The two ways to connect a family — and when to use each

There's no single right answer; it depends on your kids' ages and how independent everyone needs to be. Two approaches cover almost every family, and you can mix them.

One plan, shared to everyone (our default)

A single Holafly Plans Unlimited subscription includes unlimited hotspot — so one parent's phone becomes the family's WiFi, tethering the other phones, the kids' tablets, and a laptop, all at once. For younger families this is usually the simplest and cheapest setup: one plan, everyone online, no per-person SIMs to manage.

A line of their own for older kids

Teens who wander off with friends, or a kid you want reachable independently, need their own connection rather than relying on staying in hotspot range. Give them a destination eSIM (single country) or a regional eSIM (multi-country) on their own phone. That's exactly what we do — our son travels with his own regional eSIM so he's connected whether or not he's next to us.

Most families land on a blend: parents on Plans sharing to the little ones' tablets, and any older kids on their own eSIM.

Why one Plans subscription usually beats an eSIM per person

Do the mental math on a family of four visiting two countries. Buying a separate destination eSIM for each person in each country is four-plus purchases to set up, track, and re-buy at the next border. One Holafly Plans Unlimited subscription covers 160+ destinations, so it carries the whole family across every country on the itinerary — and the unlimited hotspot means the extra devices ride along at no extra cost.

The unlimited part matters more for families than for anyone else, because families burn data: kids streaming on a long bus ride, video calls to grandparents, three phones on maps at once, uploading the day's photos. On a capped plan that's a constant anxiety. On unlimited, you stop counting. We run a business, upload content, and video-call family across continents on ours and have never been throttled in normal use.

Keeping kids reachable and safe on the road

Connectivity for a family isn't just convenience — it's how you keep track of each other in an unfamiliar place. A few things that genuinely matter with children:

• Everyone can reach everyone. With the family hotspot on, or a kid on their own eSIM, messaging and location-sharing work the moment you land — no scrambling for WiFi to find each other in a crowded station.
• Your home number still works. Holafly runs alongside your existing SIM, so parents keep their normal number for calls and the 2FA codes that banks and airlines send — data on Holafly, number on your home SIM.
• Set it up before you fly. Install each eSIM at home on WiFi and activate on arrival, so the whole family is connected the second you land — no queue at a foreign SIM kiosk with tired kids in tow.
• A backup if a plan runs out. Every Holafly eSIM includes Always On — 1 GB of free monthly backup data — so a phone whose plan lapsed still has enough to get online in a pinch.

How we actually do it, trip to trip

For context, here's our real setup rather than a hypothetical. Chris and Shayna run Holafly Plans Unlimited as our full-time connectivity — that's the family hotspot when we need it. Our son travels on his own regional eSIM so he's independently connected across whichever region we're in. On a recent move across three countries, that combination kept all of us online through two border crossings without buying a single new SIM along the way — you can read that whole story in our Vietnam-to-Thailand trek.

The point isn't that every family needs our exact setup — it's that Holafly scales to whatever shape your family is. One plan shared, or a mix of plan-plus-kids'-eSIMs, all under one discount code.

What travelers say

The sentiment we see from families on Reddit and traveler forums lines up with our own experience. Parents consistently mention how much simpler one hotspot-sharing plan is than juggling a SIM per family member, and how the unlimited data removes the constant "who's using too much data" tension on trips with kids. The other recurring theme is peace of mind — being able to reach each other and pull up a map the instant you land, which with children is less a convenience than a necessity.

The balanced note is the honest one: if your family barely uses data — mostly on hotel WiFi, light phone use — a cheaper capped option or a single shorter eSIM may be enough. Unlimited earns its keep when the family actually leans on its phones, which most do.

How to use the THEDUFRESNES code

1. Choose your family's setup on Holafly — a Plans subscription to share, and/or an eSIM for any kid who needs their own line.
2. At checkout, enter THEDUFRESNES — all caps, no spaces. It works on every purchase, so use it on each eSIM.
3. The discount applies immediately.
4. Install each eSIM at home on WiFi before you fly; activate on arrival so the whole family lands connected.

Family travel eSIM FAQ

Bottom line

Keeping a family connected abroad doesn't have to mean a drawer full of SIM cards. One Holafly Plans Unlimited subscription with unlimited hotspot covers most families in one move, and older kids can add their own eSIM when they need independence — all under a single discount code. It's how our own family has traveled full-time for years. If you're planning a family trip, THEDUFRESNES saves you at checkout.

New to eSIMs? Start with our beginner's guide to travel eSIMs or our complete Holafly guide.