Are you traveling to Micronesia and looking for the best way to stay connected? This is a complete guide for finding the best sim card for your trip to Micronesia. You will find out where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per May 2023, the best 4G/5G network in Micronesia, my recommendation and experiences and info about international and e-sim cards for Micronesia.
As I am trying to travel to every country in the world as a full time digital nomad I constantly change countries. Being in a new country every week I found out that local prepaid sim cards are in general the cheapest way to stay connected. Nowadays a great alternative are e-sim cards, but more expensive in most cases, especially if you use a lot of data.
On Traveltomtom you can find already more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Palau, Europe, Asia, USA, Thailand, Bangkok, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, New York, Miami, Singapore, Samoa, Fiji and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom. Bookmark this page!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends an FSMTC prepaid sim card to stay connected when traveling to Micronesia.
It is a very easy conclusion and recommendation as there is only one mobile internet operator in Micronesia and there are no international sim cards or e-sim cards available for Micronesia as of May 2023.
If you are planning to travel to multiple countries on your journey Traveltomtom recommends global e-sim cards or global travel sim cards, but unfortunately non of these cards work in Micronesia. In fact there is an international sim card from Orange that works in Micronesia, but it gives you 50 MB data for $49.90 USD, no calls/sms included. Useless therefore and not recommended. If you are really desperate you can buy this sim card in this link.
But there are world sim cards that cover more than 120 countries. Keep it in mind for your next trip. Check out my comparison of the best travel sim cards for traveling in 2023 in the link.
Why buying a sim card for Micronesia
Any clue how high roaming costs can be when using your data overseas? Avoid data roaming at all time, it is not worth it. Some mobile providers charge up to $3 USD for 1 MB data that means opening Instagram will cost you $100 USD. This is not a joke!
Overseas data plans for $5 to $10 a day will get you unlimited data, but at what data speed? Mostly these data plans barely work as they reduce the speed to 3G or even an E signal. Good enough for email and WhatsApp, but opening social media is already almost impossible.
Staying connected makes traveling to Micronesia so much more convenient. Think about finding nearby restaurants, getting directions from Google Maps, looking things up when exploring. And needless to say don't rely on WiFi in these countries.
Registration process
For buying a prepaid sim card in Micronesia you do NOT need your passport or any form of ID. You only need money and you can buy as many sim cards as you want. So if you are a group of 6 people, just 1 person can go to the FSMTC store and buy 6 sim cards.
Where to buy a sim card for Micronesia
The most convenient place to buy a sim card for Micronesia would be at the airport on arrival, but unfortunately on the major international airport of Pohnpei there is no FSMTC store. If you are looking to buy a Micronesia sim card in Pohnpei you have to go to the FSMTC office in the main street. This is the address: 1210 Kaselehlie St. Kolonia, Pohnpei FM 94941, Micronesia. It is about 10 minutes drive from the airport in the heart of Kolonia.
If you land on Chuuk Island then it is a little easier as directly opposite the Chuuk Airport there is a FSMTC store. You can't really miss it, but here is the address: FR6V+24R, Iras, Weno, Weno.
The opening hours of the store are on weekdays from: 08.00 am to 05.00 pm and on Saturday morning. You can pay by cash or creditcard.
So where to buy a sim card for Micronesia on Sunday? Well, I really did my best for you and asked around everywhere, but I am afraid that on Sunday you will have to wait till Monday morning for buying a sim card for Micronesia.
As said before unfortunately there are still no e-sim cards for Micronesia or international sim cards so you can NOT buy a sim card for Micronesia online as of May 2023.
Best 4G/5G network in Micronesia in 2023
Of course there is no comparison of the mobile network needed to find the best 4G/5G network in Micronesia as there is only one mobile internet operator.
On our trip to Micronesia we rented a car and drove all around the island of Pohnpei. The only tourist attractions in Pohnpei are the Kepirohi Waterfall ($10 USD entrance fee) and the Unesco World Heritage Site: Nan Madol. The easiest way to get there is by renting a car or finding a taxi driver who will charge you around $80 USD.
During our day sightseeing in Pohnpei we mostly were connected to at least a 3G signal. Around the major tourist attractions there was actually 4G. However, the 4G data speed is not what you are used to at home, especially the upload speed is bad. During peak hours 7.00 - 10.00 pm the 4G signal was very challenging, download and upload. Uploading an Instagram stories was for example impossible.
This speed test was taken on a Sunday afternoon right next to the FSMTC building in town where you can find all the big satellites as well and the results for upload speed says it all.
If you are looking for pretty solid and fast internet in Micronesia then book a room at the Island Palms & Hotel. They have spacious double rooms for $110 USD with good WiFi.
There is no 5G yet in Micronesia as of May 2023.
Price prepaid sim card Micronesia
The registration of a new Micronesia prepaid sim card costs $10 USD. It does not come with any form of credit or data/minutes/sms. Before you can activate one of the following data/voice bundles you will first need to top up.
These are the most common prepaid plans for tourists:
- 5 GB data for 5 days = $5
- 12 GB data for 5 days = $10
If you also want to make local calls then get another $5 top up card and leave the balance for calling minutes. There is no need to activate a separate calling bundle or plan.
Topping up is very easy with a $5 card, but the $10 cards are a little complicated. With the $10 cards you need to call a number and follow instructions, but with a $5 top up card you can just text the card number and done. The guy in the FSMTC store recommended me to buy 2 * $5 top up cards.
To check your available credit dial: *777#.
I am sure the above tips for traveling to Micronesia and getting connected in Micronesia were helpful for your upcoming trip. If you have any more questions please leave me a comment below.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along.
As of May 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go to visit every country in the world.
Enjoy your trip to Micronesia!
