Timor-Leste eSIM

No. Timor-Leste is a separate country from Indonesia and is always treated as its own coverage area, even though the two share the island of Timor. If your trip starts in Bali and continues to Dili, check that the plan you bought lists Timor-Leste by name, or take a second plan that covers the days you spend here rather than assuming the Indonesian one stretches across the border.

The crossing itself is short but the signal drops in the middle, and on the island reception differs clearly from one village to the next. Confirm your accommodation and the return sailing while you are still in Dili, save the guesthouse's WhatsApp number to the phone, and bring enough US dollars in cash, because the island does not have the ATMs you find in town.

Rain makes the mountain roads slippery and landslides close sections from time to time, so real journey times run well beyond what the map estimates. Start early so you are not driving after dark, ask locals or the place you are heading to about road conditions before you set off, and keep offline maps loaded — the stretch where you need to find a detour is usually the stretch with no signal.

Timor-Leste uses the US dollar, alongside its own centavo coins. Larger hotels and some places in Dili take cards, but most of the country runs on cash, and ATMs are concentrated in Dili and a handful of bigger towns. Withdraw what you need and break it into smaller notes while you are still in the city, before you head for the mountains or the islands where there is nowhere to top up.

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.