Traveling to Playa del Carmen soon and preparing for your Mexico holiday? Don't get stuck with high roaming costs and or slow overseas data roaming! Get yourself a sim card on arrival? How and where? It is very easy! This is your complete guide for buying a sim card in Playa del Carmen with up to date prices as perAugust 2023, where to buy one, the best network and everything else you need to know.
I flew in to Cancun Airport and wanted to buy a sim card for Mexico there,but it was such a mess that I decided to wait and find a Mexico sim card in Playa del Carmen. BTW a great guide for you is also Buying a Sim Card for Mexico in 2023.
On my trips around the world I visited more than 150 countries so far and turned my passion for traveling into a full time job. Helping others to save money while traveling became a passion and therefore I wrote this blog to get you the best sim card deal for your Mexico trip.
Playa del Carmen is a great base for all the amazing things to do in Yucatan peninsula. I totally recommend you to visit Isla Holbox for the island vibes, travel to Rio Lagartos for the Las Coloradas Pink Lake or hop over and explore Cozumel on a scooter. Looking for a great value boutique hotel in Playa del Carmen? Read my full review of Hotel Morgana.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends a Telcel sim card for tourists visiting Mexico. They have by far the best 4G/5G mobile network coverage. A stronger network and faster mobile internet is more important than saving $2 USD on the data packages, trust me!
Not the cheapest but you can also look into global sim cards with data for your trip to Mexico. Check out my comparison of the best travel sim cards with data in 2023and find the one that suits your trip the most. International sim cards have coverage in multiple countries. You can order them online and they will be send to your home address before your trip. For example:10 GB data sim card valid for 14 days = $49.9 USD. Click on the link for more info or to directly order.
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Best e-sim cards for Mexico
Traveltomtom recommends e-sim cards for traveling to Mexico simply because of its convenience. You arrange everything online within just a couple minutes. It is also the fastest way to get connected. Check out the following e-sim card deals for Mexico:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $8 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $15 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $21 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $32.50 USD
Click here to directly order a Mexico e-sim card online.
The above Chorro Fon e-sim cards are data-only and valid only in Mexico. They operate on the 4G/LTE network of Movistar and AT&T.
The above e-sim cards are data-only and valid in just in Mexico. There are also international e-sim cards that are valid in more than 70 countries including Mexico:
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $34.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for your trip to Mexico.
You can also still buy a physical sim card for Mexico. For example this international prepaid sim card for Mexico: 10 GB data for 14 days = $49.90 USD. Click here to order this Mexico sim card online or see all the offers and info.
Mobile internet providers Mexico
There are three mobile internet providers in Mexico: Telcel, Movistar and AT&T. The last two I actually know from respectively Spain and the USA. All three claim to have extensive cell phone service all around Mexico, but they surely do in the tourist hotspots.
Where to buy a sim card in Playa del Carmen
All of the Mexican mobile internet providers have several shops around Playa del Carmen and it is not hard to find them. So where to buy a Mexican prepaid sim card with data in Playa del Carmen? The easiest way to find the by you preferred mobile internet shop is to use Google Maps. Just type in the shop name at the search bar and Google Maps shows you all the shops around you.
Also the bigger convenience stores as well as supermarkets sell prepaid sim cards in Playa del Carmen, but this is self service. I recommend you going to a mobile phone shop.
You don’t need to bring a passport for buying a sim card in Playa Del Carmen. Just bring Pesos! :)
Prices sim card in Playa del Carmen in 2023
Movistar sim card Mexico
Movistar Mexico offers one prepaid sim card for tourists in Mexico:
200 Pesos - ($10)
- Minutes: Unlimited
- Texting: Unlimited
- Data: 3GB
- Valid: 30 days
- Valid in countries: Mexico, United States, Canada
- Free: all social media apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter.
AT&T sim card Mexico
AT&T Mexico has way more sim cards for tourists available. You can eat your heart out with unlimited texting and calling. The more expensive the package, the more data you get. Most packages are valid for 35 days. See the below chart.
All the data, minutes and texts can be used in Canada, USA and Mexico and all social media apps are free in Mexico: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Whatsapp, Twitter.
Telcel sim card Mexico
When I inquired for a Telcel sim card in Playa del Carmen things got a little more complicated! When buying a AT&T or Movistar sim card you don’t need to pay for the sim card itself, but at Telcel you have to pay an extra fee.
From another Telcel shop I already found out that a prepaid Telcel sim card cost 79 pesos and it comes with 50 pesos credit. Basically you pay 29 Pesos for a Mexican sim card of Telcel, which is $1.5 USD.
Note that when I actually wanted to buy a Telcel sim card in Playa del Carmen they wanted to charge me 100 Pesos for the sim card. When I told him he was bullshitting and a sim card only cost 79 Pesos including 50 credit he felt pretty awkward! So be aware when buying a sim card in Playa del Carmen!
Same as the Mexico prepaid sim cards from Movistar and AT&T, you can use the Telcel data in USA, Canada and Mexico, just like unlimited texting and calling and social media apps are for free. However social media apps aren’t free when traveling to USA or Canada then your usage will be deducted from your data bundle.
Best sim card Playa del Carmen 2023
Summarising all the above we can see that prices are mostly all the same, though Movistar Playa del Carmen actually has the best prepaid sim card for tourists. So when choosing a mobile internet provider for your trip to Playa del Carmen I would also look at the cell phone service in Playa del Carmen. All three sim cards have a 4G network in the city, but as soon as you travel away from the city the signals gets weaker.
Click here for my guide about thebest sim card in Mexico for tourists in 2023.In this article you can also find the Mexico 4G/5G coverage maps, showing you the best network in Mexico.
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What Mexico prepaid sim card did I buy in Playa del Carmen?
Eventually I chose to buy a Telcel prepaid sim card for my Yucatan trip. When I looked at the 4G coverage maps I quickly found out that Telcel has the best network in Mexico by far and therefore it was an easy choice for me.
I rented a car and drove 2 weeks through the peninsula, see my Yucatan itinerary here. Great tourists destinations in Yucatan I loved were: Rio Lagartos, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Valladolid and Bacalar. In total I stayed in Yucatan for more than a month. More about traveling to Yucatan and Quintana Roo in my Mexico travel blogs.
Telcel often offers double data. In my case for 300 pesos ($15.50) I had free social media usage and 7GB data. Perfect deal!
I hope the above information for buying a sim card in Playa del Carmen was useful. Let me know if you have any questions, please leave me a comment below and I am more than happy to help you out with Playa del Carmen travel tips as well.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As ofAugust 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Playa del Carmen!
Some links in this article about the best sim cards for traveling to Playa del Carmen are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I will earn a small commission. This is at absolutely no extra costs to you.
FAQs
Buying a Sim Card in Playa Del Carmen in 2023? ›
The easiest way to find the by you preferred mobile internet shop is to use Google Maps. Just type in the shop name at the search bar and Google Maps shows you all the shops around you. Also the bigger convenience stores as well as supermarkets sell prepaid sim cards in Playa del Carmen, but this is self service.
Which is the best mobile network in Playa del Carmen? ›Mobile Internet Providers in Playa del Carmen
These 3 are Telcel, Movistar, and AT&T. All 3 of them claim to have good internet coverage all over Mexico, but in our experience, Telcel had the best service. Of course, at all of the tourist hotspots, you will find that they all have good coverage and reception.
From the above Mexico network coverage maps we can clearly see that the Telcel network is by far the best in Mexico in 2023. If you for example go on a Yucatan road trip it is strongly adviced to buy a Telcel Mexico sim card to guarantee you the best coverage and signal when traveling.
How much is a Telcel SIM card in Mexico? ›It's easy to buy a Telcel SIM card online or at any OXXO shop in Mexico. A prepaid SIM card itself costs between 29 and 149 pesos (around US$1.5-7.5). 3GB of data valid for 30 days on the sin limite plan (unlimited) costs 200 pesos (US$10.)
How to get unlimited data in Mexico? ›Online stores like Holafly have virtual SIM cards for Mexico with unlimited data and many other destinations around the world. One of the main advantages of eSIM cards is the fact that you can buy them before or during your trip to Mexico. Being completely virtual, they can reach you in a matter of minutes.