Maldives SIM card for Indian travellers: roaming, local SIM or eSIM

Maldives eSIM or tourist SIM: what you need

You need mobile data in the Maldives, not a Maldivian number. A Maldives eSIM connects once you land, so a local Maldives SIM card is optional. Our international SIM hub covers other destinations from India. Keep your Indian SIM in the phone, because bank OTPs still arrive on that number.

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$.

Ministry of Tourism Maldives figures, as reported by Hotelier Maldives, count 131,625 arrivals from India in 2025. India’s Ministry of Tourism counts departures instead and recorded 192,540 to the Maldives in 2025. Our Maldives plans run on Dhiraagu’s 4G network and carry no calls and no SMS (our catalogue, 12 Oct 2026).

A Maldives tourist SIM is a separate purchase, and as a physical SIM card it needs a free slot in your phone. This page quotes no local SIM prices because we have not verified current ones.

The Asia regional plan does not include the Maldives in our catalogue. Buy the Maldives plan, not the Asia one.

Jio has no data pack for the Maldives: what Airtel and Vi offer

The Maldives is absent from the country lists of Jio’s 100-country, 75-country and 132-country packs and of its data packs. Jio’s Global Pack (₹1,101 or ₹1,102 for 28 days) lists it, but that is a balance of ₹933.05 or ₹933.90 spent at standard roaming rates, not a data pack.

Airtel sells one set of packs for every covered country and advertises 189 countries; the Maldives is on its list. Vi prepaid lists the Maldives in its non-UL zone and in Budget Set 2. Vi’s country page is an image inside its terms PDF, so we read the names by hand.

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 (Airtel T&C · Vi prepaid T&C), checked on 12 Oct 2026; Airtel’s T&C are dated 24 Sep 2026. ≈ ₹ per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). The six packs cost ₹698 to ₹3,495 as listed. Airtel’s own FAQ page still shows older prices (₹898 and ₹1,198); the current T&C list ₹998 and ₹1,298.

Most of these packs include minutes on your Indian number, which our data-only eSIM does not; the Vi ₹755 pack has none. For comparison, 5 GB for 30 days on our Maldives eSIM costs ≈ ₹3,447 (12 Oct rate), about ₹690 (US$7.20) per GB, charged US$35.99. Jio users can read how Jio roaming packs work for other countries.

Validity starts at different moments. An Airtel prepaid pack starts when your phone latches on to a covered foreign network and makes chargeable usage, and it expires unreimbursed if you do not travel within 30 days of booking. Our Maldives plan counts its days from first usage on a Maldivian network, so installing at home uses none.

Resort Wi-Fi and a short honeymoon trip

For a short trip such as a honeymoon week, size the plan by days, then by GB. Our lightest data profile is 0.3 GB a day, so 7 days need about 2.1 GB and 15 days about 4.5 GB (our calculation). The data-sizing guide explains the four profiles.

Our Maldives packages are 1 GB · 7 days, 2 GB · 15 days, 3 GB · 30 days, 5 GB · 30 days, 10 GB · 30 days and 20 GB · 30 days. The 1 GB and 2 GB plans fall short of 2.1 GB, so a week at the light profile fits 3 GB · 30 days. Fifteen days at 4.5 GB fits 5 GB · 30 days, not the 2 GB · 15 days plan. From 3 GB up, every Maldives package carries 30 days of data plan validity, so for stays up to 30 days only the GB changes.

Resort Wi-Fi may carry some of the load, but we have no data on its speed or coverage, so we size for mobile data. Hotspot use draws on the same data allowance; our plan details do not state a hotspot rule.

Install before you fly, connect at Malé

Install the eSIM in India; it connects when you land abroad. Scan the QR code on home Wi-Fi, then turn on data roaming for the eSIM line only after you reach the Maldives. Days start at your first usage on a Maldivian network.

Check your phone on our phone list and follow the install guide.

Bank OTPs arrive as SMS on your Indian number, which a data-only eSIM cannot receive. Keep your Indian SIM active with its data off, and ask your operator about SMS abroad. No page can promise that every OTP will reach you. The OTP guide has the dual-SIM steps.

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.

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.

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

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 the Maldives as roaming for it.

The third is the APN. On this plan it sets itself, so leave it alone; you don’t need to type one.

The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch airplane mode on and off, and let it find Dhiraagu; 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, ≈ ₹966 (US$9.99). For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 30 days, ≈ ₹3,481 (US$35.99).

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 the Maldives, from ≈ ₹966 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