A week abroad usually needs somewhere between 2 GB and 10 GB, and the range is that wide because the daily habits behind it differ so much. This page breaks a 7-day trip down by activity so you can see which number applies to you, then estimate your own total in the calculator.
The clearest way to size a week is to work out one normal day and multiply. Most travel days consist of a couple of hours of navigation, messaging throughout, some browsing and social scrolling over coffee and meals, and whatever media you consume in the evening.
Doing the evening media on Wi-Fi is what separates a 3 GB week from a 10 GB one. Two hours of high-definition streaming a night is over 20 GB across a week on its own — more than everything else combined.
| A normal travel day | Approximate data |
|---|---|
| 2 hours navigation | 10–20 MB |
| Messaging all day | 10–30 MB |
| 1 hour social feeds | 30–100 MB |
| 30 minutes browsing | 5–15 MB |
| 20 photos backed up | 40–100 MB |
| One 15-minute video call | 60–200 MB |
| Day total, no streaming | Roughly 150–450 MB |
Four things account for most cases of running out early, and all four are avoidable once you know about them.
For most travelers, yes. 5 GB covers roughly 700 MB per day, which is comfortable for navigation, messaging, social feeds, and normal browsing. It runs short if you stream video daily, make long video calls, or tether a laptop.
Active turn-by-turn navigation uses roughly 5–10 MB per hour, so even two hours of navigating a day is well under 150 MB for the week. Downloading offline maps before you fly reduces it further.
Video — streaming, video calls, and automatic photo or video backup to the cloud. A single hour of HD streaming can use more than two days of maps, messaging, and browsing combined.
Pick 3 GB for light use with plenty of Wi-Fi, 5 GB for normal daily use, and 10 GB if you stream, tether, or rely on mobile data all day. Most eSIM providers let you top up mid-trip, so starting at 5 GB is a reasonable default.