Best eSIM for Reunion Island (2026): Prices, Networks and Which Plan to Buy
Updated · Wayfarro team
The best eSIM for Reunion Island (La Réunion) is Wayfarro's or Nomad's for fixed data, since the two are level or within a dollar at every size, and Wayfarro's for unlimited data. 1GB for 7 days costs $4 at both, 5GB costs $12 at both, and 7 days of unlimited data costs $19 with Wayfarro against $27.50 at Airalo. Airalo is cheaper only at 30 days of unlimited. Nomad and Airalo prices were checked in November 2026; Wayfarro's come straight from its store.
Réunion is a French department in the Indian Ocean, 175 km from Mauritius and 679 km east of Madagascar, with 911,000 people, a live volcano and three cirques that eat phone signal. Here's how the plans compare and where the data actually matters.
Réunion eSIM prices compared
Prices read from each provider's Réunion page. Providers run sales often, so check before you buy.
| Plan | Wayfarro | Nomad | Airalo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB · 7 days | $4 | $4 | — |
| 2GB · 15 days | $6 | — | — |
| 3GB · 30 days | $8 | $9 | — |
| 5GB · 30 days | $12 | $12 | — |
| 10GB · 30 days | $20 | $21 | — |
| 20GB · 30 days | $31 | $31 | — |
| 50GB · 30 days | $77 | — | — |
| Unlimited · 1 day | $5 | — | — |
| Unlimited · 3 days | $9 | — | $11.50 |
| Unlimited · 5 days | $14 | — | $20.50 |
| Unlimited · 7 days | $19 | — | $27.50 |
| Unlimited · 10 days | $27 | — | $35 |
| Unlimited · 15 days | $40 | — | $49 |
| Unlimited · 30 days | $80 | — | $73.50 |
| Networks | Not named on the plan page | Orange | Telco OI |
How to read this table: Wayfarro and Nomad charge the same at 1GB, 5GB and 20GB, and Wayfarro is a dollar cheaper at 3GB and 10GB. Nomad sells no unlimited plan and nothing above 20GB for Réunion, so those rows are Wayfarro against Airalo: Wayfarro is cheaper from 3 to 15 days and the only one with a 1-day plan, while Airalo is cheaper at 30 days. A dash means the provider doesn't sell that exact plan, or we couldn't confirm its US-dollar price.
Wayfarro's unlimited rows are its Unlimited Lite plans: 1GB a day at full speed, then 512 kbps until the next day. It also sells Unlimited Essential (1GB a day, then 1.25 Mbps) at $23 for 7 days and Unlimited Plus (2GB a day, then 2 Mbps) at $46.
Which is the best eSIM for Reunion Island for your trip?
- A week on the west-coast beaches, Saint-Gilles to Saint-Leu: 3GB at $8 from Wayfarro, or 1GB at $4 if the hotel Wi-Fi does the heavy lifting. Nomad's 1GB is the same price.
- Two weeks of hiking the cirques and the volcano: Wayfarro's 10GB at $20 or 15 days of unlimited at $40. You'll be downloading trail maps and checking the volcano alert level before each day out.
- A road trip round the island with a lot of photos: 20GB at $31 from Wayfarro or Nomad, same price.
- Working remotely for a month: Airalo's 30-day unlimited at $73.50 is cheaper than Wayfarro's $80. For a fixed plan, Wayfarro's 50GB at $77 is the only 50GB in the table.
- Réunion plus Mauritius or Madagascar: build it in Trip Builder with a plan per island, and see the Mauritius eSIM guide for that leg. Wayfarro's Africa bundle covers all three but is priced for the whole continent.
Networks and coverage in Réunion
Réunion has three mobile networks: Orange, SFR and Free, with Free's local network run by Telco OI. Nomad's plan runs on Orange, Airalo's on Telco OI, and Wayfarro's plan page doesn't name its partner, so the network shows on your phone when you connect. All three operate 4G, and 5G has been under test in Saint-Denis.
Whichever best eSIM for Reunion you settle on, coverage is solid around the coast, where nearly everyone lives: Saint-Denis in the north, Le Port and Saint-Paul in the west, Saint-Pierre in the south and Saint-Benoît in the east. The island's interior is a different story. Three calderas, the cirques of Salazie, Cilaos and Mafate, sit beneath Piton des Neiges at 3,069 m, the highest point in the Indian Ocean, and the slopes are cut by some 600 ravines. Signal in the cirques depends on which wall you're standing under.
Because Réunion is part of the EU as an outermost region and part of the eurozone, SIMs from mainland France work as at home and other EU SIMs roam at home rates. Everyone else, including visitors from nearby Mauritius and South Africa, needs a plan.
Mafate, the volcano and the cyclone season
Mafate has no roads. The cirque's one village, La Nouvelle, and its hamlets such as Marla and Roche-Plate are reached on foot or by helicopter, the residents make their own electricity from solar panels, and gas and diesel arrive by air. The easiest way in is from the Cirque de Salazie over the Col des Bœufs, where a forestry road ends at a car park. Download the trail map and your gîte bookings before you leave the car, and tell someone your route, because any emergency in Mafate is a helicopter evacuation.
Piton de la Fournaise, on the south-east of the island, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with more than 150 recorded eruptions since the 17th century and a new one that began on 18 January 2026. Most activity stays inside the Enclos Fouqué, the 8 km-wide summit caldera, and the prefecture runs an alert scale: at level 1 the caldera closes to hikers until paths are declared safe, and at level 2 only authorised personnel go in. Check the current level the morning you plan to walk up. The coast road through the lava fields has been rebuilt after eruptions more than once, and signs mark the year of each flow.
Timing matters too. The rainy season runs January to March, and that's cyclone season: Cyclone Garance hit the north of the island in March 2025 with winds up to 230 km/h and left more than 160,000 people without power. The dry season from May to November is the hiking window, though the east and the volcano's foothills stay wet year-round. On the west coast, the lagoon at Hermitage beach is the best-preserved on the island and the main snorkelling spot, and Boucan Canot has the restaurant strip.
Flights land at Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie, 7 km east of Saint-Denis, or at the smaller Pierrefonds Airport near Saint-Pierre in the south, which opened in 1998. Air Austral is the home airline.
How to set up an eSIM for Réunion
- Check your phone is unlocked and supports eSIM. iPhone XS and later, Google Pixel 3 and later, and most recent Samsung Galaxy phones do.
- Install before you travel, on Wi-Fi at home. The step-by-step install guide covers iPhone and Android.
- When you land, set the Réunion eSIM as your mobile-data line and turn on Data Roaming for it. Travel eSIMs technically roam, so data won't connect without it.
- Keep your home SIM on for calls and texts with its data roaming off.
Wayfarro's validity starts when the eSIM first connects in Réunion, not when you install it, and top-ups go onto the same eSIM without reinstalling.
Bottom line
The best eSIM for Reunion Island is Wayfarro's: level with Nomad or a dollar under it at every fixed-data size, cheaper than Airalo for unlimited data from 3 to 15 days, and the only one of the three with 1-day unlimited or 50GB plans. Airalo wins only at 30 days of unlimited. See Wayfarro's Réunion eSIM plans, and if you're coming via Paris, the France eSIM guide covers the stopover.
FAQ
Which network does a Réunion eSIM use?
Réunion has three mobile networks: Orange, SFR and Free, the last run locally by Telco OI. Nomad's plan uses Orange and Airalo's uses Telco OI. Wayfarro's plan page doesn't name its partner, so the network shows on your phone once you connect. All three run 4G across the island, and 5G has been trialled in Saint-Denis.
Does my EU or French SIM roam in Réunion?
Réunion is a French overseas department and an outermost region of the EU, so a SIM from mainland France is at home here and SIMs from other EU countries roam at home rates under the EU rules. Travellers from the UK, the US, Australia, South Africa or Mauritius usually pay roaming fees, which is where a travel eSIM saves money.
Is there mobile signal in Mafate?
Patchy at best. The Cirque de Mafate has no roads, everything arrives on foot or by helicopter, and the hamlets run on solar power. Don't plan on data between La Nouvelle, Marla and Roche-Plate: download the trail map and book your gîtes before you walk in from the Col des Bœufs. Emergencies there are evacuated by helicopter.
How much data do I need for two weeks in Réunion?
Around 5GB to 10GB. Maps for the mountain roads, the volcano observatory's alert page and photo backups are the main uses, and hotels and gîtes have Wi-Fi. Wayfarro's 10GB for 30 days is $20. If you'd rather not count, its 15-day unlimited is $40.
Can I use one eSIM for Réunion and Mauritius?
Wayfarro's Africa bundle covers both islands, and Madagascar too, but it's priced for the whole continent. For most trips two single-island plans built in Trip Builder come out cheaper; the Mauritius guide has that island's prices. Mauritius is only 175 km away, so the combination is common.