Are you planning a trip to Australia and flying to Brisbane? Let me help you finding the best way to stay connected in on your trip to Brisbane. In this guide you can read everything about buying a sim card for traveling in Australia at Brisbane International Airport.
Find out where to buy a prepaid sim card, up to date prices as per January 2024, my recommendation, my experiences on arrival and even information about international and e-sim cards for Australia.
When I don't have an e-sim card yet, the first thing I do is buying a prepaid sim card to get connected whenever I get to a new country. Local prepaid sim cards are in general a cheaper way to get a lot of data on your phone compared to an e-sim card. Both avoid high roaming costs though and you don’t need to struggle with slow overseas data roaming plans.
As Traveltomtom is also on a mission to visit every country in the world you can find already more than 200 sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Auckland, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Sydney, Melbourne, Asia, Indonesia, Bali, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia Europe, London, Paris, USA, New York, Canada, Dubai, Istanbul and many more.
Traveltomtom also wrote a complete guide for buying a prepaid sim card in Australia in 2024.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and e-sim card advice for your next holiday destination. Bookmark me!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying a Vodafone sim card at Brisbane Airport for your trip to Brisbane. You can get one in the arrival hall at the Vodafone store.
Why Vodafone? They have similar 4G/5G network coverage as Optus, but slightly cheaper prepaid sim card plans for tourists. Traveltomtom only recommends a Vodafone sim card for a city trip to Brisbane, not for traveling in Australia.
Is Vodafone the best prepaid sim card for traveling to Australia in 2024? Traveltomtom thinks not. Read more about it in my complete guide for finding the best prepaid sim card for Australia in 2024. There is a comparison including 4G/5G coverage maps and tips on how to get cheaper data plans.
Traveltomtom definitely recommends e-sim cards for traveling to Australia. E-sim cards start from just $4.5 USD. Recommended e-sim card providers are: SimOptions, Airalo and Nomad.
Traveling to several countries on your journey down under then check out my comparison of the best international (e)-sim card for traveling in 2024. Click on the link to see my recommendations.
Best e-sim cards for Australia
E-sim cards are the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Australia in 2024. But keep in mind they only work in e-sim compatible phones.
You order an e-sim card for Australia on the internet, you receive a QR code, scan it, follow the simple steps and within less than 2 minutes you have an Australia e-sim card installed on your phone.
Upon arrival it automatically connects you to an available network and you enjoy data on your phone pretty much when the plane lands.
Make sure your phone is e-sim compatible before ordering an e-sim card for Australia.
If this raises a lot of questions then check out my complete guide with everything you need to know about using e-sim cards when traveling to Australia in 2024, including a comparison of the best available tourist e-sim cards.
There are many e-sim providers on the internet, below you can find my recommendations. All trusted, tested and reviewed by Traveltomtom personally.
Airalo
Check out the Airalo e-sim card deals for Australia in 2024:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $4.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $8 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $9 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $12.5 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $20 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $40 USD
Click here for more info or to directly order an e-sim cards for Australia via Airalo.
The above e-sim cards from Yes! Go! are data-only and phone calls are not supported. They operate on the 4G/LTE network of Optus in Australia.
SimOptions
SimOptions is another trusted e-sim card provider. They sell international e-sim cards that are valid in up to 130 countries around the world.
Here are the international e-sim card plans from SimOptions for 2024:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $9.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 10 days = $17.90 USD
SimOptions also sells the e-sim cards from Three HK that are valid in Australia as well.
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $34.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for Australia via SimOptions.
Nomad
A third trusted e-sim card provider is Nomad and they offer also e-sim card plans for Australia. Here are the Nomad 4G/LTE e-sim card plans for 2024:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $10 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $12 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $19 USD
- 15 GB data for 30 days = $25 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $30 USD
Nomad also offers 5G ready e-sim cards for Australia.
- 30 GB data for 30 days = $80 USD
- 40 GB data for 30 days = $110 USD
- 50 GB data for 30 days = $125 USD
Click here to order an e-sim card for Australia from Nomad.
Before ordering an e-sim card make sure your phone is unlocked and e-sim compatible otherwise an e-sim card won’t work on your phone.
For more info about e-sim cards for Australia check out my article about the best e-sim cards for Australia in 2024, including tips and tricks on how it works.
Arrival at Brisbane International Airport
When flying to Brisbane for your trip to Australia then expect a pretty hassle free arrival. Brisbane Airport is not that big nor busy. After landing you first get to immigration and if your passport allows you to use the e-gates then you will be ‘stamped’ into Australia in no-time.
After picking up your luggage you walk through the customs bag check. Occasionally there can be a line as Australian customs are pretty strict. But when you pass the customs check you walk into the Brisbane airport arrival hall.
Where to buy a sim card at Brisbane Airport
There are 2 sim card stores at Brisbane Airport that sell prepaid sim cards for Australia for tourists: Vodafone and Optus. Both sim card stores are in the arrival hall.
When entering from the international arrivals through the sliding door into the Arrival Hall then both stores are right in front of you. Vodafone is on your left hand side and Optus is on your right hand side. In and between there is the exit door to the taxi stand.
Prices prepaid sim cards for Australia at Brisbane Airport
Prices and prepaid sim card plans constantly change. Your help is very much appreciated so please leave me a comment below or reach out to me on Instagram if you have up to date information.
The prices and info below is updated as per January 2024 and prices are in Australian Dollars: $1 AUD = 0.68 USD and $1 USD is $1.46 AUD.
Optus Brisbane Airport
These are the 2 Optus prepaid sim cards for tourists they sell at Brisbane Airport and they are both valid for 30 days:
- 60 GB data on 4G + unlimited local calls/text + international calls = $30 AUD - $20.5 USD
- 60 GB data on 5G + unlimited local calls/text + international calls = $60 AUD - $41 USD
Basically the exact same prepaid sim card deals, but if you want 5G internet you pay double.
Vodafone Brisbane Airport
Vodafone offers a lot more prepaid sim card plans:
- 4 GB data + unlimited local calls/text for 7 days = $10 AUD - $6.8 USD
- 8 GB data + unlimited local calls/text for 14 days = $20 AUD - $13.6 USD
- 40 GB data + unlimited local calls/text for 28 days + 500 minutes international calls = $25 AUD - $17 USD
For more info and available Vodafone prepaid plans see the picture above.
Best sim card at Brisbane Airport
As you can see from the comparison of the Vodafone and the Optus prepaid sim card deals at Brisbane Airport is that prices are basically the same. However, Vodafone has much more prepaid plans for tourists and they start from much lower prices.
To find the best prepaid sim card for Australia I also compared the 4G/5G network coverage of Vodafone and Optus and came to the conclusion that Optus has better 4G/5G coverage across the country. That said Vodafone covers all the tourists destinations in Australia as well and for traveling to Brisbane it is more than fine.
The major difference between Vodafone prepaid sim cards and Optus prepaid sim cards is that Vodafone offers 5G on all prepaid plans and if you want to use the Optus 5G network you have to pay double the price.
Therefore Vodafone is the best buy prepaid sim card for Australia at Brisbane Airport in 2024.
Personally I also bought a Vodafone Australia prepaid sim card to check it out for my research and I had no problems and was happy with the data speed I experienced.
Here is my speed test that I ran, just outside the airport. I had hoped the upload speed would be a little better, but little too complain about the download speed.
So what about e-sim cards for Australia compared to local prepaid sim cards. E-sim cards are slightly more expensive, but it is just a couple bucks. You can already get 5 GB data for just $ 12 USD and the great thing is that you can order an e-sim within just 2 minutes on the internet.
Traveltomtom recommends using e-sim cards from SimOptions, Airalo or Nomad when traveling to Australia.
Order a prepaid sim card for Australia online
Is your phone not e-sim compatible, but you would like to arrive prepared and order a physical prepaid sim card for Australia on the internet then check out the following...
Buy ordering an international prepaid sim card for Australia online you save yourself the hassle of buying a sim card on arrival at Brisbane Airport.
These are pre-activated physical travel sim cards and will be delivered to your home address. They automatically activate from its first use. So it is plug and play when you land in Australia.
See the following international prepaid sim card deals from SimOptions:
1. Three Data Pack - $24.90 USD
- 10 GB data-only
- Valid 30 days
- Valid in 56 countries
- Incoming/outgoing calls not supported
- 4G/LTE
2. Orange Holiday World - $49.90 USD
- 10 GB data-only
- Valid 14 days
- Valid in124 countries
- Incoming/outgoing calls not supported
- 4G/LTE
- Data allowance varies per country
Click here to order an international prepaid sim card for Australia directly online via SimOptions.
Also a last reminder that you can arrange everything online within just a couple clicks by ordering an e-sim card for Australia. Traveltomtom recommends ordering an e-sim card for Australia via either SimOptions, Airalo or Nomad.
Curious what is the best e-sim card for traveling to Australia in 2024 then click on the link and read my Australia e-sim comparison, including everything you need to know before ordering an e-sim card.
I am sure the above information for buying a prepaid sim card for Australia at Brisbane International Airport was helpful for your upcoming trip. If you still have any questions, remarks or recommendations please leave me a comment below or reach out to me on Instagram.
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 January 2024 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Brisbane!
Some links in this article about the best sim cards at Brisbane Airport are affiliate links, which means I earn a small percentage in case you decide to purchase something after clicking on an affiliate link. This is at absolutely no extra costs to you!