Best eSIM for China, Hong Kong and Macao (2026)

Why one plan for this trip

The Greater Bay Area is small. You can have breakfast in Hong Kong, lunch in Shenzhen and dinner in Macao. Buying a separate plan for each place means switching eSIMs at every border, topping up three times and doing math on leftover data.

Our China + Hong Kong + Macao plan covers all three in one eSIM. You install it once, and it connects to a local network wherever you land. No account, no swapping.

Plan sizes and prices

Current prices for the China + Hong Kong + Macao plan:

For comparison, our China-only plans are 3 GB for EUR 3.99, 5 GB for EUR 5.99, 10 GB for EUR 10.99 and 20 GB for EUR 16.99, all valid 30 days. So adding Hong Kong and Macao costs about a euro or two more at the same size. If you cross even once, the three-country plan is the easy call.

Which size to pick

Maps, messaging, translation and the odd video call use less than people expect. Most travelers on 1 to 3 weeks land in the same range.

• 1 GB, 7 days: A long weekend of maps and chat. Tight if you post a lot of photos.
• 3 GB: A week of light use.
• 5 GB: Our usual pick for one to two weeks. Enough for maps, messaging and some social.
• 10 GB: Our pick for two to three weeks, or if you stream video and upload a lot of photos.
• 20 GB: Heavy use for a month, or remote work on the road.

If you're between two sizes, go one up. The price gap is small and running out in the middle of Shenzhen is annoying. All plans here have top-up available if you do run low.

Crossing the border

Whether you walk over at Lo Wu, ride across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge or take the ferry, the eSIM handles it. When you cross, your phone drops the old network and joins a local one on the other side. You don't touch settings.

Two things to do:

• Keep data roaming on for the eSIM line.
• Give it a minute after immigration. Signal can take a moment to settle, especially on the bridge shuttle and on ferries. Toggling airplane mode on and off nudges it.

Apps that work

In mainland China, Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and the other services that are normally blocked work on these plans, because your data routes outside the mainland. You don't need a VPN. Hong Kong and Macao have no such blocks to begin with.

One note on ChatGPT: it does not serve Hong Kong IPs, and our single-country China plans route via Hong Kong. The China + Hong Kong + Macao plans route via Singapore, so ChatGPT works on them.

Setup before you fly

Install the eSIM at home, on Wi-Fi, before you leave. You need an internet connection to download an eSIM. Once you're relying on the eSIM itself for data, there's nothing to install it with, and hotel or airport Wi-Fi in China can be unreliable for this.

1. Buy the plan and open the install link or scan the QR code in your email.
2. Add the eSIM and label it, for example "China HK Macao".
3. Leave it switched off or set as secondary until you land.
4. On arrival, turn the eSIM line on, turn data roaming on, and set it as your data line.

Your phone needs to be eSIM-compatible and unlocked. Check that before you buy.

Get the plan

For a deeper look at the mainland side, read our China eSIM guide.

Pick your size and trip length here: https://gosim.ch/multi-country/asia/?family=CN-3&trip_days=30&currency=EUR