Best SIM Cards for Saudi Arabia Tourists for Data and Calling

The desert country of Saudi Arabia has a lot of tourist destinations which attracts thousands of tourists from all over the place every year. As part of its government's plan to reform Saudi Arabia's economy, they are trying to improve the tourism industry of the country by reducing strictness in its laws, developing more tourist destinations, and providing more facilities.

Most people think that the desert life of Saudi Arabia will result in fewer mobile networks available in the country to fulfill a tourist’s data needs. However, there are several mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia that offer mobile networking services to ensure that their customers have access to good communication and data from their chosen SIM cards.

Leading Mobile Operators of Saudi Arabia

But one question that tourists need the answer to is which SIM card is best for a Saudi Arabian tourist. So, keep reading to find out the best SIM cards for Saudi Arabian tourists for data and calling.

Top Mobile Operators in Saudi Arabia

If you are a tourist of Saudi Arabia who is looking for mobile networking throughout the country, you will need to purchase the SIM card of one of the top 3 mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia.

When it comes to the top 3 mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia, the following 3 are considered the best by most tourists:

• Saudi Telecom Company
• Zain
• Mobily

When tourists purchase a SIM card from one of these mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia, they get network coverage in every part of the country. Each of these mobile network operators has its benefits that suit the needs of different types of tourists. So, let us now look at what each of these mobile network operator’s SIM cards offer to their customers.

Saudi Telecom Company

The Saudi Telecom Company or STC for short is the largest mobile network operator in Saudi Arabia that offers the best network data transfer speeds and widest coverage in comparison to their competition. The STC is also among the few mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia that offer eSIMs to customers who have compatible phones for this type of SIM.

Their plans include both prepaid and postpaid plans and their cheapest plans start at 1GB of data, offering data transfer speeds of up to 100 mbps. STC is considered the premium option by most tourists due to their excellent quality of service as well as their price which is a bit higher than its competitors.

For tourists who are visiting Saudi Arabia for a long time, it is highly recommended that you get your SIM card from the STC. If you wish to purchase an STC card for your mobile devices, you need to visit either a store run by the STC or a dealer who is authorized by the STC to sell SIM cards.

Tourists will need to submit the information of their passports and a small fee to acquire their SIM cards and the card will become active upon entering your SIM card number and passport information that you provided.

Advantages and Disadvantages of STC SIM Cards

Tourists who use STC SIM cards get the following benefits

• Fastest network speeds of any mobile network operator
• Multiple network plans to choose from
• Largest coverage of any mobile network operator in Saudi Arabia
• Starts at affordable prices

However, all of these benefits come with disadvantages including the following

• While the coverage of STC is large, its network speeds are slow in the rural areas
• STC starts with affordable prices, but better plans charge a lot more than other mobile network operators.
• The customer service of STC is known to be slow, making correcting issues take a long time.

When you are trying to decide whether an STC SIM card is the right option for you, keep all of these points in mind before deciding whether STC SIM cards are your final choice.

Zain

Zain is a popular choice among tourists of Saudi Arabia due to its status as the third largest mobile network operator in the country. Zain has earned this status through its consistent network connectivity throughout Saudi Arabia and being among the few mobile network operators that provide eSIMs to tourists who have a mobile device that supports it.

This mobile network operator also is popular for being one of the only mobile network operators whose SIM cards can be acquired online through the website that is run by Zain itself. They also offer almost the same type of service to their customers as the STC by offering both postpaid and prepaid plans along with 1GB of data but with better pricing.

If you are a tourist in Saudi Arabia looking for a SIM card and data plan at affordable pricing, Zain is among the best choices in the country.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Zain

Zain offers several benefits to its tourists over its competitors which include:

• Easy acquisition of SIM cards through authorized dealers and their online website
• Consistent connectivity across every region where Zain's network is available
• Reasonable prices at every level

However, SIM cards offered by Zain are not without their downsides which include:

• Slow data speeds compared to its competitors
• Limited customer support in comparison to the competition in Saudi Arabia

When you are trying to decide which mobile network operator's SIM card is best for you, make sure to look at everything that you will be getting from your purchase from that mobile network operator.

Mobily

Whenever you ask a tourist from Saudi Arabia about which mobile network operator's SIM card they are using, most of the time, you will hear the name Mobily. Mobily is popular for being the second-largest mobile network operator in Saudi Arabia. A big reason why most tourists choose Mobily as their choice of mobile network operator is because of their product Mobily Router.

Mobily Router is a portable wifi network device that can be used to connect multiple devices to the internet through a single device. With modern-day technology allowing even cameras to connect to the internet, it is no surprise that tourists who have such devices are picking Mobily over its competitors.

Just like other mobile network operators Mobily offers prepaid and postpaid network plans along with support for eSIMs for mobile devices that support it with high-speed internet and wide network coverage.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Due to the numerous services offered by Mobily, there are a lot of things to consider before deciding whether the SIM cards of Mobily are the right choice for you. By using their SIM cards, tourists get the following benefits:

• Mobily has one of the widest network coverages in Saudi Arabia which competes with the STC
• The data transfer speeds offered by Mobily SIMs are among the best in the country
• Mobily offers one of the widest range of plans to its customers which allow them to choose a plan best suited for their purposes
• Alongside their Mobily router, Mobily also provides excellent security features to protect a tourist's personal information
• Most of Mobily's plans are considered reasonable by tourists to Saudi Arabia

However, they also come with the following disadvantages:

• Mobily does not have unlimited data for every plan and caps are present to limit your daily internet usage
• Mobily has high roaming charges compared to its competitors
• The service quality of Mobily is not consistent between urban and rural areas
• Making additions to the base plans offered by Mobily is costlier than its competitors

Every mobile network operator's SIM cards have different strengths and weaknesses so, make sure you check all of the available information to make an informed decision.

So, if you wish to visit Saudi Arabia, start by applying for your Saudi tourist e-visa early and by booking all your reservations in advance.

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