reference address. Activation can take anywhere from 2 to 24 hours due to mandatory identity verification by Indian authorities, leaving you without data right when you need it most. Airport kiosk queues during peak hours — especially on international arrivals from the Gulf or Southeast Asia — can stretch beyond 30 minutes.

Free Wi-Fi exists at select airports and in chains like Café Coffee Day or Starbucks locations in Bengaluru and Mumbai, but connections are often slow and unreliable outside major cities. India's PM-WANI public Wi-Fi initiative is expanding but remains inconsistent in rural areas. Pocket Wi-Fi rental services are far less common here than in neighboring destinations — travelers heading onward might explore an eSIM for China where pocket Wi-Fi is more established. International roaming, meanwhile, typically costs ₹800–₹2,500 per day depending on your home carrier.

An eSIM sidesteps all of India's registration hurdles entirely. You activate your plan before landing, skip document checks, and get connected the moment your flight touches down at any Indian airport — no photos, no paperwork, no waiting.