
Quali viaggiatori quali sono le domande che ci vengono poste più spesso?
Yes. The Middle East and North Africa plan covers Saudi Arabia and 14 other countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Egypt, and your phone switches networks by itself at the border or when you land. Details in does a region plan cover every country in it?
In Saudi Arabia your plan connects to Zain, with 5G in the cities, the holy cities, and the resorts and 4G LTE elsewhere. Your phone joins the network automatically once the plan is switched on. If it hasn't connected a minute after landing, work through the no-signal checklist.
Yes, with 5G in both cities and on the Haramain railway between them; the networks run at capacity in the Hajj season. The Nusuk permit app and the railway app both run over the plan's data.
Yes, over the plan's data, with the phone number you already have. A Saudi Arabia plan is data only; calls home go over WhatsApp or another app, and your home number keeps working on your home SIM for texts and bank codes.
It depends on how much data you want and how many days you're staying. A fixed plan costs less overall; an unlimited plan (5 GB a day at full speed, then slower) works out to a lower daily rate the longer you stay. Every current option and price is in the plan selector at the top of this page.
In the app: open My plans, choose your Saudi Arabia plan, and tap Top up. The extra data lands on the same eSIM within a few seconds, with nothing new to add or scan. Full steps are in topping up data without reinstalling the eSIM.
Weeks ahead. The plan's days don't start until you turn it on and connect, so a plan bought a month before departure is still complete when you land. Plans need to be activated within 90 days of purchase. See what plan validity means and when it starts.
If it's eSIM-compatible and carrier-unlocked, yes, which covers most phones sold since 2019. The one-minute check for iPhone, Android, and Samsung is in is my phone eSIM compatible?

Saudi Arabia eSIM for Riyadh, Jeddah, AlUla, and Umrah
Set it up before you fly. It's live the moment you land, nothing to check, nothing to remember.
Already with us? Get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
Saudi Arabia opened to tourists only a few years ago, and it runs on apps: the e-visa, the ride, the AlUla tickets, the Nusuk permit for the holy cities, and the arrivals halls at Riyadh and Jeddah are the places to have a phone that already works. The best eSIM for Saudi Arabia is the one added at home, on Wi-Fi, so the Careem is booked and the permits are on the phone before the immigration queue moves.
Below: how a Saudi Arabia plan works, how to set it up before you fly, what to expect in the cities, at AlUla and the Red Sea, and on Umrah, and why a Gulf itinerary usually wants the MENA plan.
Travel across the Middle East and North Africa tends to run through a hub, and most eSIMs want a fresh profile for every leg. KnowRoaming doesn't. You add the KnowRoaming eSIM, called KR.One, to your phone once, then add a plan per leg: Saudi Arabia for the stay, the Gulf for the layover, a Middle East and North Africa plan when one trip covers several countries. Nothing to scan again, nothing to delete when you get home.
The plan's days start when you turn it on and connect in Saudi Arabia, not at checkout. Buy it weeks ahead, add it at home, and a delayed flight costs you nothing. The full rule is in what plan validity means and when it starts.
Choose a fixed plan for a set amount of data at the lowest overall price, or an unlimited plan when you'd rather not count. Unlimited plans give you 5 GB a day at full speed, then a slower speed until the allowance resets the next day. If a fixed plan runs low, top up in the app and the extra data lands on the same eSIM.
See it in two minutes: Meet KR.One, iPhone setup with KR.One, or Samsung setup with KR.One.
Do this at home on Wi-Fi. It takes about a minute.
Before you leave
- Get the KnowRoaming app (available on iOS and Android) and choose your Saudi Arabia plan.
- Tap Add. First time on this phone? The app adds KR.One and your Saudi Arabia plan together. Already have KR.One? Only the plan is added, with nothing to scan.
- Leave data roaming off on the KnowRoaming line until you land, and turn it off on your home line too so it doesn't run up charges in the background. Steps are in turning off roaming on your home line.
When you land
- Turn the plan on in the app, then turn data roaming on for the KnowRoaming line. That setting lives in your phone, so the app can't flip it for you.
- Give the phone a minute to find the network. If nothing happens, turn airplane mode on for 30 seconds and off again.
Prefer a QR code? The checkout page and your confirmation email both carry one; scan it from your phone's settings. Every tap, by device, is in adding your eSIM on iPhone, adding your eSIM on Android, and adding your eSIM on Samsung, or watch the iPhone QR walkthrough or the Samsung QR walkthrough. Still no signal after landing? Work through the no-signal checklist.
King Khalid International is about 45 minutes from central Riyadh and King Abdulaziz 30 from Jeddah's corniche; Careem and Uber run from both with the number you already have, and the Riyadh Metro now covers the capital. Most passports buy an e-visa online before the flight; keep it saved offline. The riyal is the currency, cards work everywhere, and cash covers the souqs.
Riyadh's Diriyah, the Masmak fort, and the Boulevard's evenings are the capital's days; Jeddah's Al Balad old town, the corniche, and the Red Sea's diving are the coast's. Ramadan shifts the day to the evening, the weekend is Friday and Saturday, and the summer keeps everyone indoors between noon and dusk.
AlUla's Hegra tombs, the Elephant Rock, and the old town are two hours by flight from Riyadh and sell timed tickets online through the experience platform; the Red Sea's new resorts and the diving at Yanbu and the islands are the coast; Tabuk's canyons are the far north. Zain's 5G covers AlUla's town and the resorts; the desert sites and the dive boats drop out.
The Edge of the World escarpment outside Riyadh, Al Hofuf's oasis in the east, and Taif's rose farms in the mountains above Mecca are the drives, with 5G on the highways and gaps at the cliffs and in the dunes.
Umrah pilgrims arrive at Jeddah or Medina, book the permit in the Nusuk app, and travel the high-speed Haramain railway between the two cities in two hours; Zain's 5G covers both holy cities and the railway, and the networks run at capacity in the Hajj season. Non-Muslims cannot enter the holy cities' central areas, and the checkpoints enforce it; the plan's job for a pilgrim is the permits, the railway app, and the group's chat.
Saudi Arabia is on the Middle East and North Africa plan, 15 countries on one plan that also covers the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, and Egypt, switching networks by itself at the causeway to Bahrain, the Jordanian crossings, and when you land in the Gulf; a Gulf circuit or an Umrah with a Jordan add-on fits it without any change in the app. Saudi Arabia is also on the Global plan. A Saudi-only plan stops at the border. Read do I need a new plan for every country? for the detail.
Riyadh and Jeddah are business cities, and a lot of visits are a week of meetings with video calls from a hotel; Zain's 5G handles that, and voice and video calls over apps, restricted in the past, work in Saudi Arabia today, though the rules across the Gulf change and an alternative app is worth keeping. For a posting of weeks, an unlimited plan, with 5 GB a day at full speed, covers the calls and the hotspot.
Your plan connects to Zain, with 5G in Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, Dammam, AlUla, and the Red Sea resorts and 4G LTE along the highways and in the towns. Your phone picks the network automatically once the plan is on; there is nothing to choose by hand.
In the Empty Quarter, the northern canyons beyond the roads, and on the dive boats, expect gaps or nothing on any network. Save what you need in the cities.
Most phones sold since 2019 support eSIM, including iPhone XS and later and most Android flagships from the same window. Check yours before you add a plan; it takes a few seconds. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, About and look for an EID or Available SIM. On Android, go to Settings, Network & Internet, SIMs and look for an option to add an eSIM. On Samsung, dial *#06# and look for an EID.
Your phone also needs to be carrier-unlocked. If you're not sure, carrier-locked vs unlocked: how to tell shows you where to look.
Adding a Saudi Arabia plan doesn't touch your regular SIM. Calls and texts on your usual number keep working exactly as before. The new plan handles data while you're there, and most phones run both at once without you doing anything else. Bank codes and two-factor texts still arrive on your home number, as long as that line stays switched on.
In this region the alternatives are a home-carrier roaming rate that is often eye-watering or not offered at all, a local SIM that means ID registration at a counter, or hotel Wi-Fi. A Saudi Arabia plan added at home beats all three: one price agreed before you fly, live the second you land, and a Middle East and North Africa plan if the trip takes in more than one country.
Real travelers rate KnowRoaming 4.5 out of 5 on Reviews.io. More than a decade in travel connectivity, more than 200 destinations, and support that doesn't clock off: WhatsApp and live chat, any time, any day.
One plan. No roaming surprises. Live the moment you land.
Get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
4.5 out of 5 on Reviews.io. 200+ destinations. Support that doesn't clock off.
Destinazioni da sogno, dati in tempo reale.
Very easy to set up.
Iviwe
Cape Town, ZA
i had no issues. however i am moving to a provider that provides 365 packages at reasonable rates. u dont do that currently. also because im buyinhg on mtn which is using u u are getting my support bec its easier. u have to offer better packages. also i was charged 20% more than the advertized rate, i am currently in dispute with mtn.
Siki
Great service
Edmond N
