US data for Irish travellers
Florida is one of the biggest transatlantic draws for Irish families and honeymooners alike — Disney World, Universal Orlando, the Gulf beaches, a cruise out of Port Canaveral. What none of the big three Irish networks do well is roaming once you land: none of them sell a proper USA day-pass the way they do for Europe, and the fallback options are expensive. Here's what eir, Vodafone and Three actually charge in 2026, and the eSIM that sidesteps all of it.
What the big three charge to roam in the USA
- eir — no USA day-pass. Pay-as-you-go data is €4.99 per MB (over €5,000 for a gigabyte), or you can text "USACAN" to 50104 for a 1GB add-on at €29.99. Even light use over a fortnight — topping up 3 or 4 times — runs to €90–120 per phone, and that's the planned cost; anyone who forgets to buy the add-on is on the €4.99/MB rate.
- Vodafone — standard World rate of €5.00 per day for 1GB in the USA, plus €1.41/min for calls and 30c per text sent. A fortnight: €70 per phone for just 14GB total.
- Three — the Roaming Day Pass is €5.99 per day for 2GB, and the USA is on the list of countries it covers. A fortnight: €83.86 per phone for 28GB.
None of the three sell a flat weekly or fortnightly USA bundle at a sane price — you're either buying top-ups as you go or watching a daily meter run for two weeks straight.
The alternative: a prepaid US eSIM for about €20
Our 15GB / 30-day US plan is £16.99 — about €20 at current rates, and checkout shows your price in euros before you pay. It installs alongside your eir, Vodafone or Three SIM from a QR code, connects natively to major US networks with 5G, and its 30 days only start counting once you land — so it comfortably covers a two-week trip with days to spare.
- Fortnight in Orlando: ~€20 vs €70–120+ on an Irish network — keep €50–100 per phone.
- Bigger trip: the 20GB / 30-day plan (£23.99, ~€28) covers a month of normal use for less than four days of Three's day-pass.
- Family of three: the automatic bundle prices three 15GB eSIMs at £44.99 (~€53) — versus €210+ if three phones roam separately, since none of eir, Vodafone or Three offer a family roaming rate.
Made for how Irish travellers do Florida
- Orlando and the parks — full 5G at Disney World, Universal and Epic Universe; our Orlando guide covers the park-app data story.
- Miami and the Keys — South Beach, Wynwood and the drive down to Key West, covered by the same eSIM; see our Miami guide.
- Cruises from Port Canaveral, Miami and Fort Lauderdale — embarkation day and Key West port days are covered; sea-day rules are in our Caribbean cruise guide.
- The whole US, actually — the plan works anywhere in the country, so a New York stopover or a Boston connection on the way down is covered by the same eSIM.
Before you fly: the checklist
- Check your phone is eSIM-capable and unlocked (iPhone XS or newer, Galaxy S20 or newer, Pixel 3 or newer — or dial *#06# and look for an EID). eir, Vodafone and Three all unlock phones free of charge through your account online; do it a week before flying if you're not sure.
- Buy your plan — QR by email instantly, prices shown in euros at checkout, 180 days to use it from purchase.
- Install on home wifi; nothing starts until you land in the US.
- On landing: turn the US eSIM's data roaming on, and switch your Irish line's data roaming off. That one toggle is what stops eir, Vodafone or Three charging anything at all.
Quick answers
Does the eSIM work in Ireland too? No — it's a US-only plan. Your Irish SIM keeps handling calls and texts at home and away; the eSIM only covers US data.
Will Irish bank 2FA texts still arrive in Florida? Yes — your Irish line stays active for texts (receiving is free on all three networks); only its data roaming is switched off.
What about calls? The eSIM is data-only. WhatsApp, FaceTime and Messenger calls ride it for free; answering a regular call on your Irish line bills at your carrier's roaming voice rate, so ring back over data instead.
Is this better than Airalo or Holafly for an Irish traveller? The same honest comparison we give UK readers applies — see the price tables: our 15GB beats their 10GB prices, and nobody else sells a family bundle.