Flying to Athens Airport and planning your trip to Greece. Stay connected in Greece with a local prepaid sim card or an e-sim card for Greece. This is a complete guide for buying a prepaid sim card for Greece on arrival at Athens Airport with up to date prices as per October 2023, where to buy a sim card, my recommendation, the best e-sim cards for Greece, a vlog with my experiences and even info about international sim cards for traveling in Greece.
Looking for the best ways to get connected is the first thing I do when I get to a new country. Local prepaid sim cards with data are mostly the cheapest way when using a lot of data, but depending on the length of your trip an e-sim card could be very useful too.
At most airports around the world you pay a hefty price for the convenience to get connected straight away on arrival. Or should we call it squeezing money out of unknown tourists? Therefore I wrote this complete guide with all the up to date information and recommendations for buying a sim card for your trip to Greece and help you save money on high roaming charges.
As I am on a mission to travel to every country in the world and I write sim card guides wherever I go, you can already find more than 200 sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Shanghai, Manila, New York, Barcelona, Milan, Amsterdam, London, Istanbul, Bogota, Pakistan, Vietnam, Amman, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Bali and many more.
For most Europeans there is no need to buy a sim card for their trip to Greece as their local prepaid sim card from their EU home country will most probably includes free EU data roaming. Always ask your provider in your own country before traveling abroad. Be aware that some UK sim cards do NOT support free EU roaming anymore because of Brexit.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom does NOT recommend buying a prepaid sim card at Athens Airport. Simply overpriced! It is the fastest way to get connected when arriving in Greece, but sim cards for Greece at Athens Airport cost more than double the price than sim cards at Athens city center or e-sim cards for touirsts.
So if you are not in a rush you should wait until you get to Athens city center for the best prepaid sim card deals in Greece. Check out my guide for buying a prepaid sim card in Greece in 2023 and find a physical prepaid sim card for Greece with unlimited data.
However, the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Greece in 2023 is an e-sim card. Order your e-sim card for Greece directly online! Which one? Check out my guide of the best e-sim cards for Greece in 2023.
Another great alternative for staying connected when traveling abroad is a global sim card with data. In my comparison of the best international sim cards for going abroad in 2023 you will find a bunch of great sim card deals for traveling to Greece and if you are on a trip to explore several countries in Europe then definitely check out my list of the best prepaid and e-sim cards for traveling in Europe in 2023.
Best e-sim cards for Greece
Looking for the easiest way to get data on your phone when traveling to Greece in 2023? That is 100% an e-sim card! You can arrange everything right now with just a couple clicks. No more visiting a store or swapping a physical swapping sim card. Order an e-sim card online, receive a QR code, follow the instructions, apply the settings and you are all set.
Airalo
Check out the following Greece e-sim card deals:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $9 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $12 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $15 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $25 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $49 USD
Click here to order an e-sim card for Greece directly online through Airalo.
The above data-only e-sim cards for Greece are from Meraki Mobile operate on the Cosmote and Nova 4G/LTE network. No, the Meraki Mobile e-sim cards for Greece are NOT 5G ready and data is only valid in Greece.
SimOptions
There are also international e-sim cards for Greece. A little more expensive but big plus about these e-sim cards is that they are valid in more than 70 countries and including calling and texting.
- 15 GB data + unlimited calls for 15 days = $21.90 USD
- 10 GB data (5G ready) + $2 calling credit 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/text for 30 days = $44.90 USD
- 30 GB data + 120 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 50 GB data (5G ready) + unlimited calls/text for 28 days = $59.90 USD
Click here to directly order an international e-sim cards for Greece or find more info.
You can order the above international e-sim cards through SimOptions and they all offer free EU data roaming and allow you to make phone calls and text. All these international e-sim cards come with a phone number.
Want more info about using Greece e-sim cards then check out my complete guide with everything you need to know before buying an e-sim card for traveling to Greece in 2023.
If you are traveling to more countries in Europe you want to look into buying a sim card for traveling in Europe in 2023. In the link you will find my comparison of the best European sim cards that you can order online. Or check out my tips for buying a local prepaid sim card in Europe on arrival with more info about free EU roaming.
Athens Airport
Although Greece is a very popular summer tourist destination in Europe, Athens Airport is pretty easy going even in the high season. The airport lies about 40 minutes away from the city center of Athens. It is very easy to navigate and only has one arrival hall for international arrivals.
Athens Airport provides free WiFi for everyone. It is easy to connect and it actually works pretty fine.
Where to buy a sim card at Athens Airport
There are 2 places where you can buy a Greece sim card at Athens Airport. One is directly after the passport control right in front of luggage belt number one. It is impossible to miss! When you get stamped into Greece and walk away from passport control you will walk right into big signs saying: ’buy your local prepaid sim card here’.
As it can get pretty busy at this sim card booth you can also pick up your luggage first and then walk through the customs baggage check into the arrival hall of Athens Airport. Then you will see on your left hand side the exact same booth selling the exact same tourists sim cards for Greece. It is not to miss, next to the kiosk there is also the tourist information desk.
Both sim card stores from Sim Local are open from 06:00 am until 10:00 pm and they accept Euros as well as credit cards.
Prices sim cards for Greece at Athens Airport
All the below info and prices are up to date as per October 2023. Prices are in Euros: $1 USD = €0.95 EUR and €1 EUR = $1.06 USD.
As Sim Local has the right for selling prepaid sim cards for Greece at Athens Airport there is not much choice. They basically offer 3 prepaid sim card deals, but two of them are completely identical. On top of that they charge an activation fee of €12.50 per sim card.
There are 2 Vodafone prepaid sim card deals for 30 days:
- 15 GB data in all of Europe + 200 minutes in Europe + 120 international minutes = €22.50
- 18 GB data in all of Europe = €22.50
Then there is Taza Mobile that works on the Vodafone network:
- 15 GB data in all of Europe + 200 minutes in Europe + 120 international minutes = €22.50
Yes the exact same however, if you download the app you get 5 GB data extra for 7 days.
Taza Mobile is a completely new product to me and a so-called MVNO, a Virtual Mobile Network Operator. I have never tried it before so I can’t tell you anything about it. I would personally just go for a Vodafone sim card if you really want to buy a prepaid sim card at Athens Airport.
To make it even easier for you here is my vlog about my arrival at Athens Airport showing you what it looks like buying a sim card at Athens Airport in 2023.
Order a prepaid sim card for Greece online
If buying a sim card at Athens Airport all sounds like too much hassle then simply order a sim card for traveling in Greece on the internet and get it delivered to your home address before your trip. These international prepaid sim cards work like plug and play. Just put this pre-activated sim card in your phone when you arrive in Greece and it works instantly.
1. O2 Go Card - $24.90
- 10 GB data
- $2 calling credit (no top-up)
- valid for 30 days
- valid in 34 countries
- 4G/LTE
2. Three Data Pack - $24.90
- 10 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms
- Valid 30 days
- Valid in 56 countries
- 4G/LTE
3. Orange Holiday ZEN - $29.90
- 12 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe
- 30 minutes worldwide
- 200 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
- Valid in 34 countries
- 4G/LTE
4. Orange Holiday Europe - $49.90
- 30 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe
- 120 minutes worldwide
- 1,000 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
- Valid in 34 countries
- 4G/LTE
5. Three PAYG MBB - $59.90
- 12 GB data
- Valid for 1 year
- Valid in 55 countries
- Incoming/outgoing calls not supported
- 4G/LTE
6. Three PAYG MBB - $79.90
- 24 GB data
- Valid for 2 years
- Valid in 55 countries
- Incoming/outgoing calls not supported
- 4G/LTE
Click here to order an internaitonal prepaid sim card for traveling in Greece.
Also another reminder that you can arrange everything directly online within just a couple minutes by ordering an e-sim card for Greece directly online. With an e-sim card you keep your own phone number from home.
Remember if you are about to order an e-sim card for Greece then first check out Traveltomtom's complete guide with everything you need to know about using an e-sim card for traveling to Greece in 2023.
How to get from Athens Airport to Athens city center
There are direct busses that take you in about 50 to 60 minutes to the city center of Athens. Just follow the signs. Ordering an Uber is also possible at Athens Airport and that will cost you a little over €40 depending on where in the city center you are going.
If you have Euros on you then I recommend taking a normal airport taxi as it is the exact same as an Uber and you don’t have to search for your car. Airport taxis are well regulated at Athens Airport and work with a taxi meter.
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card on arrival at Athens Airport were useful for your upcoming trip. If you still have questions please leave me a comment below and I will help you.
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 October 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Athens!