English
An eSIM for Kenya is a digital data plan for the phone you already own. There is no physical SIM card, no airport lines, and no passport needed. Your plan is ready on your SIMAREA account before you even leave home.
It works safely alongside your normal SIM. You keep your own number for calls and important text messages. Your data goes through the SIMAREA plan. Just turn off data roaming on your home SIM to avoid high bills.
Coverage comes from Safaricom, the one network these plans use. Your phone connects to it when you arrive.
If you stay longer, top up your current plan with more data. You do not need to buy a new one.
What it is not: a local phone number. If you need a number for verification codes, see virtual numbers.
Kenya eSIM on Safaricom for safaris and city stays
An eSIM for Kenya with data on Safaricom, as a daily gigabyte or 7 to 30 days of fixed data. Heading on to Tanzania or Uganda? The Africa plans list all three.
The unlimited plan is the day pass we feature for Kenya: after its daily full-speed allowance it keeps you connected at a lower speed, and it is billed per day for the days you choose. Fixed plans are one price for the term shown. Nothing on this page is an estimate.
How to get mobile data in Kenya
Install it at home before you go. Some plans here start counting at installation, so check the line under the price for the plan you pick.
Pick eSIM plan
Choose how long you are there. The day pass is billed per day, so the term is yours to set.
Pay, then scan
Charged from your balance, which you top up with crypto. Your QR code is in your dashboard once the order is paid.
Turn it on when you arrive
Turn on data roaming for your SIMAREA plan when you arrive, and it joins a partner network.
What to know about an eSIM for Kenya
The specifics that decide whether a travel eSIM is useful once you're actually there.
Runs on Safaricom
Plans for Kenya connect to Safaricom. Your phone joins it once data roaming is on for the eSIM.
Set up before you go
No SIM card store, no passport check. Install it at home, then turn on data roaming for it when you arrive.
Hotspot sharing
Share your internet with a laptop or a friend, if your plan and phone allow it.
Keep your own number
The eSIM is just for internet. Your normal SIM still receives calls and important bank codes. You can use both at once.
Keep using the same eSIM
Staying longer? Top up the same plan with more data from your dashboard. No need for a new QR code.
If it does not work
Not installed or connected yet? Ask for a refund within 30 days of buying it. Installed but not working on any of its networks? Support helps, and refunds you if it cannot be fixed.
Kenya eSIM networks: Safaricom here, Airtel on the multi-country plans
Every Kenya plan on this page, the day pass and the eight fixed plans, connects to Safaricom on 3G and 4G; none is marked 5G. It's the only network these plans use, so there is no second one to fall back on.
The Africa eSIM and Global 130 list Kenya on Airtel instead, with a 5G mark. Same country, another operator: if your lodge or your Nairobi office tells you which network reaches them, that answer can decide between a Kenya plan and a multi-country one.
Why a Kenya plan shows an Israeli IP address
Traffic on all nine Kenya plans exits in Israel (IL in the catalog). Websites and apps see an Israeli IP address, not a Kenyan one, and some pick their language or currency from it. A Kenyan service that watches where logins come from may ask you to confirm it's you.
The Africa and Global 130 plans exit in the UK or Norway. If an Israeli address causes trouble with an account you rely on, one of those is the way around it; the IP address row under Technical specs shows the exit of each plan before you pay.
Kenya with Tanzania or Uganda on one eSIM
A Kenya plan stops at the border, and safari routes often cross one, south into Tanzania for the Serengeti or west to Uganda.
Kenya eSIM questions
Will it work on a layover in Doha or Dubai?
No, Kenya plans work in Kenya only. Global 130 lists Kenya, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on one eSIM, if the layover needs data.
Can I get a Kenyan phone number?
Not with this eSIM: it carries data and nothing else, and your own SIM keeps your number.
Is the Kenya day pass unlimited?
It keeps you online, but only the first 1 GB a day runs at full speed. After that the eSIM slows to 512 Kbps until the day resets, enough for messages while photo uploads wait for the next day.
Can I install it before flying to Nairobi?
Yes. Eight of the nine plans begin counting at the first connection to Safaricom in Kenya. Only the 100 MB week starts when installed. Unused, a plan stays valid for 180 days.
How do I add data in the middle of a safari?
Top up the plan you have: all nine Kenya plans take extra data on the same eSIM, paid from your SIMAREA balance, so you don't scan a new QR code.
Invite Friends. Earn 7% on Every Deposit.
Every time a friend tops up, you get 7% of it. For life, not just once.
The SIMAREA app is on its way
Check your data, top up and manage every eSIM from your phone.
Choose your Kenya eSIM
Pick the day pass or a fixed plan on Safaricom, then install it with the QR code from your account.