My trip through Europe in July 2019 also brought me to Vienna Airport. As there are many intercontinental flights arriving I put together this blog about buying an Austria sim card upon arrival at Vienna Airport. I researched all the opportunities, checked out the prices and came with a conclusion. Also click here for my complete Vienna travel guide full of tips for a weekend in Vienna.
I already wrote blogs about buying an international sim card in almost 20 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.
Also if you can wait to buy a sim card in Vienna city then read my article about the best prepaid sim card in Austria for tourists.
Austria sim cards and traveling in Europe
Because of the new roaming laws in Europe there shouldn’t be any extra costs for using your Austria sim card in other European countries. This applies to a 3 (Drei) Austria and an A1 Austria sim card, but unfortunately NOT to a T-Mobile Austria prepaid sim card. So be careful and first ask when buying an Austria sim card for traveling in Europe.
Buy a Europe sim card online
You can also save yourself all the hassle buying a sim card at Vienna Airport by ordering your Europe sim card online through this link. You will get an Orange sim card with 20 GB data to be used in 30 countries across Europe, including 120 international minutes. Click on the link for more info or click the Orange banner below.
3 best Austria sim cards you can buy online
If you don't want to waste your precious Austria holiday time standing in line for buying an Austria sim card then order one online. On top of the above mentioned Orange sim card for Europe, the following prepaid sim cards are perfect for traveling in Austria:
Orange Smart Comfort S - 8 GB data
Price: $30
- 8 GB data
- 30 minutes worldwide
- 200 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
Three Smart Silver - 5 GB data
Price: $30
- 5 GB data
- Unlimited calls within Europe
- Unlimited sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
Three Smart Gold - 12 GB data
Price: $40
- 12 GB data
- Unlimited calls within Europe
- Unlimited sms within Europe
- Valid 30 days
Vienna Airport - VIE
At the moment there is construction going on at Vienna Airport. It is not the most convenient airport 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 Bipa.
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. So you can not miss them! Although I wish you actually could… ;)
The Bipa store can be found if you go left and you keep on walking towards Terminal 1. It is just 200 meters away from the exit of the luggage belts.
Prices Vienna Airport sim cards
Lately I was at Venice and Milan Airport and I thought I found the biggest scam regarding tourist sim cards for Europe but unfortunately Vienna Airport is even worse. Asking Vienna Airport information about where to buy a 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 the Wowww stores 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 teach 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 sim card and I wrote more than 100 blogs about buying local sim cards all over the world.
Bipa store Vienna Airport
According to the Airport information the Wowww store was the only one that sells sim cards, but that is not true. I found out that the BIpa store also sells sim cards. 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 Austria sim cards:
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.
This Three Austria sim card is valid for 30 days.
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 I never recommend Lyca Mobile: false advertising!!!!
Best Austria sim card at Vienna Airport
It is a pretty simple conclusion find the best Austria sim card at Vienna Airport. You gotta be at the Bipa store and take a leap of faith.
A Three sim card for less than €10 will give you by far the best value. The 3 Austria sim card is activated already and may be you get 10 GB, may be you get 4 GB! LOL
Anyway if you are not In a rush I of course recommend you to NOT buy a sim card in Vienna. Click on the following link to see what is the best prepaid sim card in Austria for tourists.
Buy an Austria sim card for Europe online
Don’t want all this hassle on your trip to Austria and/or Europe? Have a look at this Orange sim card which you can order online. It gives you 20 GB data and 120 international minutes. Click on the link or banner below to get more info.
Portable Wifi for Austria
Check out a TEP Wireless pocket Wifi for Austria and Europe if this sounds interesting to you. Especially handy if traveling to Europe with kids. It gives you unlimited internet and you can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. Click on the banner for more info.
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 to will cost you only €4,20 per person one-way. Up to you… ;)
I hope all the above tips for buying an Austria sim card at Vienna Airport were helpful for your upcoming trip. Still questions? Please send me a DM on my Instagram @traveltomtom. Im happy to help with all your Europe travel questions.
In case you wonder how I afford to travel the world for more than 7 years and how I make money travel blogging have a look at the stories in the above links.
Enjoy your trip to Austria!
