Or they know that roaming is horribly expensive outside certain cases like inside EEA for EEA contracts.

And hunting for working wifi might be complicated as well.

Exactly. You have to be pretty technologically inclined and have done extensive research to determine how to get a data sim in a foreign country, and not get screwed by roaming costs.

Even I, an HN tech god, rely on McDonald’s Wi-Fi and the Here app, even when I do have data enabled, as it’s often painfully slow.

Can't you mostly just pick them up at the airport when you arrive? That may not be the absolute cheapest option, but SIMs are not usually hard to find.

Sounds like they are just making life hard for themselves, I always check prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com before the trip and get the most suitable sim card at the airport.

[delayed]

Yep an esim is even more convenient.

Last time I travelled was pre-pandemic before esims were common place, so I just pre-ordered a SIM card online that I just needed to pick up from an airport booth after showing my passport.

Depending on the country and how rural you are travelling it can also be worth checking out the coverage and frequency band compatibility to ensure you get the best reception possible.