Traveling to Europe and planning your trip? Don't get stuck with high roaming costs or even slow overseas data roaming packages! Get yourself a sim card for traveling in Europe. This is a guide for finding the best European sim card for you, including e-sim cards. Find out where to order one, up to date prices as per May 2023 and everything else you need to know.
For my research finding the best sim card for Europe I traveled to every European country. I put together complete guides for the best prepaid sim card in Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, France, Sweden, UK, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Finland, etc. on top of that I checked all major airports in Europe: Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Geneva, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Madrid, Manchester, Lisbon, Rome, Milan, Venice, Vienna, Oslo and many more.
Buying a prepaid sim card is the first thing I do when I get to a new country and because I am aiming to visit every country in the world you can already find more than 200 prepaid sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all around the world: USA, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and many more!
So next time you plan your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid sim card and e-sim card advice for your next destination. Bookmark me!
My recommendation for Europe sim cards
Buying a local prepaid sim card is the cheapest way to stay connected when traveling abroad in 2023! In the links above you will find specific guides for buying a local sim card per country or airport, which means on arrival in Europe.
But I can totally understand that you want to travel to Europe and be complete prepared and don't want to get in line at the airport or waste an hour waiting for your turn in a local mobile phone store. So if you want to arrange a sim card for Europe before your trip then this is your ultimate guide.
Traveltomtom's personal tip for traveling to Europe in 2023? Buy an e-sim card for Europe! Easy, fast and no need to swap physical sim cards anymore. You can already get 10 GB data for $24.90 USD. E-sim cards for Europe are offered by Airalo and by SimOptions. Click on the link to directly buy them online or see the below comparison of the best sim cards for Europe first.
All the sim cards listed in this article are European sim cards with data that you can order online before your trip. All these international prepaid sim cards will be shipped to your home address before your trip and are activated automatically from its first use. In most case there is free shipping to the US included. E-sim cards for Europe obviously go through email.
Be aware that some e-sim cards are valid from the moment they are activated.
Traveltomtom also recommends world sim cards with global coverage. Check out my article with a comparison of the best international sim cards for travelling in 2023.
Why buying a sim card for Europe
A very simple question? Do you want to rely on others when traveling to Europe? Yes, your hotel, bar, restaurant, train and even park have free public WiFi these days. So getting WiFi when traveling is fairly easy. Yet, Traveltomtom still recommend you getting a sim card for Europe.
First of all public WiFi can not be trusted in speed, signal and security. What if the signal in your hotel room is weak and you can't change rooms? Or it is too slow to even upload an Instagram story. Getting connected with your phone makes traveling so much easier, just like real life!
Also another reminder that surfing the internet on public WiFi is through an UNSECURED network. The use of a VPN is recommended in these cases to protect your privacy.
Think about ordering a cab on the streets through a taxi app, or getting directions from Google Maps and finding a nearby restaurants with good reviews or finding out the train schedule to get back to your hotel. So many reasons Traveltomtom recommends getting a sim card for your trip to Europe.
Local sim card vs. European sim card
All sim cards mentioned in this article are sim cards with FREE EU roaming intended for those that visit a couple countries on a short trip. However, if you only travel to 1 or 2 countries in Europe you might be better off buying a local sim card on arrival. Local sim cards are mostly valid in 1 country only. Especially for a trip to Eastern Europe I would recommend buying a local sim card, rather than a European sim card.
For a complete overview of all sim card prices per country have a look at my guide for buying a local sim card in Europe in 2023.
I love traveling in Europe off the beaten path, have a look at my 12 secret places to visit. I bet some of them you have never even heard of.
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To make it all easy for travelers coming to Europe, just buy your sim card online before your trip! Here are the 12 best European prepaid sim cards and e-sim cards for Europe. The best ones are ranked first...
1. Orange Europe prepaid sim card - 20 GB
The best value for money is given by Orange and according to Traveltomtom this is the best Europe sim card for tourists and therefore mentioned first.
Price: $49.90 USD
- 20 GB data in all of the EU including Switzerland, UK, Iceland and Norway
- Unlimited calling & texting in Europe
- 120 minutes to any country in the world
- 1000 sms to any country in the world
- Valid 14 days
- Automatically activated from the first time it connects to a supported network in Europe
- Top up available
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- Sim card comes with a phone number from France starting with +33
Click on the link above to order it directly online and see if you can get free shipping as well. The only downside about this prepaid sim card for Europe is that it is valid for just 14 days. If your trip to Europe is longer than 14 days I recommend you getting one of the below (e)-sim cards for Europe.
2. Orange Europe e-Sim card - 20 GB
The exact same as the above but then the e-sim card version.
Price: $49.90 USD
- 20 GB data in all of the EU including Switzerland, UK, Iceland and Norway
- Unlimited calling & texting in Europe
- 120 minutes to any country in the world
- 1000 sms to any country in the world
- Valid 14 days
- Automatically activated from the first time it connects to a supported network in Europe
- Top up available
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- Sim card comes with a phone number from France starting with +33
3. Smart Comfort X e-Sim - 5 GB
Price $17.90 USD
- 5 GB data in all of the EU (NOT in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland)
- Data-only sim card
- Valid for 30 days as soon as the e-sim has been downloaded and activated
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
Unfortunately this e-sim card for Europe does not support local calls. That said, in Europe everyone uses Whatsapp calls anyway so still a great way to stay connected when traveling to Europe.
4. O2 Go Card e-Sim - 10 GB
Great sim card for traveling in Europe however, not very limited calling credit included and top up not possible.
Price: $24.90
- 10 GB data in all of Europe (Switzerland NOT included)
- $2 credit for calls in Europe
- Receiving unlimited calls in all of the covered countries in Europe
- Valid for 30 days from its installation, even if not in Europe yet
- It comes with a Czech number starting with +420
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
5. O2 Go Card Prepaid sim card - 10 GB
The same as the above e-sim card but then a physical sim card that you order online and will be shipped to your home address.
Price: $24.90
- 10 GB data in all of Europe (Switzerland NOT included)
- $2 credit for calls in Europe (top up online available only for EU citizens. For non-EU citizens only within Czech Republic)
- $2 credit for sms in Europe
- Receiving unlimited calls in all of the covered countries in Europe
- Valid for 30 days from its installation, even if not in Europe yet
- It comes with a Czech number starting with +420
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
6. Three (3) Data Pack prepaid - 10 GB
Advantage compared to the Orange sim card: valid for 30 days instead of 14 days.
Price: $24.90 USD
- 10 GB data in all of Europe including Switzerland, UK, Norway, Iceland and even some overseas territories of EU countries
- Unlimited calls/sms in all of Europe
- Valid 30 days from inserting in phone
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- No top up possible
- Sim card comes with a phone number from UK starting with +44
7. Three (3) Data Pack prepaid - 12 GB
Advantage compared to the Orange sim card: valid for 30 days instead of 14 days.
Price: $29.90 USD
- 12 GB data in all of Europe including Switzerland, UK, Norway, Iceland and even some overseas territories of EU countries
- Unlimited calls/sms in all of Europe
- Valid 30 days from inserting in phone
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- No top up possible
- Sim card comes with a phone number from UK starting with +44
8. Eurolink 3 GB e-Sim card for Europe
Personally just 3 GB data I think is not enough these days, but it is an option for those who do not use much social media apps and therefore less data. It is one of the cheapest sim cards for Europe.
Price $13 USD
- 3 GB data in all of the EU including Switzerland, Norway, UK, Iceland AND Turkey and Ukraine
- Data-only sim card
- Valid for 30 days from first time e-sim connects to a supported network
- Supports 5G in several countries in Europe
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
9. Orange Holiday Zen e-Sim card for Europe - 8 GB
Price: $29.90 USD
- 8 GB data in all of Europe including Switzerland, UK, Iceland and Norway
- Unlimited calling & texting in Europe
- 120 minutes to any country in the world
- 1000 sms to any country in the world
- Valid for 14 days from the first time it connects to a supported network in Europe
- Top up available
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- Sim card comes with a phone number from France starting with +33
There is also a prepaid sim card version of this sim card, which you can order in the same link.
10. Three (3) sim card for Europe - 12 GB - 1 year
I only recommend this sim card for Europe for people that travel to Europe often! The sim card only holds data credit but the credit is valid for 1 year!
Price: $59.90 USD
- 12 GB data in all of Europe including Switzerland, UK, Norway, Iceland and even some overseas territories of EU countries
- Unlimited calls/sms in all of Europe
- Valid for 1 year from inserting in phone
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- No top up possible
- Sim card comes with a phone number from UK starting with +44
- Unlimited receiving calls and text within Europe
11. Three (3) data only sim card for Europe - 24 GB - 2 years
Similar to the above Three Europe sim card but then with a validity of 2 years!
Price: $79.90 USD
- 24 GB data in all of Europe including Switzerland, UK, Norway, Iceland and even some overseas territories of EU countries
- Unlimited calls/sms in all of Europe
- Valid for 2 years from inserting in phone
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
- No top up possible
- Sim card comes with a phone number from UK starting with +44
- Unlimited receiving calls and text within Europe
12. Eurolink E-sim card for Europe - 50 GB - valid 90 days
Price $100 USD
- 50 GB data in all of the EU including Switzerland, Norway, UK, Iceland AND Turkey and Ukraine
- Data-only sim card
- Valid for 90 days from first time e-sim connects to a supported network
- Supports 5G in several countries in Europe
- ID verification/registration is NOT required
Free data roaming on European sim cards
The European Union came in 2017 finally with the genius idea to let go of roaming charges within the EU countries. Therefore since June 2017 people can use their sim card from Spain in Italy and their Germany sim card in Sweden without any extra charges. For people looking for a sim card for Europe travel this was the best news ever of course.
Therefore upon arrival in Europe you only need to buy one local prepaid sim card and you are connected to the internet during all of your trip in Europe. Well there are always exceptions so keep reading…
That being said the UK, Switzerland and Norway are exceptions. As you know these are countries in Europe, but they are NOT part of the European Union, which means roaming costs will apply for these sim cards. Brexit threw the UK out of the European Union and one of the major problems is the free EU roaming on UK prepaid sim cards.
Buying a local sim card for Europe on arrival
The best deals for European sim cards you get on arrival in Europe. In France for example you get 150 GB data for €20 and data bundles in Italy are also big. But most countries in Eastern Europe they do NOT offer free EU data roaming at all. Therefore I recommend you to check my complete guide for buying a local sim card in Europe in 2023, with a specific list of every country in Europe and what prices to expect on arrival.
I hope all the above tips for finding the best sim card for Europe in 2023 were helpful. May you still have questions please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment below.
Looking for off the beaten path destinations in Europe then click on the link and I bet most of those places you have never even heard of. Let me fuel you with some more wanderlust. If interested check out my Instagram profile @traveltomtom as see more of my journey to visit every country in the world. As of May 2023 I have traveled to more than 155 countries.
Enjoy your trip to Europe!
Some links in this article about the best travel sim cards for Europe are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate links I earn a small commission. Don’t worry this is at absolutely no extra cost to you!
