eSIM Italy

You can buy a local SIM card in Italy at carrier stores in the larger cities, as well as at desks in airports and major train stations, but registration requires a passport, and airport booths tend to be pricier than shops in town. An eSIM lets you skip these formalities — you buy it online, set it up before you fly, and have internet as soon as you land, with no need to hunt for a shop after a long flight and no need to remove your own card. You get a single price known in advance and a full data allowance, and your existing number stays in the phone for calls and texts.

You'll find free wi-fi in Italy at the larger airports (Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa), at major train stations (Rome Termini), and on some Trenitalia, Italo, and Trenord trains, while the government-backed WiFi Italia app gives access to free hotspots in towns and cities. Public networks can be patchy, though, and many historic sites — Pompeii or the Roman Forum, for example — rarely have dedicated wi-fi. It's also better not to log in to online banking on an open public network. An eSIM gives you your own steady internet wherever there's mobile coverage, and the connection is more secure than open wi-fi.

The Iliad, Vodafone and Wind Tre network (4G/5G) covers almost the whole country — 4G reaches practically the entire population, and 5G is available in the largest cities, such as Rome, Milan, and Naples. Speeds are easily enough for navigation, streaming, and video calls. The signal can be weaker in out-of-the-way places — in the Alps and the Dolomites, on remote beaches in Sardinia, and in the national parks, where it can drop to 3G away from built-up areas. It's worth downloading offline maps before trips like these.

Having data on hand makes getting around Italy much easier. The Uber app barely works here — only Uber Black, with licensed drivers, is available — so people use the FreeNow app to book rides instead. Between cities, the fast Trenitalia and Italo trains are a comfortable option (the Frecciarossa reaches up to 300km/h), and you can check tickets and timetables in the operators' apps or in Moovit. If you're driving, watch out for the limited traffic zones (ZTL) in historic city centres — entering one without a permit means a fine, and navigation with internet helps you avoid them.

It depends on how you use your phone. For everyday use — maps, messaging, social media, and checking information — around 5GB is usually enough for a week. If you often watch video (an hour can use anywhere from about 1GB at standard quality to a few GB at 4K) or work remotely, an unlimited data plan is a good choice. There are packages from 1 to 20 GB, as well as unlimited data for periods of 3 to 30 days; you can also share the data with other devices over a hotspot.

It's best to set the eSIM up before you leave — any internet connection is enough for installation (wi-fi or mobile data), and you have a full 365 days from the purchase to do it. It works with newer iPhones and Android smartphones; you can check compatibility in your phone's settings, where the SIM or mobile network section offers an option to add an eSIM. Simply adding the profile to your phone doesn't start anything — the eSIM activates only when you first use data on the ground, in Italy. How you install it depends on your device: when the QR code appears on a separate screen (a computer or a second phone), you just scan it with the camera; when you buy directly on the phone you'll travel with, you copy the activation code you receive and paste it into Settings → Mobile Data → Add eSIM. The plan's validity period — for example 7, 15, or 30 days — starts from that first activation, that is, from the first time your phone connects to a mobile network in Italy, not from the moment of installation, so you can prepare everything in advance.