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Where to buy SIM card in Buenos Aires
Getting a SIM card in Argentina will take you some steps. Living for years in Argentina, I know that registration takes some time and effort. Especially when you don’t speak Spanish. In this article, I explain to you where to buy a SIM card in Buenos Aires.
Check out the mobile coverage in Argentina
Option 1: e-sim card
I recently discovered the option to install an e-sim card on my smartphone. More and more smartphones have the option to install e-sim cards. I used it in the USA and tested it in Argentina. Smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 and later or iPhone XS and later have that option. You can check here if your smartphone has the e-sim function.
The e-sim for Argentina uses the network of Movistar. For USD 26 you have 6GB of data. It’s a virtual SIM card with no phone number linked to it. The set-up goes easy and you can install it at your home. As soon you arrive in Argentina the e-sim starts to work when you connect to the Movistar network. You can also later top-up more data.
Click here to check the e-sim service
Option 2: buy a SIM card in Argentina
The most convenient way to buy an Argentina SIM card is when you arrive at Buenos Aires International Airport Ezeiza.
After passing all the controls and collecting your luggage you will enter the arrival hall. Take a turn to the right and you will see the check-in desks on your right. Take the escalators on the left to the first level. In front of you, you will see the Personal store. Sometimes open, sometimes closed. 🙂 Last time at midday it was closed.
Take your passport with you and ask to buy a SIM card, also called “chip” in Spanish.
The mobile provider will give you a tourist SIM card to use in Argentina. This SIM card will cost you around 15 USD and includes a bundle for 30 days with 3GB of data and 30 minutes of international calls.
Personal has an excellent and stable connection in Argentina. However, there is often no connection in the middle of the Pampas or Patagonia. Argentina is a big country.
Other options to get a SIM card in Argentina
There are more options to get an Argentina SIM card. There are three mobile operators active in Argentina: Claro, Personal, and Movistar. The coverage of these mobile operators is quietly the same. As a tourist, you need to go to the mobile provider brand store.
For me these days the easiest way is the e-sim card.
1. Go to an official mobile operator store: take your passport with you and ask for a SIM card, also called “chip” in Spanish. We suggest taking a prepaid SIM card in Buenos Aires.
Claro: Tte. Gral. Juan Domingo Perón, 547 (near Plaza de Mayo) Closed in weekends.
Personal: There is a store at Ezeiza airport in Buenos Aires. More info here.
Movistar: Go to any Movistar store. Follow the steps here.
2. Top-up the SIM card: You will have your local SIM card but without credit. Ask in the store to top-up the SIM card and the activation of an internet pack.
3. Reload/top-up the SIM card on your way: Go to a kiosk with the sign “recarga aca” and ask to top-up your SIM card with the amount you wish. Or go find an official provider store nearby. They can reload your SIM card and activate a new internet bundle. You can also do it yourself. Once you have money on your Argentina SIM card, you need to go to the mobile provider’s website. Login or register your account or mobile number, and choose a plan that suits your needs.
A tourist SIM card in Argentina
As mentioned above “Personal” offers a tourist sim-card plan. For 15 USD you have 3GB of data, and 30 minutes of international calls.
Also, Movistar offers a tourist SIM card. More info here. They don’t have a store at Ezeiza airport. The website of Movistar suggests buying a SIM card in a kiosko and send your details through Facebook or Twitter. In my opinion pretty complicated.
Roaming SIM card bundle for outside Argentina
You have Claro. They offer a pretty cheap ($12 USD) roaming package to use in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the USA. The roaming package is valid for 30 days.
Click here for the Claro website. You will need to top up your SIM card balance and send a text message to activate the roaming package.
Get WiFi in Buenos Aires
Across Buenos Aires, you will find several BA WiFi hotspots. Mostly they are located around busy squares, parks, Metrobus lines, in the subways, and governmental buildings. The coverage is pretty wide. A moment without WiFi is rare. Buenos Aires on that point is a true WiFi capital city. The connection speed is around 10 Mbps.
You can find a complete coverage map here: GO TO BA WIFI
The public buses
Some public buses provide free WiFi to their customers. We don’t have a list right away but the WiFi logo will show you what busses are online.
28 Comments
HI Glenn,
Thanks so much for all the helpful info.Currently in BA and going to Uruguay for a week then back to Argentina for 2 more weeks. In getting an eSIM, the link provided is for Airalo. Based on your experience, is that the best service to use, as opposed to Holafly or Nomad?
Thank you!
Melanie
Hi Melanie, thanks for reaching out. My experience with Airalo is good. The connection is good and the app of Airalo is also easy to use to follow up your remaining data. 🙂
Hi Glenn,
I bought Claro sim cards in Buenos Aires for my phone and my partner’s phone as well as data and call packages. We are going to Chile and I’m trying to find out if our plans are regional. I saw your reply to Jorgen above, but I don’t seem to be able to navigate the website for the top and roaming activation. Do I do it from the phone? Or from the website? Thanks for your help in advance. You have great information.
Marie
Hi Marie, you can do it from the phone normally. SMS to 252 with the message “3GB” to activate. Of course credit needs to be on the account.
Hi Glenn,
Your online sim cards are out of stock at the moment. When will you have stock again? I arrive in Buenos Aires on 4th February.
Thanks
Hi Pei San, currently I’m out of stock. I’ll update the page as soon I have new SIM cards.
Glen. My son is going to Argentina for 10 months, he will need a SIM card , and what visa does he need, he hopes to be teaching.
Thanks Philip
Hi Philip, you can order a SIM card here. He can stay for 90 days in Argentina. For a working VISA is better to start the process in your home country or arrive in Argentina with a contract of a company. That’s an easy way to get a residency.
Glenn,
Being completely new to the SIM world I have what is likely a silly question. Do Personal SIM cards come in all three sizes (i.e., standard, micro and nano)? Wish I was staying in a BA hotel, I would most definitely use your streamlined service.
Thank you and thanks for taking the time to give us so much great, in-depth information!
Hi Jeri, yes the SIM card comes in three sizes. Almost all smartphones will be able to use the SIM card. 🙂
In the introduction you say : “The Argentina SIM card is ready to use upon your arrival in Buenos Aires. I deliver the SIM card to your hotel in Buenos Aires.”
My problem is that I have booked a limo from the airport to the hotel and the driver will want to phone me at the airport to pick me up. Obviously my French SIM card will not work and since I will be arriving at Buenos Aires EZE at 21:45, I do not want to waste time buying a SIM card from the kiosk at the airport (From experience, I know it always takes a long time – in every country).
Is it possible to buy a ready to use SIM card from you and have it delivered to my home address in France, so that I can have a ready to use telephone on arrival at Buenos Aires? I will be travelling in December, and I want to remove as many hassles as possible.
What is the cost of the SIM card?
Will I be able to receive a local phone call (from the limo driver)?
Second point : You say : “Additionally, it’s possible to get 1GB to use in Chile, Brasil, etc”
I will be spending one week in Brazil. What is the cost of this option?
Thanking you for your assistance in this matter.
Malcolm.
Hi Malcolm, unfortunately I cannot send the SIM card out of Buenos Aires. Technical reasons but also the postal service here is not that reliable.
I can add a roaming package to your order. But it depends on the price at that moment. Claro often changes their packs. Have a nice trip!
Malcolm, free WiFi is available at Ezeiza Airport. Connect to the “AA_2000” Network.
You should then be able to use whatsapp or Messenger to contact your limo driver.
EZE offers free wifi so turn on wifi calling, leave your phone in airplane mode and you can receive text messages sent to your home mobile number. I did that a few weeks back and it worked like a charm.
We are traveling to Buenos Aires in Nov. 2022 and then on to Ushuaia for a cruise and a 2 week Patagonia land tour as well. After reading the other comments, especially Victor’s, I am nervouse about getting a working sim card. I mostly just want to be able to text or call our house sitter back home in canada to check on things. Or have her be able to reach me. Also to use our ArriveCAN app that our government is forcing everyone to use since Covid to arrive back to Canada. So am I correct in thinking that I can go to the Personal store in the lwer level of the Buenos Aires airort and buy a sim card when we arrive. And also get it fully activated and working right then as well?
Hi Pat, that’s correct. You can ask to the Personal store.
Hi. Hoping someone can advise on this…if i buy a SIM card at Personal in the International Airport will they accept US$ or do I have to pay in pesos?
thanks in advance
Hi Melinda, the Personal kiosk only accepts Argentinian Peso (ARS). However, you can exchange your money first at the airport. More info in this article “Best places to exchange your money in Buenos Aires“. Have a nice stay in Buenos Aires.
The sim card available from the airport, will this also work in Uruguay, and can it be topped up for use in more than 30 days?
I arrive next week. 🤔
Hi Jorgen, the card is only for Argentina but you can top-up later and activate the roaming package.
What about the card electric voltage ?
110 volts or 220 volts ?
And also what about the US system of two vertical slots ? Or do they use two cones entering two holes, like in Europa ?
Where to find a converter ?
Hi Paul, in Argentina, we use 220 volts and plugs type I. You can buy converters at the airport or Amazon for example.
I noticed online your sim cards are out of stock. I am here in Buenos Aires and wonder if you have any sim cards for sale. Thanks Leslie
Hi Leslie, from Tuesday the stock will be updated 🙂
Hi there – this article has been very helpful but I have some questions for you if you don’t mind helping me out! I am a graduate student moving to Argentina in a month, for 1 year. I have a student visa and will eventually have a DNI (within 60 days of arrival). I am SO nervous about the SIM card process. I want something more permanent and reliable while I am in country for the 11 months. A tourist SIM card would not be enough but I was thinking I would do this for the first 20 days while I try to get something more permanent. Do you suggest I do a tourist SIM card, then go to Claro/Movistar/ etc. and find something more permanent? I plan to use Google voice for my US number and have a SIM card with my BA #. I want a good data/phone plan especially since I’ll be using Google Voice and WhatsApp to communicate with everyone back home and for work related calls to Mexico. I also will be traveling within Argentina, Mexico, and hopefully to Uruguay and Chile. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Eve ?, you will definitely have a great time in Argentina, welcome! Getting an Argentina sim card without an Argentinian identity number will test your patience. In the beginning, you can get a sim card registered with your passport. However, there is a limit on the time to use and the waiting lines in the store are famous here. You can ask an Argentinian friend to register an extra sim card under their name and you use it. That are the options for the long term.
Claro, Personal, and Movistar their coverage in Argentina is almost the same. In Buenos Aires, you will have a reliable connection. People that live outside Buenos Aires are getting a contract based on what provider that has the best signal in their neighborhood. So, you’re good at all options. I would suggest taking a “pospago” – subscription plan. It has more benefits if you want to make international calls or if you’re going abroad.
We wish you the best as a student in Argentina! 🙂
Here’s my real life experience with trying to buy and activate a SIM card in Buenos Aires. We noticed the corner store near our Airbnb had signs on the door for Claro and Movistar. Ok, lets give this a shot instead of walking all the way to an official store; I don’t like going into the Verizon store in the US where everyone speaks English, so I definitely dont want to walk into a Claro store where no one is speaking English. I have my girlfriend who speaks perfect Colombian Spanish(by all accounts Medellin Spanish is the most clear) go in as my assistant to speak with the clerk at this store. I have her ask him as many questions as possible, because I’ve been traveling in Latin America for at least 6 years now, and I know how confusing/inconvenient buying and activating a SIM card can be. These 2, this Argentine and this Colombiana can’t seem to get their information straight, can’t seem to align their Spanish. I’m not confident buying a SIM card from this corner store is going to result in a functioning SIM card, so we walk to another store, then another store, and every response is basically, we can sell you a SIM card but we can’t activate it for you. This is unfortunate but not surprising since Argentina seems like a highly unorganized country. So let me get this straight, you can sell me a SIM card, but I have to go home and get on a wifi network, jump through god knows how many hoops before my SIM card will be activated, before I can give you money so that I can use your precious cell network. By the way, I’m not some A-hole that’s addicted to my cellphone, I’m not buying and activating a SIM card to carelessly browse FB or instagram, I’m using it for real things, I’m an experienced traveler and I know NOT having a cell signal is wasting time, energy, and money. If I can’t order an UBER, now I’m at the mercy of some random taxi driver who can use our language barrier to charge me anything he wants, or without a signal I can’t find a restaurant that isn’t a total s-hole. We actually make it all the way to the official Movistar store and the rep there is ready to sell us a SIM card, then he tells us he can’t activate it, and they don’t have wifi in this store, hmmm, a telecommunications store that doesn’t have wifi, I thought the above article said wifi is every in BA? Here’s this illogical situation, the rep at the Movistar store is going to sell us a SIM card but we have no idea if this SIM card is going to work with my phone from the US, because he can’t activate it? So let me get this straight, Movistar can sell me a SIM card but they can’t activate it? makes no sense. Ok, so we walk out of this store because this process seems crazy and unlikely to work. So we go back to the corner store right near our Airbnb to buy a Claro SIM card for $40 arg pesos, and the clerk, like most Argentine’s, is very sure of himself, very sure of what he’s saying(read: bullshitter), he says we go back to our apt, get on the wifi and register the SIM card online. Ok, I already know this isn’t going to be that easy. I find Claro’s online form, add a photo of my passport, hit send, get a case #, and 15 minutes later get a message saying i need to fill out the form again, but this time, attach a photo: a selfie of me with my passport. ok, these dopes want to make this unnecessarily hard for some reason. I do this and we get nothing, no notification that this SIM card is activated. SO, I get on Claros online chat page, and the rep says it’s too late in the day, this will get handled tomorrow. The next day, late in the day, still nothing. Again, I get on Claro’s online chat page, give the rep my case #, phone #, SIM card # and eventually she tells me I need to go down to the store in person to what, be told I can’t have a SIM card as a foreigner? The whole point of this was to avoid walking into one of these stores. So, that’s where we’re at, a lot of frustration, a lot of wasted time, and a useless SIM card. In Mexico, we went to the equivalent of a 7-11, bought a SIM card and a data plan, popped it in and it was immediately working. No wonder Argentina is in a constant state of financial crisis. They’re making people jump through hoops to give them money, backwards thought, backwards system. This annoyance continues tomorrow, maybe I’ll be spending my whole trip in BA trying to activate a SIM card, awesome
Hi Victor, thanks for sharing your experience on how to get a SIM card in Argentina. Correct that registering a SIM card in Argentina is pretty difficult. Therefore, we suggest buying a SIM card at the Personal store at the airport. You would think that every salesperson, no matter what Personal store, know’s the procedure for tourist SIM cards. But in reality, it isn’t. Our advice is to get a SIM card in Argentina in the airports. The salespersons there are getting there more requests. Kiosko’s does sell SIM cards but the registration is not easy for tourists and complicated. Avoiding stores to activate a SIM card is almost impossible.
Besides the SIM card difficulties, we hope that you had a great time in Buenos Aires.