Are you planning a trip to Berlin and wondering if you can buy a sim card at Berlin Airport? Don't get fooled by slow overseas data roaming plans or let high roaming charges ruin your trip to Berlin. This is a complete guide for buying a prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport.
Find out where to buy a prepaid sim card for tourists, my recommendation, up to date prices as per January 2025, a vlog with my experiences arriving at Brandenburg Airport, info about eSIMs for Germany and everything else you need to know before buying a sim card at Berlin Airport.
Table of Contents
- My recommendation
- Why buying a sim card for Germany
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport
- Where to buy a prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport
- Prices prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport
- Best eSIMs for Germany
Traveltomtom also wrote a guide for buying a prepaid sim card at Frankfurt Airport as well as a complete guide for finding the best prepaid sim card for tourist in Germany in 2025.
If you are all about eSIMs then Traveltomtom has the ultimate guide guide for you with a comparison of the best eSIMs for traveling to Germany in 2025.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom does NOT recommend buying a prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport. There is only one prepaid sim card for tourist available and the value for money is NOT good. A tourist sim card with 15 GB is around $40 USD.
Buying a prepaid sim card for Germany in a phone store in Berlin city center gets you a much better sim card deal. Check out my detailed guide on how to buy a tourist sim card in Germany in 2025 or even easier get yourself an eSIM for Germany.
A Jetpac eSIM for Germany with 20 GB data is only $18 USD! Other recommended eSIM providers for Germany are Airalo and SimOptions.
Find more detailed info in my Germany eSIM guide with the best eSIMs for 2025.
Another option and also cheaper than buying a sim card at Berlin Airport is ordering an international sim card online. Check out my comparison of the best international travel sim cards in 2025 and pick the one that suits your trip the best.
Why buying a sim card for Germany
First off, we don't want to end up with high roaming charges. Don't use your sim card from home when traveling in Germany or get surprised with excessive high phone bills. Roaming charges are really expensive.
Also don't use expensive overseas data roaming plans. These plans limit your data speed and are much more expensive than buying a local prepaid sim card or getting an eSIM.
Also don't rely on public WiFi. Yes, your hotel has WiFi, but you will be surprised how many bars and restaurants in Germany do NOT provide free public WiFi even in 2025. Germany is big on privacy and people don't like to connect to public WiFi networks.
And what if you want to order a taxi through an app, quickly look up the train schedule or find a nearby restaurant with good reviews?
There are so many reasons for you to stay connected when traveling to Germany. Think about emergency situations or checking your banking apps.
Providing travelers with resourceful information about sim cards became a passion and combine that with Traveltomtom's journey to travel to every country in the world and you know why there are already more than 200 sim cards guides for tourists on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Europe, London, United Kingdom, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Spain, USA, Canada, Dubai, Istanbul, Turkey, Qatar, Thailand, Bangkok, Bali and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and eSIM advice for your next holiday destination. Bookmark me and let me help you save money!
Berlin Brandenburg Airport
After more than 10 years of disputes, trials, construction failures and many more problems the Brandenburg Airport finally opened. I was impressed by a very modern, spacious and easy to navigate airport. There are two doors into the Arrival Hall: 1 and 2.
International tourists can find a lot of valuable tourist information at the luggage belts like public transport info, machines for train and tram tickets and also ATM’ and exchange offices.
In the Arrival Hall there is even a Tourist Information Center where you can not only ask for help but the staff can also directly book your hotel, bus, public transport tickets, etc.
Where to buy a prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport
Unfortunately there are very few options to buy a sim card for Germany upon arrival at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Tourists can only buy a prepaid sim card at the Travelex - Currency Exchange stores.
Before going through the final customs baggage check you can buy a sim card at the Travelex - Currency Exchange shop at Luggage Belt A3.
If you enter the arrival hall after the customs baggage check there is another Travelex - Currency Exchange shop opposite Arrivals 1 next to the Relay shop.
Both Travelex - Currency Exchange stores are only open from 6.00 am until 6.00 pm. If you arrive outside these hours then tourists can NOT buy a prepaid sim card for Germany at Berlin Airport and the only way to buy a sim card for Germany is in Berlin city center.
Prices prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport
All prices and info are up to date as per January 2025. Prices are in Euros: $1 USD = €0.98 EUR and €1 EUR = $1.02 USD.
The Travelex store only offers a Lycamobile prepaid sim card deal:
- 15 GB data* + unlimited calls & text in Germany for 1 month = €40 EUR - $40 USD
*data only valid in Germany, NO EU data roaming included!
Lycamobile is an MVNO and operates in Germany on the network of O2 Germany.
If you only visit Germany and no other country on your trip to Europe and you are ok with paying €40 EUR ($40 USD) for 15 GB data then you know where to get your sim card.
But you can already get a Jetpac eSIM for Germany with 15 GB data for just $15 USD. Easy decision I would say.
Best eSIMs for Germany
The easiest way to get a data connection on your phone when traveling to Berlin in 2025 is an eSIM. You arrange everything directly online. No more swapping physical sim cards and visiting a phone store.
You order an eSIM for Berlin on the internet, you receive a QR code, scan it, follow the simple steps and within less than 2 minutes you have a Germany eSIM installed on your phone.
Upon arrival in Berlin it automatically connects you to an available network and you enjoy data on your phone pretty much when the plane lands.
Traveltomtom wrote a complete guide for using eSIMs when traveling to Germany, including a comparison of the best eSIMs, all FAQ's answered and everything else you need to know about eSIMs.
There are a bunch of trusted eSIM providers, here are some recommendations.
SimOptions
SimOptions is a reliable eSIM provider and Traveltomtom has used SimOptions in more than 50 countries around the world and never faced an issue. Read more about it on our complete SimOptions review.
The Bouygues Telecom an Orange eSIMs for Europe are the most complete and recommended eSIMs for Germany.
Here are the SimOptions international eSIM plans for Germany for 2025:
Bouygues Telecom
- 15 GB data-only for 15 days = $15.90 USD
- 20 GB data + unlimited calls for 15 days = $21.90 USD
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls for 30 days = $32.90 USD
- 60 GB data + unlimited calls for 30 days = $39.90 USD
Orange Holiday Europe
- 12 GB data + unlimited calls/text + 30 minutes international for 14 days = $28.90 USD
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls/text + 120 minutes international for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 70 GB data + unlimited calls/text + 120 minutes international for 28 days = $55.90 USD
Click here for more info or to order an eSIM for Germany via SimOptions.
The Bouygues Telecom and Orange eSIMs for Europe come with free EU data roaming and are valid in all of Europe. Unlimited calling/texting is included and these eSIMs come with a phone number.
Airalo
Airalo is another reliable eSIM provider that sells eSIMs from pretty much every country in the world.
Airalo offers the following eSIM deals for Germany in 2025:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $6.5 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $10 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $15 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $22.50 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $26 USD
Click here to order a Germany eSIM from Airalo.
The Hallo! Mobil eSIMs for Germany are data-only and only valid in Germany. They operate on the 4G/LTE network of Vodafone Germany. 5G is not supported.
Before you order an eSIM for Germany make sure your phone is eSIM compatible.
For much more detailed information about using eSIMs for traveling to Germany, FAQ about eSIMs, more eSIM offers, plans and the best deals can be found in my detailed guide about the best eSIMs for traveling to Germany in 2025.
Order a prepaid sim card for Germany online
If your phone is not eSIM compatible but you would like to order a sim card for traveling to Berlin online before your trip then check out the following.
Arrive prepared in Berlin with an international prepaid sim card. You order them online and a physical prepaid sim card will be delivered to your home address. You put this sim card in your phone and it automatically connects to an available network upon arrival in Germany, basically when the plane lands you are instantly online.
SimOptions is the only sim card provider that sells physical prepaid sim cards for Germany:
- 15 GB data-only for 15 days = $15.90 USD
- 20 GB data + unlimited calls for 15 days = $21.90 USD
- 10 GB data + $2 calling credit for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 10 GB data + unlimited calls/sms for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 12 GB data + 30 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 14 days = $29.90 USD
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls for 30 days = $44.90 USD
- 30 GB data + 120 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 60 GB data + unlimited calls for 30 days = $51.90 USD
Click here to directly order an international sim card for Germany online.
Personally Traveltomtom recommends the Bouygues Telecom or the Orange sim cards. I have used these sim cards a lot in the past and never had an issue.
But nowadays when traveling to Europe or Germany I always use an eSIM. It is just so easy and as soon as the plane lands you are online. Check out my comparison of the best eSIMs for traveling to Germany in 2025.
Vlog about buying a sim card at Berlin Airport
Check out my YouTube video above about my experiences and my arrival at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. In the video I show you what it looks like disembarking the plane and walking through Berlin Airport and where you can buy a prepaid sim card for tourists.
I hope all that the above tips for staying connected in Germany and buying a prepaid sim card at Berlin Airport were helpful for your upcoming trip. If you still have any questions then please leave me a comment below.
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 January 2025 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Berlin!