East Africa & the Indian Ocean eSIM Guides
All 37 East Africa and the Indian Ocean guides in one index: 11 countries, 8 cities, 9 airports and the local SIM card options for each, grouped so you can plan a whole route rather than one stop.
East Africa's networks are built around mobile money: M-Pesa in Kenya and Tanzania, MTN and Airtel MoMo in Uganda and Rwanda. That makes a local line useful beyond data, because taxis, park fees and market stalls increasingly expect a mobile payment. Coverage on the main safari circuits is good, but the gorilla forests, the northern Ethiopian highlands and the outer islands still go quiet. The Indian Ocean islands each run a small market of their own, and a plan bought for the mainland does not follow you offshore.
Country eSIM Guides
KenyaSafaricom
Mauritiusmy.t / Emtel
SeychellesCable & Wireless
TanzaniaVodacom
EthiopiaEthio Telecom
MadagascarYas
RwandaMTN Rwanda
UgandaMTN Uganda
ComorosComores Telecom / Yas
DjiboutiDjibouti Telecom
EritreaEriTel
City Guides
NairobiKenya
Port LouisMauritius
VictoriaSeychelles
ZanzibarTanzania
Addis AbabaEthiopia
AntananarivoMadagascar
KigaliRwanda
KampalaUganda
Airport Guides
Nairobi AirportKenya
Mauritius AirportMauritius
Seychelles AirportSeychelles
Zanzibar AirportTanzania
Bole AirportEthiopia
Ivato AirportMadagascar
Kigali AirportRwanda
Entebbe AirportUganda
Ambouli AirportDjibouti
SIM Card Guides
KenyaLocal SIMs, Safaricom
MauritiusLocal SIMs, my.t / Emtel
SeychellesLocal SIMs, Cable & Wireless
TanzaniaLocal SIMs, Vodacom
EthiopiaLocal SIMs, Ethio Telecom
MadagascarLocal SIMs, Yas
RwandaLocal SIMs, MTN Rwanda
UgandaLocal SIMs, MTN Uganda
DjiboutiLocal SIMs, Djibouti Telecom
Planning a route across East Africa and the Indian Ocean?
If you will pay for anything by mobile money, a local SIM is worth the registration queue. For a short safari, an eSIM for the arrival plus the lodge WiFi is usually enough.
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