When you’re arriving in Barcelona for your Erasmus semester but know you’ll spend October break in Prague and Christmas in Berlin, you face a connectivity puzzle most guides miss: you need something that works reliably in your host city and across borders, for 4-6 months, without expensive roaming or hunting for a new SIM in every country.

We ship connectivity to Erasmus students every September and January — eSIM plans, physical SIM cards, and portable WiFi as monthly subscriptions. Here’s what actually works, based on hundreds of student trips across France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, and beyond.

Why Home-Carrier Roaming Fails Erasmus Students

Your first instinct is to keep your home SIM and add roaming. If you’re from the UK, that’s £5-7/day outside the EU now. From the US? $10-12/day. Even EU students face caps: many carriers throttle after 10-20GB/month when roaming in other EU countries, which runs out fast if you’re streaming lectures, using Google Maps daily, or video-calling home.

For a 5-month semester, daily roaming costs £750+ versus £100-150 for a subscription plan. The math is brutal.

“We managed to stay always connected while travelling around Europe, without having to buy SIM cards in every country and ending up with a handful of them with different balances we couldn’t use. Excellent support team.”
— Patrícia Reis de Magalhães, verified ConnectPls customer

The Four Real Options (and When Each One Fits)

Option	Best For	Trade-Off	Multi-Country
Home carrier roaming	1-week trips only	£5-12/day adds up fast over months	Yes, but expensive
Local SIM in host country	Staying only in one country, zero weekend travel	Roaming fees kick in crossing borders; needs local bank/address often	No — expensive roaming
Monthly eSIM subscription	Students with eSIM-compatible phone, traveling across multiple countries	Requires eSIM-capable device (iPhone XS/newer, recent Androids)	Yes — works across 70+ countries at local rates
Portable WiFi subscription (device included)	Sharing with a flatmate, connecting laptop/tablet/older phone, or van/road trips	One more device to carry (though pocket-sized and lasts 8-10 hours)	Yes — same 70+ country coverage, connects 10 devices

When a Local SIM Actually Makes Sense (Rarely)

If you’re spending 6 months in Madrid, never leaving Spain, and have a Spanish bank account or EU address for registration, a local Vodafone or Orange SIM can work. You’ll pay €15-25/month for 20-50GB.

But most Erasmus students visit 4-6 countries during their exchange. The moment you cross into Portugal or France, that local SIM starts charging €8-15/GB for roaming. One weekend in Lisbon wipes out the savings.

We see this constantly: students arrive, grab a local SIM, then message us in October after their first border crossing when the bill doubles.

Why Monthly eSIM or Portable WiFi Subscriptions Fit Erasmus Better

ConnectPls was built for exactly this situation: people living abroad for months, not tourists passing through for a week. Here’s how the subscription model works for students.

Coverage That Follows You Across Borders

The Plus Europe plan covers 70+ countries with truly unlimited data (no fair-usage throttling) including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, all the Nordics, Poland, Czech Republic, and Turkey. One plan works in your host city and every weekend trip without switching SIMs or buying day passes.

If you’re doing Erasmus in France but planning to visit Morocco, Egypt, or Russia, those are Group 2 countries (500MB/day at 4G, then slowed). Still usable for maps and messaging, just not streaming. Know the difference before you go.

No Contracts, Flexible Monthly Billing

You’re not signing a 12-month deal. Activate for September through January (5 months), pause over summer, reactivate if you do a second semester. If you finish early or extend your program, billing adjusts monthly. There’s a £25 fee only if you cancel a mobile-router subscription within the first 3 months, covering the shipping and return logistics. Otherwise, cancel anytime.

This flexibility matters when your Erasmus dates shift or you decide to stay an extra semester.

The Device-Included Model (for Portable WiFi)

If you choose the mobile hotspot option, the router itself is included in your monthly plan and shipped to your home address before you fly. Not a €200 upfront hardware purchase. It arrives in 2-3 working days across Europe, 4-5 in the UK, with shipping included.

You connect your phone, laptop, tablet, and up to 7 other devices at once. Battery lasts a full day (8-10 hours), fits in a jacket pocket, and works the moment you land in your host city. When your semester ends, you return the device (prepaid label included) or keep the subscription active if you’re staying longer.

Cloud SIM Plus Backup Physical SIM

Both the eSIM and portable WiFi options use Cloud SIM technology, which automatically connects to the strongest available network in each country (Orange in France, Vodafone in Spain, TIM in Italy, etc.) without you manually switching. There’s also a backup physical SIM slot in the portable device, so if one network is weak in a specific building or valley, you have a fallback.

This redundancy matters in university campuses with thick walls or when you’re traveling to smaller towns on weekends.

eSIM vs Portable WiFi: Which One for Your Semester?

If your phone supports eSIM (iPhone XS or newer, Google Pixel 3+, Samsung S20+, most recent Androids) and you mostly just need mobile internet on that one device, the eSIM subscription is simpler. Nothing extra to carry or charge.

Choose the portable WiFi subscription if:

• You’re sharing with a flatmate or partner (splits the cost)
• You need laptop connectivity for classes, libraries, or working remotely between lectures
• Your phone doesn’t support eSIM or you want to keep your home SIM active in the phone’s physical slot
• You’re planning any van trips or road travel across Europe (common for Erasmus students during breaks)

The portable option connects up to 10 devices, so it doubles as your flat’s WiFi when the landlord’s internet is slow or nonexistent. We hear about this weekly from students in older European apartments.

Real-World Erasmus Scenarios We Support

A student doing a semester in Lyon but traveling to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Barcelona on long weekends uses the same eSIM plan across all four cities without changing anything. No border anxiety, no hunting for WiFi at the train station.

Two flatmates in Valencia share one portable WiFi subscription. One uses it as a hotspot for their phone, the other connects their laptop for online coursework. Total cost split between them is less than two separate local SIM plans, and it works when they take a weekend campervan trip through Portugal and Spain.

A UK student in Milan keeps their home SIM in the phone (for UK banking 2FA texts) and uses a ConnectPls eSIM as the data line. Dual-SIM setup, zero juggling.

What About Portable WiFi Rental for Shorter Trips?

If you’re only going abroad for 1-2 weeks, daily or weekly WiFi rental can make sense. Companies in Japan, Australia, France, and Spain offer airport pickup. But those rentals cost £8-15/day, which over 5 months would be £1,200+. They’re also pickup/drop-off logistics at specific locations, late fees if you miss the return window, and usually single-country coverage.

For an Erasmus semester (or year), monthly subscription beats rental every time. You’re not paying per-day rates, the device ships to your door before you leave, and you’re not tied to airport counters or return deadlines.

Setting Up Before You Fly

Order your eSIM or portable WiFi subscription 1-2 weeks before departure. The eSIM activates via QR code (scan it the day you land), and the portable router ships to your current address with 2-3 day delivery across Europe. You can test it at home before you fly to make sure everything connects.

That pre-trip activation is crucial. You step off the plane in Barcelona or Berlin with working internet immediately, no scrambling for airport WiFi or waiting in a mobile shop queue with a language barrier.

Honest Trade-Offs You Should Know

If you’re staying in one country for 6 months, never crossing a border, and already have a local bank account, a single-country local SIM will be £5-10/month cheaper. That’s the only scenario where it genuinely wins.

If you’re only abroad for 10 days total, your home carrier’s roaming add-on or a short-term rental might be simpler. Subscriptions are built for months, not days.

And if you need a local phone number for job applications or university admin, you may still want a cheap pay-as-you-go local SIM for calls/texts alongside your data subscription. Most students run dual-SIM: local number for calls, ConnectPls for data across countries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the same SIM or WiFi plan across all my Erasmus travel destinations?

Yes, if they’re in the Group 0 coverage zone (70+ countries including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Nordics, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand). You get truly unlimited data with no throttling in all those countries on one monthly subscription. If you’re visiting Group 1 countries like Japan or Singapore, you get 4G unlimited with possible slowdown after 5GB/day, still very usable.

Do I need to return the portable WiFi device when my semester ends?

You can either return it (prepaid label included, no extra cost) or keep your subscription active if you’re extending your stay or doing a second semester. There’s a £25 early cancellation fee only if you cancel a mobile-router subscription within the first 3 months. After that, cancel anytime with no penalty. Many students pause over summer and reactivate for a second term.

What if my university has WiFi — do I still need a mobile plan?

University WiFi covers lecture halls and libraries, but it doesn’t work in your flat, on the metro, walking around your new city, or on weekend trips to other countries. You’ll want mobile internet for Google Maps, WhatsApp, booking hostels, train tickets, and staying in touch during the 80% of your Erasmus experience that happens outside campus. Portable WiFi also works as backup internet for your flat if the landlord’s connection is unreliable.