Sierra Leone eSIM

Book the ferry in advance and check that the last crossing of the day still works with your landing time, because if you miss it your options are the multi-hour road route around the bay or a night on the Lungi side. Get the line working inside the terminal so you can confirm the boat and tell whoever is meeting you which jetty and what time. Screenshot the booking and keep it on the device, since the signal can drop while you are out on the water.

In Bo, Kenema and Makeni it behaves normally, but on the roads between them and inside forest areas like Tiwai or Gola you can be out of range for stretches of half an hour or more. Download the map area, save your driver's and lodge's numbers to the device, and agree meeting points and times before you set off. Do not build a plan that assumes you can call or share your live location the whole way.

Plan around cash, especially outside Freetown: small shops, drivers and boat owners mostly want notes. Mobile money on the local networks is used widely by residents, but signing up normally needs a domestic number and identity documents, so short-stay visitors rarely find it practical. Cards are accepted only at some hotels and larger establishments, so draw enough before you leave the capital for an upcountry leg.

Most plans here start when the phone first connects to a network at the destination, so you can install in advance at home and switch it on after landing. Each plan page states its own rule.

No. The eSIM is a second line, so you keep your home number for SMS OTP. Turn off roaming data on the home line and set the eSIM as the data line.