Roaming rules that stop at the Andorran border
The European Commission's roaming brochure says the EU roaming rules do not apply in Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco or San Marino, nor on board vessels and aircraft. For a ski trip that starts in France or Spain, the phone's normal plan may therefore stop applying as soon as the road crosses the frontier.
The Commission adds that in a country not covered the traveller receives an SMS with the applicable rates. A traveller who sees that message should treat it as the signal to switch off data roaming, and switch to hotel Wi-Fi or a local option, until the cost is clear. The home operator's own terms for Andorra are the authority on what will be charged.
eSIM Andorra: the operator's visitor plans
Andorra Telecom's eSIM Andorra page describes a service for visitors that keeps your usual number while adding mobile data on the national 4G and 5G network, without a physical card swap. At the time of checking, the plans were 3 GB for one day at EUR 4.95, 20 GB for three days at EUR 6.95, unlimited data for seven days at EUR 19.95 and unlimited data for 15 days at EUR 39.95. The page says it can be bought at esimandorra.ad and downloaded before travel, and that compatible devices are required.
Treat the word unlimited with care, since the page we opened gives no fair-use terms. The page describes keeping your usual number and adding data, which suggests a data-focused product, so keep the home line for voice and text, with data roaming turned off in Andorra to avoid the charges described above.
The S and M prepaid rates and the 12-month card
Andorra Telecom's prepaid page lists an S rate at EUR 10 a month with 3 GB of data in Andorra and an M rate at EUR 20 a month with 12 GB. The plans are valid for 30 days from activation and renew automatically if there is enough credit. The prepaid card itself is valid for 12 months from the last top-up, with a further two months to reactivate before it is deactivated.
The page says that if your phone is eSIM compatible you can buy the prepaid plan directly even if you are not an Andorra Telecom customer, and that physical points of sale are listed on the website, with an online shop and app also available. It does not state ID rules, and the data inclusions are for use in Andorra rather than in other countries, where Daily Data Roaming is the option the page names. Compare this with the visitor eSIM: for a long weekend the eSIM Andorra plans are shorter, while the monthly prepaid rates suit a longer stay.
5G in the ski villages
The business site Alto reported that Andorra Telecom completed deployment of the 3.5 GHz band for 5G in 2025, with coverage of 91 per cent of the population. It listed locations including Encamp, Anyós, La Massana, Arinsal, Santa Coloma, Grau Roig, Pas de la Casa, Canillo and Soldeu, across 44 base stations, and said mobile speeds doubled compared with 4G.
That list matches the resorts most visitors use, but a population percentage does not describe coverage on a ridge or a lift line. In the mountains, expect the signal to vary with terrain and weather. Download offline piste and trail maps before heading up.
Emergency numbers, including mountain rescue
The UK Foreign Office lists 110 for police, 116 for an ambulance, 118 for fire and 112 for mountain rescue in Andorra. Save them in the phone before a ski day, and note them alongside your accommodation's address.
Test that calls work before you leave the village.
Setting up the eSIM next to your home SIM
Apple says an iPhone must be unlocked to use a travel eSIM, that Wi-Fi is needed to install it and that the data line is chosen in Settings, Cellular, while iMessage and FaceTime remain on the home number. Google says Pixel 7 and later phones can hold two eSIM profiles if the carrier supports it. Samsung describes SIM manager for adding an eSIM. Our Andorra plan page is another way to arrange data before you leave.
Networks our Andorra plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Andorra, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Andorra TelecomLTE
- AndorraT5G
- Mobiland5G
- Servei de Telecomunicacions d'Andorra (STA)5G