Going on holiday can seem like an endless hunt for free wifi. After all, how else are you going to contact your Airbnb host or check for directions on Google Maps?
Having data roaming on your phone can save you from having to sneakily stand outside Starbucks or McDonald’s to leech off their wifi.
Many phone plans nowadays give you the option of signing up for a data roaming package so you can access the internet overseas without having to change your SIM card. But how much does roaming cost? Let’s find out.
10 Data Roaming Plans in Singapore—Which is Most Worth It?
1. Data roaming plans from Singapore telcos—Which is best?
Most telcos offer 3 to 10 different permutations of data roaming plans, so it’s impossible to compare them apple-to-apple. What I’ve done instead is to look at 3 common Singaporean holidays and quote the relevant data roaming plan.
- Short getaway to Thailand
- Week-long trip to Japan
- Multi-country trip in Europe
| Data roaming plan | Thailand | Japan | Europe |
| Starhub DataTravel | $6 (1GB, 3 days) | $6 (1GB, 3 days) | $40 (2GB, 30 days) |
| Singtel ReadyRoam | $5 (1GB, 30 days) | $18 (4GB, 30 days) | $40 (6GB, 30 days) |
| M1 Data Passport * | $15 (1 month) | $35 (1 month) | $65 (1 month) |
| GigaRoam | $5 (1GB, 5 days) | $5 (1GB, 5 days) | $15 (1GB, 15 days) |
| Gomo Roaming | $6 (1GB, 5 days) | $12 (1GB, 7 days) | $12 (1GB, 7 days) |
| Circles Life GoRoam | $8 (1GB, 7 days) | $8 (1 GB, 7 days) | $7.50 (100MB, 7 days) |
| MyRepublic Roam Like Home | $18 (2GB, 30 days) | $55 (1GB, 30 days) | $55 (1GB, 30 days) |
| SIMBA Roaming | $4 (per 1GB, billed every 10MB) | $4 (per 1GB, billed every 10MB) | $4 (per 1GB, billed every 10MB) |
| Zero1 Roaming | $5 (1GB, 7 days) | $18 (1GB, 30 days) | $42 (3GB, 30 days) |
| VIVIFI Go | $5 (1GB, 7 days) | $17 for (2GB, 14 days) | $33 (3GB, 21 days) |
* M1 Data Passport is unique: Instead of giving you a separate overseas data quota, you just pay to use your local data bundle overseas.
The result? For a trip to Thailand, the best value plans is SIMBA offering $4 for 1GB. However, bust that 1GB by even just 10MB and you’ll be billed another $4 for a full extra gigabyte of data. After SIMBA, several plans tie for second place: Singtel ReadyRoam, GigaRoam, Zero1, and VIVIFI all offer $5 for 1GB.
For a trip to Japan, go with SIMBA Roaming, GigaRoam, or Starhub DataTravel. These will cost you $4, $5, and $6 respectively for 1GB of data. Do note that the Starhub plan is valid for only 3 days though.
Finally for a European holiday, SIMBA Roaming, Gomo Roaming and GigaRoam are the cheapest options. These give you 1GB of data for $4, $12, and $15 respectively.
However, if you are a data guzzler even when on holiday, M1 Data Passport is a better choice as it simply lets you use your local data quota overseas with a one-time payment. Assuming you have one of their SIM-only plans, that’s enough data for you to stream Netflix on the Tokyo Metro.
2. Starhub DataTravel
| Starhub DataTravel | Price | Validity |
| Asia Pacific | $6 for 1GB | 3 days |
| Asia Pacific | $16 for 2GB | 30 days |
| Asia Pacific | $20 for 3GB | 30 days |
| Global | $40 for 2GB | 30 days |
| Global | $50 for 3GB | 30 days |
| Everywhere | $80 for 1GB | 30 days |
Of the big 3 telcos’ data roaming plans, Starhub DataTravel data roaming options are among the simplest because there are only 2 main destination tiers—either Asia Pacific and Global. There is a third tier for everywhere else not included in these 2 tiers, but the vast majority of tourists will not need it as these are mainly more exotic destinations and regions.
Asia Pacific: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar (currently unavailable), New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Global: Asia Pacific + Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA
Everywhere: Asia Pacific + Global + Anguilla (Caribbean), Antigua and Barbuda (Caribbean), Aruba (Caribbean), Azerbaijan, Barbados (Caribbean), Bermuda (Caribbean), Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands (Caribbean), Colombia, Congo (Democratic Republic), Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica (Caribbean), Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada (Caribbean), Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti (Caribbean), Honduras, Jamaica (Caribbean), Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mongolia, Montserrat (Caribbean), Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Africa, St Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean), St Lucia (Caribbean), St Vincent (Caribbean), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Tonga, Turks and Caicos (Caribbean), Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bahamas, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands (Caribbean), Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cyprus, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gambia, Georgia, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Iraq, Isle of Man, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Mali, Martinique, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Morocco, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Island, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Swaziland, Tunisia, Zimbabwe
I like that Starhub charges a flat fee for everything in the Asia Pacific tier, compared to some other telcos who put more coveted destinations like Japan and Korea in a more expensive group.
Starhub Data Travel’s $6 for 1GB option is competitive if you’re just going to Bali for the weekend or JB for the day. Assuming 1GB is sufficient for your usage, this might actually be cheaper than buying a local SIM card when you land.
My main gripe is that the Global and Everywhere roaming plans are very expensive, so if you’re travelling outside the APAC countries you might want to look for alternatives.
3. Singtel ReadyRoam
| Singtel ReadyRoam | Price | Validity |
| 1 destination (Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand) | $5 for 1GB | 30 days |
| 18 destinations (Asia Pacific) | $18 for 4GB | 30 days |
| 81 destinations (Global) | $40 for 6GB | 30 days |
Singtel customers should be pretty familiar with Singtel ReadyRoam, which, like Starhub DataTravel, is a selection of add-ons to your existing plan.
They have a $5 for 1GB option, but it’s only for Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand. If you’re going to any other nearby destination for the weekend, it’ll set you back at least $18. Take careful note of the countries included in the 18 Asia Pacific destinations: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar (currently unavailable), New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam
81 destinations: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar (currently unavailable), Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan and Vietnam
Starhub used to be cheaper than Singtel, but the latter have since made their offerings more attractive. For example, if you’re going to Japan, you’ll pay $18 for 4GB with Singtel, whereas Starhub costs $20 for only 3GB.
If you’re travelling to far-flung places and need more than 1 or 2GB of data, Singtel has probably the best global roaming bundle. This used to cost $35 for 3GB, but it’s now revised to a very worthwhile $40 for 6GB.
What’s more it covers practically every country in the world: There are a whopping 81 destinations! If you’re globe-trotting to faraway destinations like Argentina and Iceland, Singtel’s data roaming offers the most value.
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4. M1 Data Passport
| M1 Data Passport | Price (excludes one-time $5 activation fee) | Validity |
| $15 Data Passport | $15 per country | 1 month |
| $35 Data Passport | $35 per country | 1 month |
| $35 ASEAN Data Passport | $30 for 9 ASEAN countries | 1 month |
| $65 Asia Data Passport | $60 for 25 Asian countries | 1 month |
| $65 Europe Data Passport | $60 for 44 European countries | 1 month |
If you use a lot of data even while on holiday, M1 Data Passport is probably the best value of the 3 big telcos since it allows you to use your existing data bundle overseas—so you don’t get restricted by the measly 1GB or 2GB with the other plans. Note that for SIM-only plans, usage is capped at 10GB, which is still very generous. When you do exceed this 10GB, you will be subsequently charged $11.99/GB on top of your data passport plan charges.
$15 Data Passport countries:Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Laos, Macau, Malaysia (5G), Saudi Arabia (5G), Sri Lanka, Taiwan (5G), Thailand (5G)
$35 Data Passport countries: Australia (5G), Bahrain, Brazil, Canada (5G), China (5G), Germany (5G), India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mauritius (5G), Mongolia, Netherlands (5G), New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, South Korea (5G), Spain, United Arab Emirates (5G), United Kingdom, USA (5G)—includes Hawaii, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands but excludes Alaska and Guam.
For multiple destinations, M1 also has a $35 ASEAN Data Passport, $65 Asia Data Passport, and $65 Europe Data Passport.
A $5 one-time activation fee applies for every Data Passport, and it’s valid for a month. Note that they are for single country use only; if you are going to multiple destinations, you have to opt for one of the expensive ASEAN / Asia / Europe Data Passports.
M1 also has this thing called Unlimited Data Roaming where you pay $15 to $25 per day for unlimited data overseas, but I’m not going to talk about that because it’s too crazy and unlikely to be worth your money unless you guzzle data like nobody’s business.
5. Starhub’s GigaRoam
| Starhub gigaRoam | Price | Validity |
| gigaRoam APAC | $5 for 1GB | 5 days |
| gigaRoam ROTW (Rest of the World) | $15 for 1GB | 15 days |
Starhub’s GigaRoam clearly has one of the best data roaming plans for all kinds of travel. There are 2 types of plans to choose from: gigaRoam APAC (Asia Pacific), which supports 14 destinations, and gigaRoam ROTW (Rest of the World), which supports 34 destinations.
They cost $5 and $15 respectively for 1GB of data. It’s not a lot, but if you just need a teensy bit of data in case of emergencies, these prices are unbeatable. You can add on more if you run out.
gigaRoam APAC: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam
gigaRoam ROTW: Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States of America
6. Singtel’s GOMO Roaming Data Pump
| M1 Data Passport | Price | Validity |
| Asia Pack | $6 for 1 GB | 5 days |
| Asia Pack (Upsized) | $15 for 4GB | 15 days |
| Worldwide Pack | $12 for 1GB | 7 days |
| Worldwide Pack (Upsized) | $30 for 4GB | 15 days |
Compared to Starhub’s gigaRoam, Singtel’s rival GOMO Roaming is actually quite competitive.
GOMO’s data-only roaming plans cover up to 50 destinations including Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
The price you pay depends on whether your destination qualifies for their cheaper Asia Pack (15 countries), or requires you to purchase the Worldwide Pack (50 countries). For example, $6 gets you 1GB for 5 days in Indonesia and the Philippines, but if you go to Japan or France you’ll need to pay $12 for 1GB for 7 days.
Comparing GOMO and Giga, GOMO’s roaming pass has the advantage of letting you upsize your package on longer trips.
7. Circles Life Roam Boost
For Circles Life base plan subscribers, activating data roaming overseas is a simple matter of choosing a “Roam Boost” in your usual app.
Each boost is 1GB and is valid for 7 days. You can add boosts if you run out of data. The price of each boost is either $8, $16 or $40, depending on which set of countries your destination falls under.
| Circles Life GoRoam APAC Plus (7 days) | Price | Countries |
| 1 GB | $8 | Australia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam |
| 2 GB | $16 | |
| 5 GB | $40 |
| Circles Life GoRoam Europe (7 days) | Price | Countries |
| 100MB | $7.50 | Malta, France, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Albania, UK, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Turkey |
| 200MB | $15 |
The list of countries covered is less extensive compared to what’s offered by other telcos, with no coverage available for common destinations like the US and UK. So in this sense, Circles Life may fall short.
You can also opt for recurring add-ons (called SuperRoam) that cost $12 to $35 extra per month, but the cost isn’t exactly justified unless you literally travel every single month.
8. MyRepublic Roam Like Home
MyRepublic has a whopping 7 tiers, so the cost of roaming can vary drastically depending on which country you’re going to. Here they are, listed in order of price.
| MyRepublic Roam Like Home | Countries | Price |
| Neighbours | Malaysia, Indonesia | $6 for 1GB |
| Emerging Asia | India, Myanmar, Vietnam | $15 for 500MB |
| Essential | Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong | $18 for 2GB |
| North America | Canada, USA | $35 for 1GB |
| Pacific | Australia, New Zealand | $55 for 1GB |
| Popular Asia | China, Macau, South Korea, Japan | $55 for 1GB |
| Europe | Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK | $55 for 1GB |
Prices are not exactly competitive for some of the countries. For example, it’s probably a lot more worthwhile to buy a SIM card when you land in “Emerging Asia” than to pay $15 for a measly 500MB of data.
For places like Japan or China, $55 for 1GB is also exorbitant considering you can get several times the data for the same price on many other plans.
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9. SIMBA Roaming (formerly TPG)
SIMBA (formerly TPG) doesn’t have the brand history and reputation that other telcos have, but that’s no reason to dismiss it. SIMBA Roaming offers attractive pay-as-you-go rates, with 4 different plans on offer.
| SIMBA Roaming | Countries | Price (charged per 10MB) |
| Group A | Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guiana, French West Indies, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Romania, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam | $4 for 1GB |
| Group B | Brazil, Israel, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates | $8 for 1GB |
| Group C | Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Mexico, Montenegro, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Ukraine | $15 for 1GB |
| Group D | Armenia, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea – Bissau, Honduras, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Peru, Republic of the Congo, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uruguay, Zambia | $30 for 1GB |
On top of that, if you’re already on SIMBA’s mobile plan, you might already get free roaming data that covers some 60 destinations.
The downside to SIMBA’s plans are the fact that they are billed per 10MB. That is to say, if you used 11MB of data on your travel, you will be billed twice as much for the additional 1MB.
10. Zero1 Data Roaming
Zero1 Data Roam offers 2 categories of plans. Comparing prices across the board, Zero1 Data might not be the most price competitive. Its redeeming quality however is that it offers roaming in an extensive list of countries and a generous limit of up to 30 days for you to use up your data.
You can also opt for $5 plans that give you 1 GB of data to our closest neighbours—Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Perfect for weekend trips!
| Zero1 Data Roam | Countries | Price |
| Roam Malaysia | Malaysia | $5 for 1GB / 7 days |
| Roam Thailand | Thailand | $5 for 1GB / 7 days |
| Roam Indonesia | Indonesia | $5 for 1GB / 7 days |
| Roam AP | Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam | $18 for 1GB / 30 days |
| Roam World | Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan and Vietnam | $42 for 3GB / 30 days |
11. VIVIFI Go
Since we’re on the topic of smaller, lesser-known telcos, Vivifi also has a bunch of roaming plans, categorised according to destination, much like MyRepublic’s.
If you’re travelling to Malaysia, Thailand, or Indonesia on a short trip, Vivifi offers the same deal as Zero1—$5 for 1 GB, valid for 7 days.
| VIVIFO Go | Countries | Price | Validity |
| MYS | Malaysia | $5 for 1GB | 7 days |
| THA | Thailand | $5 for 1GB | 7 days |
| IDN | Indonesia | $5 for 1GB | 7 days |
| ROAM1 (Asia) | Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam | $17 for 2GB | 14 days |
| ROAM2 (Worldwide) | Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam | $33 for 3GB | 21 days |
| ROAM3 (Others) | Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo DRC, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos, UAE, Uganda, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia | $63 for 1GB | 21 days |
| ROAM4 | China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan | $22 for 3GB | 14 days |
They also have roaming plans for households with plans shared amongst multiple people.
Their prices for Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia are pretty competitive, although Singtel ReadyRoam still offers better value. However, if you’re going further afield, the plans are not worth it at all—forget about using roaming if you need to go to Europe or the Americas as you’ll be slapped with an exorbitant $63 for a measly 1GB.
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12. Or… you could get a prepaid SIM card
If it’s not economical for you to add a data roaming plan to your current plan, you may want to consider getting a prepaid travel SIM card instead.
Destination-specific ones are widely available on sites like Klook, Changi Recommends and even Qoo10, and they can be REALLY, REALLY cheap, depending on which country you’re going to.
For example, an 8-day unlimited data SIM card for Thailand costs under $10, where one for Japan costs about $10 to $15, also for unlimited data. (This is a good way to check if your data roaming plan is worth paying for.)
For multi-destination trips, there are also prepaid travel SIM cards which can save you the hassle and cost of getting a separate SIM for each leg. For example, M1 offers data roaming packs to 12 to 17 countries with their M card:
| Prepaid Travel SIM | No. of countries | Price |
| M1 M Card | 12 | $15 for 2GB / 10 days |
| M1 M Card | 17 | $28 for 2GB / 10 days |
If you really want to break things down, getting a data roaming add-on for your regular postpaid data plan may not really be that worth it.
For example, you might have to pay $15 for 1GB of roaming data with your telco—whereas you can get 2GB for the same price with a prepaid SIM. But I think most Singaporeans don’t mind paying a premium for the convenience of not having to pick up and change SIM cards.
Do you know someone who’s travelling soon? Share this article with them.
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