Flying to Vienna for a trip to Austria and looking for the best way to get connected? This is the perfect guide with everything you need to know for buying a prepaid sim card at Vienna Airport. You can find where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per July 2022, my recommendation and even information about international and e-sim cards for Austria.
As part of my journey to visit every country in the world I get to a lot of countries and airports. The first thing I do on arrival is buying a local prepaid sim card to get connected to the internet. It became a passion to research the best prepaid sim card available and that is how I already wrote more than 150 guides for buying prepaid sim cards all over the world: Europe, Dublin, Iceland, Budapest, Venice, Zagreb, Milan, Copenhagen, but also places like Hong Kong, Pakistan, Rwanda, Cameroon, Croatia, New York, Dominican Republic and many more.
Why buying a sim card in Austria
Don't rely on other people! Having a working data connection makes traveling so much easier. Getting an Uber on the streets, finding your way around the city with the directions from Google Maps, etc. So many reasons to buy a local sim card and staying connected.
Yes, your hotel has free WiFi and so do the restaurants and bars in Vienna, but there is no guarantee it is actually works or is fast enough. Also keep in mind that public WiFi's are UNSECURED networks, so be careful!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom does NOT recommend buying a sim card at Vienna Airport as prices for data are very expensive compared to Austria sim card in the city of Vienna. If you really want to get connected straight away we recommend you to go to the BIPA convenience store and buy a 3 (Drei/Three) prepaid sim card. You will have to do the activation yourself, but it is doable. For €10 you get 4 GB data.
Check my article about the best prepaid sim cards for tourists in Austria in 2022 and let me help you buy a local sim card in Vienna city center! Much better prepaid sim card deals!
Another great option would be looking into my comparison of the best international sim cards for traveling in 2022. Some of them are actually very good deals for traveling to Austria. Are you extending your trip in Europe then you want to see my list of the best Europe sim cards in 2022.
When you don't want to change your number and swap sim cards then you can opt for a pocket WiFi. How do these portable WiFi's work? Check out my article about the best way to get WiFi abroad and I give you my HONEST review about these travel items.
But this is so old school, the easiest way to get connected when traveling abroad is an e-sim card.
E-sim cards for Austria
No more swapping physical sim cards, you can now arrange everything online, right here, right now. It just takes a couple minutes. You order an e-sim card, you get an email with instructions, apply the settings, fill out a code and you are all set and connected. Check out the following Austria e-sim card deals:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $7 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $14 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $21 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $31.5 USD
Click here to order one of the above e-sim card deals for Austria or find more info.
You can also still order a physical sim card for Austria. For example $30 USD will give you 10 GB data. Click here to directly order an international sim card for traveling in Austria or check out all the offers and more info in the link.
Austria sim cards and FREE EU roaming
Because of the roaming laws in Europe there shouldn’t be any extra costs for using your Austria sim card in other European countries. This applies to all prepaid sim cards you can buy in Austria however, there are limitations. Therefore always ask your provider about the EU roaming policy when buying a sim card in Austria. Check out my article with all my tips and tricks and more info about free EU roaming for when buying a prepaid sim card in Europe in 2022.
RELATED: Ultimate Vienna Travel Guide for 2022, with places to visit, things to do cool , cool restaurants, rooftop bars and more. Traveling to Vienna in Winter? Read all about the Christmas markets in this article.
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Vienna Airport - VIE
As of June 2021 there is still ongoing construction at Vienna Airport. It is not the most convenient airport at the moment but arrival is simple. ALL passengers arrive in Terminal 3 and there is only one (busy) arrival hall and one exit after luggage collection.
Where to buy a sim card at Vienna Airport
There are three different places that sell sim cards. Two shops are identical and are called Wowww and then there is another option called the BIPA convenience store.
As soon as you step into the arrival hall you are forced to go either left or right. Both directions will lead you right into the Wowww stores at Vienna Airport. So you can not miss them! Although I wish you actually could… ;)
The BIPA convenience store can be found if you go left and you keep on walking towards Terminal 1. It is just 100 meters away on your right hand side.
I already wrote blogs about buying an international sim card in almost every countries across Europe and more than 25 airports like: Budapest, Zagreb, Geneva, London, Copenhagen, etc. All the information from those articles I used to find the best sim card for Europe. Click on the link to find my complete guide.
Prices Vienna Airport sim cards in 2022
Lately I was at Venice and Milan Airport and I thought I found the biggest tourist sim card scam in Europe but unfortunately Vienna Airport is even worse. Asking Vienna Airport information about where to buy an Austria sim card they said Wowww is the only place to buy a sim card at Vienna Airport. WRONG!
Anyway sit back and read the next thing carefully…
Wowww store Vienna Airport
The arrogant employees at both Wowww stores at Vienna Airport are selling Austria sim cards for an absolutely ridiculous price! The cheapest option for an Austria prepaid sim card at Vienna Airport is:
- €65: 100 minutes and 100 MB!
Are you kidding me!? The registration fee only is already €40, then they dare to charge you another €10 for the sim card and then €15 for 100 MB. This is not the only sim card they offer, they have more of course, but I refuse to write it all down! See the picture below…
Please people do NOT buy any Austria sim card from the Wowww Vienna Airport shop please!
The reason I write these blogs is to make you save money so you can travel more! As a professional travel blogger I am in a position to show people that traveling does NOT have to be expensive. Therefore please people stay away from this shop! This is the most ridiculous price I have ever seen for a local prepaid sim card and I wrote more than 100 blogs about buying sim cards all over the world.
Update! The Wowww store now also sells an Eety sim card and they offer 3 different packages:
- €29,99 = 15 GB data in Austria + 1000 minutes + 500 sms in Europe - valid for 30 days.
- €39,99 = 10 GB data in Europe + 1000 minutes + 500 sms in Europe - valid for 30 days.
- €59,99 = Unlimited data in Austria + unlimited minutes/sms in Europe - valid for 30 days.
Ok Wowww store, you listened clearly to my blog post and I am happy you now have normal prices for tourists sim cards in 2022. Still pretty expensive compared to other European countries.
BIPA convenience store Vienna Airport
According to the Airport information the Wowww store is the only one that sells sim cards, but that is NOT true! I found out that the BIPA convenience store also sells prepaid sim cards for Austria. Mind you this is not a phone shop but a cosmetics shop. They have a bunch of Austria sim cards for sale, but…
This is self service! The ladies working at Bipa have zero clue about it and can’t give you any information or answer your questions.
I speak fluent German so I tried to figure out whatever these Austria sim cards offer, but still I was left with many questions!
Anyway I found 3 different sim cards for Austria at the BIPA convenience store.
EETY Austria prepaid sim card
Just forget about this one straight away: only 100 MB data for €15! Stupid.
Also this sim card is only valid for 15 days. Although in 15 minutes I would probably already been through my 100 MB data bundle anyway. These sim card offers make me laugh. RIP OFF!
Three (3) Austria prepaid sim card
IA Three (3) prepaid sim card costs only €9,90 so this is something I would recommend trying. How much you get for this price is a valid question. This prepaid sim card package says on the front: including 10 GB. On the back it says: 1000 minutes, 1000 sms and 4 GB. I tried to figure it out for you but with no luck. You can probably choose either one of the below package when activating.
This Three Austria sim card is valid for 30 days, free data roaming in the EU is NOT included.
Lyca Mobile Austria prepaid sim card
A Lyca Mobile sim card at Vienna Airport can also be bought from the Bipa store. It costs €12 and gives you €10 credit and if you register online you get €2 extra credit.
According to the Lyca Mobile website you can get 30 GB data for €11,90 and it says EU data roaming! BUT… if you read the small letters it tells you that the data roaming outside Austria is capped to 1 GB only. Exactly this is the reason why I never recommend Lycamobile: false advertising!!!!
Best Austria sim card at Vienna Airport
It is a pretty simple conclusion to determine the best Austria sim card at Vienna Airport. You gotta be at the Bipa convenience store and take a leap of faith. A Three sim card for €10 will give you by far the best value. The 3 Austria sim card is activated already, but it needs a sign up. Read more about this below.
However, with all that hassle it is pretty clear that Traveltomtom of course DOES NOT RECOMMEND buying a sim card at Vienna Airport for your trip to Europe.
Wait till you get to Vienna city center and get a sim card for Austria there. Check out my article about the best prepaid sim card in Austria in 2022 or get yourself a sim card for Austria online.
Activate a Three (3) Austria sim card
To activate the Three Austria sim card you can buy at the BIPA convenience store you will need sign up online. That means you will need an internet connection to go to their website as described on the back of the package. When singing up and activating your €10 package you can choose to either go for a data only package or data + talk package. The data only package will give you 10 GB data to be used across Europe for 30 days. A great deal!
You can also choose the data + talk option which will give you only 4 GB data but you get 1,000 minutes + 1,000 texts to be used in Europe. Unfortunately the website of Three Austria is only in German, but if you pop into a Three store Im sure they will gladly help you.
The Three Austria sim card at Vienna Airport is the cheapest, but also complicated to get activated!
Buy a sim card for Austria online
This all sounds like too much effort and hassle? Then order your sim card for Austria online and get it shipped to your home address before your trip. Easy, quick and convenient... just put it in your phone on your arrival and it gets activated automatically. Check out the following international sim card deals for Austria and all of Europe:
1. Orange Holiday ZEN - $29.90
- 8 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe
- 30 minutes worldwide
- 200 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
2. Three PAYG AIO15 - $29.90
- 10 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
3. Three PAYG AIO20 - $39.90
- 12 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
4. Orange Holiday Europe - $49.90
- 20 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe
- 120 minutes worldwide
- 1,000 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
Click here to order one of the above international sim cards for Austria or find more info. Personally I recommend option 3 and 4. These international sim cards will be shipped to your home address and are pre-activated.
Also another reminder that you can also order an e-sim card for Austria to stay connected on your trip to Vienna!
How to get from Vienna airport to city center
After you bought your prepaid sim card for Austria at Vienna Airport or NOT, you can easily get from the airport to the city center. There is a direct fast train called City Airport Train (CAT). This bad boy costs you €12 one-way per person and takes like 30 minutes. It leaves every 30 minutes and brings you directly to Vienna Mitte. This is also a shopping mall where you will find a 3 Austria, T-Mobile Austria and an A1 store.
But all in all it is just 8-10 minutes faster than a normal bus/tram, which leaves much more frequent and costs only €4,20 per person one-way. Up to you! ;)
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card for Austria on arrival at Vienna Airport were helpful for your upcoming trip. Still questions? Please leave me a message below and I am happy to help you with all your questions.
For Vienna travel tips in winter click on the link to read my article. When traveling to Vienna in summer than have a look at my complete Vienna travel guide including a 3-day itinerary.
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 July 2022 I have visited more than 135 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Austria!
