Balitel eSIM FAQ: Telkomsel Tourist eSIM for Bali & Indonesia

It depends on whether you need an Indonesian phone number.

• If you want to use Gojek, Grab, GoPay or QRIS, the best eSIM for Bali is a local Telkomsel tourist eSIM with a real +62 number, like Balitel's.
• If you only need data and do not want to register your passport, a travel eSIM such as Airalo, Holafly or Saily is simpler, but it has no Indonesian number.

Telkomsel is Indonesia's largest network and covers over 97% of the population. See Balitel's comparison of 13 popular eSIMs for Bali.

Balitel's Telkomsel tourist eSIMs start at USD $14 for 10GB for 30 days. Every plan includes a real Indonesian +62 number, 30 minutes of local calls, 30 SMS and hotspot. Prices as of October 2026:

• 10GB, 30 days: USD $14 (Rp179,000)
• 20GB, 30 days: USD $18 (Rp231,000)
• 53GB, 30 days: USD $31 (Rp399,000)
• 103GB, 30 days: USD $45 (Rp588,000)
• 150GB, 60 days: USD $61 (Rp798,000)
• 200GB, 90 days: USD $81 (Rp1,061,000)

Checkout shows the price in your own currency. Rupiah prices apply when you buy in Indonesia.

In August 2026, the cheapest SIM card at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport was Rp250,000. All three official kiosks (Telkomsel, XL and Indosat) charged Rp250,000 for their smallest SIM card plan (21GB, 25GB and 28GB) and Rp300,000 for the eSIM. No kiosk sold a plan smaller than 21GB, and there was no Smartfren counter.

The typical local shop charged the same Rp250,000 for Telkomsel 21GB, but prices ranged from Rp175,000 to Rp600,000.

Balitel’s 20GB eSIM is Rp231,000 when you buy in Indonesia, or USD $18 from abroad. Telkomsel replaced its 21GB plan with a 20GB plan in September 2026. Prices come from Balitel’s survey of 102 Bali SIM sellers, 7 July to 7 August 2026.

See the full Bali SIM card price survey.

Balitel gives you a real Indonesian +62 number. Airalo, Holafly and Saily give you data only.

The +62 number is what makes Gojek, Grab and QRIS codes arrive, and it lets you top up GoPay, OVO and DANA. Balitel is a local Telkomsel line, not a roaming guest on the network.

A 20GB Balitel eSIM costs USD $18; international roaming eSIMs with 20GB start at about USD $35. The trade-off: Balitel must register your phone and passport with the Indonesian government, and travel eSIMs skip that step.

Read Balitel's honest reviews of Airalo, Holafly and Saily.

Yes. Balitel is an authorized Telkomsel retailer, registered outlet 3301071729, operated by CV Cahaya Berkat Sejahtera, a company registered in Indonesia.

Balitel is run by Sheila Theodora and the family behind Diamond Handphone, a Bali phone retailer trading since 1998. Its store is at Jl. Raya Kuta No.7, Tuban, Kuta, Bali. 

Every Balitel line is verified and activated by Telkomsel. Read customer reviews on Trustpilot.

Your Indonesian phone number is in the WhatsApp message we sent you with your QR code. Look for the 12-digit number in that message. That is your local number for Gojek, Grab, GoPay and local calls.

Yes. Balitel's Telkomsel tourist eSIM includes a real Indonesian +62 number that receives SMS. That lets you sign up for apps that send a one-time code (OTP) by SMS, such as Gojek, Grab, Shopee and Tinder. 

Data-only travel eSIMs such as Airalo, Holafly and Saily have no phone number, so they cannot receive SMS codes.

Yes, if it comes with an Indonesian +62 number, like Balitel's Telkomsel tourist eSIM. 

Gojek and Grab send a verification code by SMS when you sign up, and the code often does not arrive on a foreign number.

The same +62 number lets you top up GoPay, OVO and DANA, pay with QRIS, and take driver calls as local calls.

Yes. The Balitel eSIM adds a second, Indonesian line to your phone.

Your home SIM stays in, and WhatsApp keeps working on your usual number.

About 10 minutes.

After you buy, fill in the short registration form and message Balitel on WhatsApp. Balitel registers your phone, activates your line on your arrival day and tells you the moment it is live.

Balitel activates lines between 8:00 AM and 2:00 AM Bali time, every day.

Yes, and it is the easiest way. Install the eSIM over wifi at home.

Your plan's 30, 60 or 90 days start only when Balitel activates the line in Indonesia, not when you buy or install it. Buying weeks ahead costs you nothing.

Yes. You can buy from your hotel or villa after you land.

Balitel activates your line in about 10 minutes, between 8:00 AM and 2:00 AM Bali time.

You need wifi to install the eSIM.

By WhatsApp. Balitel sends your eSIM QR code to the WhatsApp number on your order.

If WhatsApp does not work for you, Balitel sends it to your order email instead. There is nothing to collect or post.

Yes, if you finish your registration before you fly. Balitel activates your line on your arrival day, so your Indonesian number is ready when you land.

No queue and no paperwork at the airport.

Yes. Balitel eSIMs run on Telkomsel, Indonesia's largest network, which covers over 97% of the population.

Your plan works in Bali and across Indonesia, including Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Medan.

Signal can be weaker in remote areas.

Yes. Every Balitel plan allows hotspot and tethering, with no separate limit. Hotspot use comes out of your plan's normal data.

Pick the plan that covers your whole stay. 

• The 30-day plan fits trips of up to 30 days.
• The 60-day plan (150GB) fits about two months, for example a Visa on Arrival extended to 60 days or a C1 visa.
• The 90-day plan (200GB) fits three to six months on a C1 visa with extensions. For data, plan on about 1GB a day, or 2GB a day if you watch video.

Message Balitel on WhatsApp for a top-up. You keep the same number. Top-ups are available on every Balitel plan: 30, 60 and 90 days. Unused data does not roll over.

No. Telkomsel Tourist eSIMs cannot be extended under Indonesian rules.

The only way to continue using the service is to buy a new eSIM with a new number and a new IMEI registration.

If you plan to stay longer than one month, choose the 60-day or 90-day plan from the start.

Yes. Your Balitel eSIM works in the Gili Islands, Nusa Penida, Lombok and everywhere else in Indonesia. It runs on Telkomsel, Indonesia’s biggest mobile network.

Any eSIM-capable, carrier-unlocked phone works with Balitel's Telkomsel eSIM:

• iPhone XS/XR and newer
• Samsung Galaxy S20 and newer
• Google Pixel 3 and newer, and most recent Android models.

Dial *#06#; if you see an EID number, your phone supports eSIM.

See the full compatibility list, or send Balitel your phone model on WhatsApp.

Visit the Balitel store for a physical Telkomsel SIM card. Balitel sells only eSIMs online.

The store is inside Diamond Handphone at Jl. Raya Kuta No.7, Tuban, Kuta, Bali, open 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day.

Because Indonesian law requires ID for every Indonesian SIM, and so do most countries.

GSMA, the global mobile industry body, counted 147 countries that require ID to register a prepaid SIM in 2018, including Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

In Indonesia, every mobile number must be registered to a verified identity, and every foreign phone must have its IMEI registered before it can use a local network. That is why every legitimate SIM seller in Indonesia asks for your passport, from the Telkomsel counters at Bali airport to Balitel.

Travel eSIMs such as Airalo skip this step only because they are foreign numbers roaming in Indonesia, not Indonesian numbers.

Balitel's form asks for a photo of your passport, a selfie holding your passport, your phone's IMEI and your arrival date. 

Balitel deletes your passport details 30 days after your line is activated.

Yes. Balitel is an authorized Telkomsel retailer, registered outlet 3301071729, operated by CV Cahaya Berkat Sejahtera, a company registered in Indonesia. Balitel uses your passport only to register your number and phone with Telkomsel, as Indonesian law requires.

Only Balitel’s activation team in Bali and Telkomsel see your passport. Balitel deletes your passport details 30 days after your line is activated, so it can still raise any problem with Telkomsel for you in that time. Once your eSIM is active, you can ask for earlier deletion at hello@balitel.com

Twice in any 12 months. Telkomsel allows only two tourist IMEI registrations in any 12 months for each phone and each passport, so switching to a different phone does not give you more. 

Each registration lasts as long as your plan: 60 days of use in any 12 months on 30-day plans, 120 days on 60-day plans and 180 days on 90-day plans.

After both registrations, you can buy an Indonesian phone in Indonesia or register your own phone with Indonesian customs (Bea Cukai) and pay roughly 40% of its value in import duty and taxes.

Not for a full-year stay. A tourist registration covers stays of up to 90 days and only twice a year, so it cannot cover a year.

Long-term residents either buy a phone in Indonesia or register their own phone with customs (Bea Cukai).

Registering at the airport customs desk on arrival makes the first USD $500 of the phone's value tax-free. After you leave the airport, you have 60 days to register at a customs office, without that allowance.

Message Balitel on WhatsApp at +62 813 3945 804.

A real person in Bali answers, usually within a minute, between 8:00 AM and 2:00 AM Bali time.

If Balitel cannot fix the problem, it replaces or refunds the eSIM. You can also walk into any of the five Diamond Handphone stores in Bali.

Yes, if it has not been activated. Unactivated Balitel eSIMs are fully refundable within 30 days of purchase, including ones you have installed but not switched on.

Once activated, the Indonesian number has been issued to you and cannot be reused, so it is non-refundable except for a technical fault Balitel cannot resolve.

To ask for a refund, email hello@balitel.com. Refunds go back to your original payment method in 3 to 7 business days. Read the full refund policy.