But the big problem with those solutions is that you lose a fair bit of value unless you exhaust the SIM. If you buy a month-long package but are only on holiday for a week, that's a waste. Similarly, if you buy 2GB of data but only use 500MB, you've wasted your money.

So I'm trying Roamless which is a PAYG eSIM.

The concept is pretty simple:

1. Stick $10 in your account.
2. Visit Ruritania on holiday for a week and use data which costs $1.25/GB
3. Come home.
4. Fly off to Utopia but use 50MB of data during your 2 hour transfer at Blefuscu airport ($2.50/GB)
5. During your fortnight in Utopia, visit Lilliput where your phone automatically roams to the local network ($1.50/GB)

And so on. The credit in your wallet decreases with use; not with time. You aren't forced to buy multi-GB bundles which you can't use. Coverage is worldwide, so you don't need to spend time looking for a local SIM.

The Good

It works! I signed up, paid my money, installed the Android app, and my eSIM installed itself. When I landed in Morocco, my phone seamlessly connected to the local network.

I spent a week on holiday and paid a couple of dollars for half a gigabyte of data. I think that's pretty reasonable.

Turns out most of the places I went had WiFi, so buying a dedicated SIM with a few GB of data just for Morocco would have been a waste of money.

Speeds seemed fine. I connected to a couple of different Moroccan networks on 3G and 4G - I don't think there's 5G in Marrakesh. I didn't run any speed-tests, but for maps, a bit of photo-sharing, and Signal/WhatsApp calls it did the trick.

As well as data, you can use your credit to make local phone calls. I don't think I'd make much use of the feature - but it is good to know it exists.

The Bad

Data costs are reasonable, but not the cheapest. You will inevitably find a better per/GB deal if you buy a local SIM with an inclusive data bundle. If you know you're going to be somewhere for a week and you're sure you'll use all the data, it might make sense to use a different product.

Costs are in US$ - so you'll need a card with low/no foreign exchange fees to get the most value for money.

As with any roaming connection, latency is increased vs using a local SIM. My IP address placed me in Belgium. That didn't cause any problems, but you probably don't want to play games which require a low ping.

The SIM will roam anywhere - even your home country. You'll need to either disable the eSIM or switch off roaming when you're at home. But, on the plus side, UK prices aren't too expensive.

There's no inbound calling to the SIM. If you're going to places which require a local number, you might find it convenient to pick up a local SIM to get a temporary number.

The App

The app isn't mandatory. You can install the eSIM via a QR code as per normal. But you'll need to use the app if you want to take advantage of any of the discount / referral codes. The app steps you through setting up the eSIM which is useful if you've never used it before.

The app itself is a bit bare-bones and doesn't look great. But it is the sort of thing you'll go into once to set up and then never again, unless you need to top up.

It will show you how much you've used and what your balance is.

The app has a VoIP client, so you can make local calls when roaming. Again, the prices aren't the cheapest per minute - but they come out of your credit and you aren't forced to buy a calling bundle.

Oh, and as a nice feature, when you return home - it reminds you to turn it off.

Not many apps will tell you to spend less money with them!

Verdict

Roamless takes all the hassle out of roaming through multiple countries.

If you're the sort of person who goes to one place for a set period of time, you'll almost always be better off buying a local SIM. But if you flit between countries and don't want to spend the entire journey on your phone, Roamless will suit you just fine.

There are no gimmicks or upsells - you get PAYG data which you can use anywhere.

The Obligatory Referral Link

If you use code TERENCEN3R, we both get a $3 bonus.

I was wondering what the rates are going to be for roaming. I could get a local SIM - but as I'm only there for a few days, it seems a bit pointless - no one will have the number & I'll lose any credit at the end of the trip.

So, how do the various roaming SIMs stack up against my Vodafone SIM?

TruPhone's list of prices is very simple

GiffGaff's list of prices now include data roaming. Again, a simple tariff.

MaxRoam's prices are slightly more complicated

Vodafone's price plans for roaming are very competitive.

Conclusion

Stone the crows! It looks like my domestic Vodafone SIM might just be the cheapest way to roam in Africa!

MaxRoam has some really innovative features - but the costs are insanely high.

TruSIM is good in UK, USA, and Australia, but not so good elsewhere. While the rates are marginally cheaper in Kenya and Nigeria, the data costs really are prohibitive.

The new MVNO GiffGaff has some great prices - and the cheapest SMS price.

But, overall, it has to be Vodafone. Not least because of the pricing model for data. A fiver for 25MB is much more generous than the other providers - and using email or GTalk will be much cheaper than SMS. While the costs are marginally higher in Kenya and Nigeria - I'll be spending the majority of my time in South Africa. Crucially, I get to keep my number - so I'm not out of contact.

Have I missed something? Are there any better roaming deals?