Having quick and dependable cell knowledge in your cellphone whereas touring round Greece (particularly whereas island hopping) is a should today as a result of a lot of Greek life requires cell knowledge—you’ll want a cellphone to entry cell prepare tickets, Google Maps, restaurant menus, museum/occasion tickets, UBER/taxi, and far more.
On this information, I’ll cowl all the things it’s good to learn about shopping for a SIM Card in Greece and how you can purchase the perfect high-speed cell knowledge plan that received’t price you some huge cash.
How To Purchase An SIM Card With A Excessive-Pace Knowledge For Greece
You’ve gotten two most important choices for getting a SIM Card for Greece:
- The Straightforward Means – Purchase a SIM Card Earlier than Your Journey: Shopping for a SIM card earlier than you journey is a bit more costly however it’s far more handy (and you’ve got cell knowledge as quickly as you arrive in Italy).
- The Cheaper Means – Purchase a SIM Card In Greece: Shopping for a SIM Card after arriving in Greece may be cheaper however it’s extra of a trouble as a result of it’s important to observe down a SIM retailer after arrival.
- On the whole, it’s simpler to pre-buy a pay as you go knowledge plan if you happen to’re visiting for lower than two weeks. However shopping for a neighborhood SIM card might be less expensive for longer journeys.
UPDATE: Most new telephones are eSIM appropriate—which is MUCH extra handy than bodily SIM playing cards as a result of it doesn’t require you to put in a brand new bodily SIM card. You merely purchase the pay as you go knowledge plan, scan a QR code that’s despatched to your e-mail to put in the digital “card”, and also you’re able to go. Learn The Savvy Backpacker’s Information To The Finest eSIM Knowledge Plans for Europe to study extra.
How To Purchase A Pay as you go Greek SIM Card Earlier than You Journey (i.e. The Straightforward Means)
The simplest technique to get cell knowledge in your cellphone in Greece is to purchase a pay as you go European SIM card earlier than departing.
There are a number of knowledge plans geared toward guests—they’re a bit costlier than shopping for a SIM card in Greece however there’s zero trouble (no monitoring down a cell phone store, no registering your SIM card, no coping with individuals who don’t communicate English, and so forth).
When you get the SIM card, you merely set up it when you’re in Greece and it robotically connects to a neighborhood cell knowledge supplier.
There are a variety of various cell knowledge plans obtainable at SimOptions.com (I’ve used them prior to now) and so they’ll ship the SIM card to you earlier than your journey.
You’ll in all probability spend an additional $15-$20 over the course of a two-week journey if you happen to purchase forward vs ready to buy in Greece. Personally, I feel the extra price is definitely worth the comfort.
The Finest Vacationer Pleasant Pre-Paid SIM Playing cards For Greece
Listed here are my high SIM playing cards if you happen to’re wanting a pre-purchase your SIM earlier than arriving in Greece:
Orange Vacation Europe Pay as you go SIM Card
The Orange Vacation Europe Pay as you go SIM Card is the perfect all-around SIM card possibility for Greece (and the remainder of Europe) as a result of it provides quite a lot of knowledge for a great value—and it consists of worldwide calling and texts. The principle downside is the 14-day validity interval—which doesn’t matter in case your journey is lower than two weeks. That stated, you should purchase an additional 10GB of credit score for an extra two weeks for round $25.
This plan additionally permits knowledge tethering so you need to use your cellphone as a cell hotspot. Moreover, Orange is likely one of the largest cell corporations in Europe in order that they have nice protection all through most of Europe (which isn’t at all times the case with smaller European carriers).
Plan Specs:
- PRICE: $50
- DATA: 20GB
- CALLS: Unlimted in Europe and 1200 minutes worldwide
- TEXT: Unlimted in Europe and 1000 worldwide
- USED AS A MOBILE HOTSPOT?: Sure
- COVERAGE AREA: All of Europe (together with Switzerland)
- CREDIT VALID FOR: 14 Days
If you wish to save a bit cash, take a look at the $30 Orange Vacation Zen SIM plan that offers you 8GB of information for 14 days.
Take a look at the Orange Vacation Europe eSIM if you happen to’d quite have the eSIM model of the Orange Vacation Europe knowledge plan.
Orange Vacation Zen Pay as you go SIM Card
For lighter knowledge customers, I like to recommend the $30 Orange Vacation Zen SIM Card—it provides you 8GB of information for 14 days however in any other case, it’s primarily the identical plan because the Orange Vacation Europe SIM.
Orange Vacation Zen SIM Card Specs:
- PRICE: $30
- DATA: 8GB
- CALLS: Unlimted in Europe and 600 minutes worldwide
- TEXT: Unlimted in Europe and 500 worldwide
- USED AS A MOBILE HOTSPOT?: Sure
- CREDIT VALID FOR: 14 Days
- COVERAGE AREA: All of Europe (together with Switzerland)
Take a look at the Orange Vacation Zen eSIM if you happen to’d quite have the eSIM model of the Orange Vacation Zen plan.
Three UK PAYG AIO15
Three UK is one other massive European cell service and their PAYG AIO15 plan is an efficient worth for individuals who don’t want the 20GB supplied by the Orange Vacation Europe plan. I like how the plan has a validity interval of 30 days so it’s good for longer journeys.
Plan Specs:
- PRICE: $25
- DATA: 10GB
- CALLS: Unlimted in Europe
- TEXT: Unlimted in Europe
- USED AS A MOBILE HOTSPOT?: No
- COVERAGE AREA: All of Europe (together with Switzerland)
- CREDIT VALID FOR: 30 Days
Notice: SimOptions.com has different playing cards on the market however these are my most popular offers.
The place To Purchase a Native SIM Card in Greece
Shopping for a neighborhood pay as you go SIM Card in Greece is a reasonably simple course of however realizing the place to purchase a SIM card may be complicated since they’re bought at a number of locations—together with particular person road distributors, airport kiosks, and retail storefronts.
Should you don’t need to take care of the trouble, it’s best to easily purchase an Orange Vacation Europe SIM Card or an Orange Vacation eSIM or Holafly Greece eSIM earlier than you arrive in Greece—plus the service works in any European nation.
Shopping for SIM Playing cards From Main Cell Carriers in Greece
The three main cell carriers in Greece are Wind, Cosmote, and Vodafone.
Every firm has bodily storefronts in main cities that promote pay as you go SIM playing cards. Their workers will possible communicate some English however it’s not assured. That stated, they take care of telephones all day so that you shouldn’t have an excessive amount of hassle.
Every service has numerous totally different SIM card plans at a number of value factors. Plan choices change typically so it’s onerous to really know what’s obtainable till you go to in particular person.
- Wind and Wind’s price range subsidiary service referred to as Free2Go: In response to their web site the most affordable plans begin round $13/GB so it’s a bit pricy.
- Cosmote: Cosmote is Italy’s largest cell community. They’ve numerous limitless knowledge plans that final from 24 hours to a full week.
- Vodafone: Vodafone is extra reasonably priced with 15GB plans that price round $20.
NOTE: Many of those SIM playing cards solely include restricted knowledge so that you’re required to “high up” to be able to get the total quantity of information.
Shopping for SIM Playing cards At The Athens Airport
There are a number of SIM Card sellers on the baggage declare space of the Athens airport however I like to recommend skipping them as they’re very overpriced.
Third-Social gathering Cellphone Outlets
There are numerous cell phone outlets all through Greece that promote a spread of cellphone plans from a number of cell carriers. Staff may have the ability to provide some assist getting arrange however service in all probability received’t be nearly as good as carrier-specific outlets.
Newsstands, Tobacco Outlets, Merchandising Machines, And so forth:
SIM playing cards are bought in a number of smaller outlets at airports, prepare stations, and randomly all through most cities. Don’t anticipate any customer support at these places and choices might be restricted.
Greece Pay as you go SIM Card Fundamentals
Right here is a few useful background information on cell knowledge plans so you’ve got a greater concept of how cell knowledge service works in Greece.
You’ll Want Your Passport To Purchase A SIM Card in Greece
You’re required to supply your passport once you purchase a SIM card in Greece. The store will make a duplicate of your passport.
You’ll Get European Union-Vast Protection
A legislation was lately handed within the EU which banned cell carriers from charging roaming charges inside the EU—which implies a SIM card you purchased in Greece can be utilized in Frace with out paying any further charges. That is nice for vacationers as a result of you need to use one plan in every single place.
- Listed here are the nations/areas the place there isn’t any knowledge roaming: Andorra, Azores, Aland islands, Austria, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Corfu, Crete, the Cyclades, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France mainland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Eire, Iceland, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg. Madeira, Malta. Isle of Man, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Rhodes, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Vatican
Your Cellphone Should Be Unlocked
Some cell carriers (primarily within the US, Australia, and New Zealand) “lock” their telephones in order that they’ll solely work on that service’s community—this usually applies when you’ve got a plan that features a free cellphone with a multi-year contract. You’ll have to contact your service and have them “unlock” your cellphone so it would settle for a third-party SIM card.
Within the US, carriers are required to unlock telephones if the shopper requests it however it’s hardly ever unlocked by default. That stated, a number of carriers nonetheless make clients soar by hoops to unlock their telephones so don’t put this off till the final minute or you possibly can be out of luck.
A New SIM Card Offers You A New Cellphone Quantity
Putting in a brand new SIM card provides you a brand new cellphone quantity so your previous quantity received’t work till you reinstall your unique SIM card (until your cellphone has two SIM slots). So, if folks want to succeed in you, you’ll want to inform folks your new European quantity.
Moreover, numerous web sites and apps use two-factor authentication that’s linked to your cellphone quantity so that may now not be an possibility with the brand new SIM put in. And if you happen to use Uber/Lyft, you’ll have to replace your new cellphone quantity within the app once you set up your new SIM.
A advantage of getting an eSIM as an alternative of a bodily SIM is that you just maintain your unique cellphone quantity.
How A lot Cell Knowledge Do You Want?
So long as you’re not streaming music/movies or importing a ton of pictures, you in all probability received’t use greater than 3GB-6GB of cell knowledge every week.
Should you’re spending quite a lot of time on social media (notably Instagram and TikTok) you then may use a bit extra however if you happen to’re simply doing regular internet looking and utilizing Google Maps you then may solely use 1-2GB every week.
Extra Ideas On Utilizing Your Cell Cellphone In Greece
I’ve written extensively about utilizing smartphones and knowledge plans in Europe in addition to suggestions for shopping for SIM Playing cards For Visiting Europe however beneath are some extra useful recommendations on utilizing your cellphone in Greece.
Get A Transportable Battery Charger
Touring together with your cellphone will rapidly drain your batteries so I extremely suggest a conveyable battery. I take advantage of Anker PowerCore 10000 as a result of it’s tiny and reasonably priced however there are a number of choices.
Take Steps To Decrease Your Cell Knowledge Utilization
Knowledge may be costly and it’s extraordinarily straightforward to unknowingly burn by quite a lot of knowledge as a result of many apps use knowledge within the background. Fb, e-mail, Instagram, Snapchat… these all consistently use knowledge all through the day with out you realizing it. That’s it’s vital to know how you can restrict your knowledge utilization.
Use Airplane Mode And Block Knowledge to Particular Apps
I’ll put my cellphone in Airplane Mode as a result of that disables all knowledge (however GPS nonetheless works in Airplane Mode). You can too go into the settings and disable knowledge entry to every particular person app. I’ll go in and switch each off aside from issues like Google Maps or others that I’ll use extra ceaselessly — this manner after I flip off Airplane Mode solely these apps that may use knowledge. Then I’ll flip Airplane Mode again on after I’m completed.
Obtain Offline Maps
Google Maps allows you to obtain complete metropolis maps to allow them to be used offline. As an added bonus, GPS doesn’t use knowledge so offline Google Maps works pretty nicely (however not all performance works). Right here is an efficient YouTube video that explains all the things.
Make Calls Over WiFi
WhatsApp is a superb app without cost calling and textual content messages — I’ve discovered that many Europeans completely use WhatsApp to speak (together with many Airbnb hosts).
MORE SIM CARD AND MOBILE DATA PLAN RESOURCES
Listed here are a number of extra country-specific SIM Card guides I’ve written:
Extra Europe Journey Ideas From The Savvy Backpacker
James Feess is the creator of The Savvy Backpacker and the creator of the guide “The Savvy Backpacker’s Information To Europe On A Funds”. He is been running a blog about price range journey in Europe since 2010.
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Thanks For Studying! — James
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