The best SIM cards for travelling across Europe

Europe is a super popular destination for Australian travellers, whether it’s for business purposes or simply to take in the hundreds of years of culture across the continent – not to mention all the very fine regional food options open to you. Which is great, right up until you want to call back to the office, check your messages or simply send a photo of that amazing meal you just had to social media.

That’s where having a smart approach to your travel SIM can save you serious money. While the really bad old days where watching one YouTube video could send you into bankruptcy on your return to Australian shores are (mostly) behind us, it’s still worth weighing up your options to get the best deal, whether you plan to use a full “Travel” SIM, a local SIM option or roaming from your existing telco.

It is worth noting that if your European travel is purely within the European Union (as distinct from the wider European continent) then the EU’s roaming rules around calls, texts and data apply – but it’s worth checking if a given provider has fair use provisions for roaming use in play for data, as those can sometimes obscure hidden fees.

You're probably already familiar with Jetpac's parent company Circles.Life, a popular SIM provider in Australia that offers huge data-per-dollar value. Jetpac Global is the company's global travel eSIM brand that offers instant connectivity in over 100 different countries. 

Jetpac's Europe eSIM starts at just $1.50 for 4 days of coverage and includes 1GB of data to use in 28 European countries. That's fewer countries than Airalo, but most of the major regions are still covered. 

Jetpac's 30-day plans start at $22 for 5GB of data and go all the way to 40GB of data for $94. Conveniently, Jetpac plans can be purchased and activated directly through the app (iOS and Android,) no matter where you are in the world. 

Airalo’s business model is entirely eSIM focused based around its own app. For European travellers across a number of countries your best best is one of its Eurolink packages, covering 39 countries with coverage periods ranging from 7 days to 180 days and data inclusions from 1GB up to 100GB. If your travel needs are more constrained, Airalo also offers single country packages that may offer you more data for less money, so it’s smart to check beforehand.

The big advantage here is that you can set up the Airalo app and an account all before you ever step foot on a plane, giving you peace of mind that when you land you’ll be able to message home with confidence. The downside, however, is that you must have an eSIM-enabled handset to use Airalo’s services, which cuts out many budget phones and some older premium models entirely.

Honestly, buying a full “travel” SIM designed for global use is always your worst bet, financially speaking. The complexities of offering global coverage add to the costs considerably, so if you’re buying on a budget they’re rarely the cheapest option.

Travel SIMs sell on their convenience, and if you are buying on a budget and you’re more concerned with calls and text coverage, it’s hard to go past Australia’s Post’s offering. Yes, we’re as surprised as you are, but the friendly local post office might just be your best bet for very low cost roaming indeed, at just $5 for 30 days of coverage.

$5 really isn’t much to spend at all, but you are getting an utterly bare-bones experience for your money, with just 50 minutes of calls – incoming and outgoing count – and 50 texts, plus 50MB of data. That last point is the crunchy one, because you’d absolutely have to pair that up with judicious use of lots of European hotel and public Wi-Fi across your trip.

Vodafone was the first Australian telco to really get on board with roaming charges that didn’t make you feel like you’d just been run over by a 747 when you returned home. Its $5/day surcharge to access your plan’s existing inclusions remains the gold standard for ease of use and ease of understanding, though it’s worth noting that its data capped speed plans do not include the endless speed capped data once you’ve gone through your primary provision. In those cases, you’ll get hit for $5 for each additional 1GB of data you need.

Here's a selection of Vodafone plans that support $5/day international roaming

The big catch with Vodafone $5 a day roaming is that it adds up over a lengthy European sojourn, so it’s best matched for when you might be quickly travelling through Europe for just a couple of days. Anything longer than that, and travel SIMs, local SIMs and travel eSIMs quickly become a more financially prudent option.

Vodafone aren’t your only option for roaming-friendly telcos within Australia, however. Here’s a range of alternative telco options that support roaming within Europe: