Most people over-buy data for a one-week holiday. Here's what a typical Irish family trip to Spain actually consumes, measured from our own customers' usage patterns.
Daily usage by activity
| Activity | Data per hour | Typical day |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps navigation | 5–10MB | 30MB |
| WhatsApp messaging & voice notes | 1–5MB | 20MB |
| WhatsApp video call | 300–500MB | 150MB (20 min) |
| Instagram / TikTok scrolling | 150–700MB | 400MB |
| Web browsing, email, booking apps | 30–60MB | 100MB |
| Spotify streaming (normal quality) | 40–70MB | 100MB |
| Netflix / YouTube (standard quality) | 700MB–1.5GB | 1GB if you watch an episode |
| Photo backup to iCloud/Google Photos | varies | 300MB–1GB |
Three traveller profiles
- Light (≈300MB/day, 2–3GB/week): maps, messaging, a bit of browsing. Hotel Wi-Fi for everything else. Our 3GB Spain plan is plenty.
- Typical (≈700MB/day, 5GB/week): adds social media and some music. The 5GB plan with room to spare.
- Heavy (1.5GB+/day, 10GB+/week): video calls home, streaming, working remotely, or sharing a hotspot with the kids' tablets. Go 10GB.
Two settings that halve your usage
- Turn off automatic photo backup over mobile data (iPhone: Settings → Photos → Mobile Data; Android: Google Photos → Backup → Mobile data usage).
- Enable Low Data Mode (iPhone) or Data Saver (Android) for the eSIM line. Streaming apps and background refresh drop noticeably.
And remember: if you're on a bill-pay Irish plan, Spain is inside EU roaming, so check your fair-use allowance first. If it's generous, you may not need an eSIM at all. If you're on prepay with a small EU cap, or travelling with family who'll share a hotspot, an eSIM is the cheaper route.