Bali & Indonesia SIM card for Indian travellers: roaming, local SIM or eSIM

Bali eSIM or tourist SIM: what Indian travellers need

One Indonesia eSIM covers Bali. Bali is an island inside Indonesia, not a separate destination, so there is no separate Bali plan to buy. Our plan is data-only and includes no calls and no SMS. It works outside Bali as well, on Java and Lombok for example, on the Telkomsel, Indosat and 3 (Hutchison) networks. Island hopping in the Philippines works the same way on one plan; see the Philippines guide.

Pack prices as listed by Jio, Airtel and Vi on 12 Oct 2026; ₹ per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are an estimate at the day’s rate; your card is charged in US$.

India’s Ministry of Tourism recorded 497,260 departures of Indian nationals to Indonesia in 2025, and 96.18% of them were leisure or business trips. The ministry counts departures by country, so it publishes no Bali-only figure.

Pick the plan by days first, then GB. 2 GB over 15 days costs ≈ ₹628 (9 Oct rate), and 5 GB over 30 days costs ≈ ₹966 (9 Oct rate). The 7-day unlimited data plan costs ≈ ₹2,417 (9 Oct rate), and its speed drops to 1 Mbps after 3 GB a day.

Your card is charged in US dollars. Your bank converts the amount at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction (forex markup) fee. How card payments work.

Your Jio, Airtel or Vi pack in Bali vs this eSIM

Jio, Airtel and Vi all sell roaming packs that work in Indonesia, Bali included. The five packs below cost ₹951 to ₹1,899 as listed on 12 Oct 2026. Each one bundles calls on your Indian number, which our data-only eSIM does not. The ≈ ₹ per GB figure is our derivation: price ÷ GB.

We sell travel eSIMs, so we have an interest here. The table still shows when your operator pack is the better choice.

Source: operator documents (Jio IR plans · Airtel T&C · Vi prepaid T&C), checked on 12 Oct 2026. Airtel’s T&C are dated 24 Sep 2026, and its SMS figures are outgoing SMS. Airtel’s own FAQ page still shows older prices (₹898 and ₹1,198); the current T&C list ₹998 and ₹1,298. Vi’s South Asia pack covers five countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. Vi states that its IR packs are “not applicable for customers in J&K, Assam and North East”.

For comparison, our 5 GB plan for 30 days costs ≈ ₹966 (9 Oct rate), about ₹193 (US$2.00) per GB, charged US$9.99, before any markup on foreign-currency payments. The pack is the better choice when you need calls on your Indian number: Airtel’s ₹998 pack includes 150 minutes, while our plan includes none. Trip length decides the rest. None of the five packs above runs past 14 days; for a month, Airtel’s prepaid list has ₹2,998 for 10 GB over 30 days.

Data plan validity starts at different moments. Jio states: “Your plan validity begins only with your first usage—call, text, or data.” An Airtel prepaid pack starts when your phone latches on to a covered foreign network and makes chargeable usage. If you do not travel within 30 days of booking, it expires with no reimbursement. Our Indonesia eSIM starts counting at its first connection to an Indonesian network.

On Tripadvisor’s Bali forum, a thread titled “Using Indian Mobile on Roaming in Bali” asks: “Did anyone of you went to Bali with an Indian Sim - preferably Airtel Prepaid with international roaming activated?” We saw only the search snippet, which carries no date. That is one traveller’s question, not a price reference.

Ngurah Rai airport SIM vs an eSIM bought in India

A Bali (Ngurah Rai) airport SIM needs a free SIM slot and a stop at a counter after landing in Denpasar. An eSIM bought in India is already installed when you board. Telkomsel, XL and Indosat sell an Indonesia tourist SIM bundle, but this page quotes no Indonesia SIM card price because we have not verified current rupiah prices.

On a phone with one physical SIM slot, an Indonesian SIM goes in only when your Indian SIM comes out. Bank OTPs to your Indian number then stop until you swap back. An eSIM sits alongside the physical SIM, so the Indian number stays in the phone.

Buy an Indonesia SIM card if you need a local +62 number, for example to take calls from your homestay. We have not verified Indonesia’s registration rules for tourist SIMs, so ask the seller which documents are required. Other countries have their own international SIM guides.

Set up at home, go online when you land at Ngurah Rai

Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad. For Bali that means scanning the QR code on home Wi-Fi, then turning on data roaming for the eSIM line once the plane is down in Denpasar. Your Indonesia plan counts its days from the first connection to an Indonesian network, not from installation.

A 7-day plan installed a week before departure therefore starts its 7 days only on landing. Check your phone first: the phone list shows supported models, and the install guide has the iPhone and Android screens.

Full refund within 30 days of purchase, as long as the eSIM has not connected to any network. If the eSIM doesn’t work and it isn’t your phone’s fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

Bank OTPs on your Indian number while you are in Bali

In Bali, bank OTPs still go by SMS to your Indian number, and our Indonesia eSIM is data-only, so it cannot receive them. Keep the Indian SIM in the phone as a second line with mobile data off, and let the eSIM carry maps and WhatsApp. Nobody can guarantee that every OTP reaches you in Indonesia.

For SMS alone, Airtel and Vi prepaid each list a ₹118 option for 28 days with free incoming SMS, as listed on 12 Oct 2026, so even a two-week Bali trip fits inside it. Calls and data then cost standard roaming rates, and Airtel’s T&C require your regular prepaid pack to stay valid alongside it. We hold no Jio rule on incoming SMS without a pack, so check the MyJio app before you fly. The guide to keeping your Indian SIM for OTPs covers the dual-SIM settings.

What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Indonesia?

Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.

The first is the line for mobile data. On iPhone it is Settings > Mobile Service > Mobile Data; on Android, the SIM manager. Pick the travel line there; your Indian line stays on for calls and SMS, with its mobile data off.

The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Indonesia as roaming for it.

The third is the APN. The plan does not set it by itself here: add globaldata on Android under the eSIM line’s mobile network settings.

The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch airplane mode on and off, and let it find 3 (Hutchison) and Indosat; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.

Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimgo.in with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.

What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)

For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 1 GB for 7 days, ≈ ₹241 (US$2.49). For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, ≈ ₹966 (US$9.99). If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, ≈ ₹2,417 (US$24.99), with 3 GB a day at full speed, then 1 Mbps.

I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If you need calls or SMS on your Indian number every day, a Jio, Airtel or Vi roaming pack carries them (compare the packs). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to one operator, it cannot take the plan: check your model first. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.

FAQ

Get an eSIM for Indonesia, from ≈ ₹241 Pay by card in US$. Your bank converts the US$ charge at its own rate and may add a foreign-transaction fee. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by e-mail after payment. See plans