Bali and Indonesia SIM Card for Tourists 2026: Telkomsel Prices, IMEI Rule, eSIM

Last updated on 10 October 2026

Telkomsel sells foreign visitors a tourist starter pack with 25 GB for 30 days at Rp150,000 (about €7.49). To use an Indonesian SIM you need your passport, and your phone’s IMEI must be registered, for stays of up to 90 days at the operator’s counter. The POVNOMAD Indonesia eSIM costs €1.90 for 1 GB over 7 days or €9.90 for 7 days of Unlimited Smart, and as a foreign roaming eSIM it needs no IMEI registration. As of 10 October 2026.

On price, the local SIM wins: for a month with 20 GB or more, Telkomsel’s tourist pack costs less than half of any travel eSIM. This guide covers all of Indonesia, from Bali and Lombok to Java, and says where the eSIM still makes sense.

Local SIM, eSIM or roaming: what fits a trip to Indonesia?

As of 10 October 2026. Tourist SIM: Telkomsel website and Indonesian customs rules (sources below). POVNOMAD: Indonesia product page; Unlimited Smart gives 1 GB of high-speed data a day, then up to 1 Mbit/s, with data routed via Singapore. Euro amounts at the ECB reference rate of 9 October 2026 (€1 = Rp20,036.94).

How much does a tourist SIM cost in Indonesia, at the airport or in town?

Telkomsel lists special starter packs for foreign visitors on its website, sold as eSIM. All run 30 days. As of 10 October 2026:

Source: telkomsel.com, “eSIM Telkomsel: paket dan harganya”, read on 10.10.2026; the page carries no date. Euro amounts at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026.

For XL and Indosat we found no current tourist price list on the operators’ own websites, only travel blogs with differing figures. The same goes for airport prices. Several guides say the kiosks at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport charge more than the shops in town; Telkomsel, XL and Indosat publish no separate airport prices, so we could not check that claim. Before you pay at a kiosk, compare the package with the operator’s website on your phone.

What do you need to buy a SIM card in Indonesia?

Your passport. Under Komdigi regulation No. 7 of 2026, signed in January 2026, foreigners register a prepaid SIM with their passport and a valid stay permit. Starter packs are sold inactive and work only after the operator has validated the registration, and one identity may hold at most three prepaid numbers per operator (CNN Indonesia, 24 January 2026). Since 1 July 2026, new numbers require a facial biometric check (Antara, 29 May 2026). Whether that face check also applies to foreign tourists is unclear: the Indonesian trade site Selular.ID reports that the article on prepaid registration does not mention it for foreigners.

A travel eSIM bought abroad does not go through this process. It joins Telkomsel or XL as a foreign roaming guest and has no Indonesian number. You install it at home on Wi-Fi with our instructions for iPhone and Android, and the validity starts with the first connection in Indonesia.

Do you have to register your phone’s IMEI for a local SIM?

Yes. A phone brought from abroad only gets service on Indonesian SIM cards once its IMEI is registered. How that works depends on the length of your stay:

• Up to 90 days: foreigners get a temporary IMEI activation for 90 days at the mobile operator’s counter, not at customs. The customs contact centre confirmed this in 2024 and said the temporary 90-day registration is only for foreign nationals (DDTCNews, 4 April 2024). We found no fee stated for it.
• More than 90 days: you register the phone with customs (Bea Cukai), at the arrival terminal or through its website or app, for at most two devices per passenger. Personal goods up to a customs value of US$500 per person are exempt from duty. Above that, the customs FAQ lists 10 per cent import duty, 11 per cent VAT and income tax that depends on whether you hold an Indonesian tax number.
• Foreign SIM or eSIM in roaming: no IMEI registration needed. Customs told visitors who use their home SIM in roaming, so-called inbound roamers, that they can use international roaming directly (DDTCNews, 2 January 2023).

For a phone that cost more than US$500 and a stay over 90 days, the local SIM can therefore come with a tax bill. Check the current rules with Bea Cukai before you travel; this is not tax advice. More on reception and the IMEI rule for Bali is in our Bali coverage guide for Ubud, Canggu, Nusa Penida and the Gilis.

Is a local SIM cheaper than an eSIM in Indonesia?

Mostly yes. Prices as of 10 October 2026:

Telkomsel tourist packs in euros at the ECB rate of 9 October 2026 (€1 = Rp20,036.94). POVNOMAD, airalo.com and esim.holafly.com read on 10.10.2026; all eSIM data plans valid 30 days unless stated. After the daily allowance, Smart and Airalo continue at 1 Mbit/s.

From about a week with normal use, the Telkomsel tourist pack is the cheaper option, and for a month with heavy use the gap is large: 60 GB cost €12.48 locally and €29.90 with our 50 GB plan. Our eSIM only costs less when a few gigabytes are enough, such as 3 GB for €3.90. What the eSIM saves you is time and paperwork: no counter, no IMEI step, no 90-day limit on your phone. The full eSIM price table is in our Bali eSIM provider comparison.

What changes on the islands and on Nyepi?

The network decides more than the SIM type. Our Indonesia eSIM uses Telkomsel and XL, not Indosat; Holafly names XL and Telkomsel, Airalo Telkomsel, Indosat and 3. On Nusa Penida, the Gilis and Lombok, the strongest network differs from bay to bay, and our Bali coverage guide covers that place by place.

Nyepi, the Balinese day of silence, falls on Monday 8 March 2027, according to the national holiday decree of 15 September 2026 (State Secretariat). In 2026, the ministry asked operators in Bali to switch off mobile data for 24 hours. For 2027 we found no such letter yet (as of 10 October 2026), and the 2026 reports named no exception for roaming customers. A local SIM and a travel eSIM run on the same Indonesian networks, so plan the day on your accommodation’s Wi-Fi either way.

How do you buy a local SIM the right way?

1. Check before the trip that your phone has no SIM lock. If the Indonesian SIM takes your only slot, your home number goes offline, and with it the text codes from your bank.
2. Carry your passport. Ask at the counter to register the IMEI for 90 days in the same visit, and test mobile data before you leave.
3. Compare the package and price with the operator’s website before you pay at an airport kiosk.
4. Staying longer than 90 days? Register the phone with customs on arrival, while the US$500 exemption still applies at the terminal.
5. Buy starter packs from operator shops or counters. Under the 2026 rules they are sold inactive, so a SIM that already works when you get it was registered under someone else’s identity.

If you pay in cash, our guide to ATM fees on Bali shows which banks charge nothing.

When is the eSIM the better choice, and when not?

The eSIM fits short trips with a few gigabytes, arrivals where you want Grab or Gojek running before you reach the taxi rank, and travellers who do not want to hand over their phone for an IMEI check. It also avoids the 90-day question for your device. If you continue to Thailand, Vietnam or Malaysia, our Southeast Asia eSIM covers eight countries with one profile.

The local SIM is the better buy for a month or more, for heavy use such as streaming or remote work, and when you need an Indonesian number for deliveries or local apps. If your phone cannot take an eSIM, it is the only option.

Frequently asked questions

As of 10 October 2026. Local prices from telkomsel.com, eSIM prices from povnomad.com, airalo.com and esim.holafly.com, all read on that day; euro amounts at the ECB reference rate of 9 October 2026. Customs and registration rules can change; check Bea Cukai and your operator before you travel.