Planning your trip to Italy and flying to Milan Malpensa Airport? Forget about expensive and slow overseas data roaming plans, this is your guide with everything you need to know for staying connected when traveling to Milan. Get yourself a local prepaid sim card for Italy or an e-sim card. Find out where to buy a sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport, up to date prices as per May 2023, my recommendation and even information about international and e-sim cards for Italy.
As part of my journey to visit every country in the world I get to a lot of countries and airports and the first thing I do is buying a local prepaid sim card as it is the cheapest way to stay connected. Therefore on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 guides for buying prepaid sim cards from all over the world: Europe, Rome, Venice, Paris, Geneva, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, New York, Panama City, Mexico City, Bogota, Cairo, Istanbul, Jeddah, Bangkok Dubai, Hong Kong and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid sim card advice. Bookmark this website!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying an e-sim card for Italy as they are cheaper and easier to obtain than buying an Italy sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport. The best sim card deal at Milan Airport is a Vodafone sim card for €30 with 18 GB data. An e-sim card for Italy with 10 GB data you can already get for $24 USD.
However, the cheapest sim card deals for Italy you can find in Milan city center. For more info about the best sim cards for Italy in 2023 check out my complete guide in the link. Buying a sim card at the airport is convenient, but you also pay a tourist price.
A great alternative is a global sim card for travelers. Check out my comparison of the best international sim cards for traveling in 2023 and find the one that suits your trip. These sim cards will be shipped to your home address before your trip and you arrive all prepared in Italy.
For those people that do not prefer to change sim cards and phone numbers there are e-sim cards or portable WiFi devices. In my article about how to get WiFi on the road I give you an HONEST review about pocket WiFi devices. They are so old school, the easiest way to get connected when traveling to Italy in 2023 is an e-sim card.
Best e-sim cards for Italy
In short: you order an e-sim card online, receive a code, you enter this code on your mobile and you will get access to a network provider in Italy. The whole process takes just a couple minutes and can be done from anywhere in the world. No need to physically swap sim cards. Check out the following Italy e-sim card deals:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $4.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $8 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $10 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $14.5 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $24 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $33 USD
Click here to order an e-sim card for Italy directly online.
The above Mamma Mia e-sim cards for Italy are only valid in Italy and phone calls are not supported. The operate on the 4G/LTE networks of TIM, Windtre and Vodafone.
If you also want to make phone calls with your e-sim card then have a look at the following international e-sim cards that are valid in more than 70 countries, including all of Europe and Italy:
- 8 GB data + unlimited calls for 14 days = $29.90 USD
- 20 GB data + unlimited calls for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 30 GB data only in Italy for 30 days = $59.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for Italy.
Want to order a physical sim card for traveling in Europe online and get it shipped to your home address? For $30 you get 12 GB and unlimited calls/sms in Europe. Click here to check out all the Italy sim card deals for tourists and order directly online.
Italy sim cards and free EU roaming
Great thing about free EU roaming nowadays is that you can use the data, voice and text allowance from your Italy sim card also in Madrid, London, Stockholm and every other place in Europe. All prepaid Italy sim cards offer free data roaming however, most of the Italy internet providers limit the use of data outside Italy. Therefore always ask your provider when buying a sim card in Italy.
I wrote a complete guide with tips and tricks and everything you need to know about buying a local sim card in Europe.
Milan Malpensa Airport
There are 2 terminals at Milan Malpensa airport. Terminal 1 is the new one and is where all intercontinental flights arrive. Terminal 2 is a very old terminal and mainly used for Easyjet only. To give you a complete guide for buying a sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport I also checked out Terminal 2 for you.
Where to buy an Italy sim card at Malpensa Airport in 2023
Terminal 1
At Terminal 1 there are two arrival halls: A and B. Both arrival halls have a Money Exchange office straight after luggage collection. The Money Exchange shop is where they sell Italy sim cards. You can’t miss them as they have big advertisements displayed for buying a Vodafone sim card.
At Terminal 1 there is also a Tutto Communications, a small booth. They are located close to Arrival Hall B, but this is a tourist trap! Prices are outrageous, more about it later...
Terminal 2
If you arrive at Terminal 2 then in the arrival hall there is no shop that sells an Italy sim card. If you really want to buy a sim card for Italy at Milan Airport Malpensa Terminal 2 go to the Departure hall of Terminal 2. It is in the building next door. There you will find a money exchange shop and they sell Italy sim cards.
Sometimes in Italy things don’t make sense and so is buying a sim card at Milan Airport. You can only buy them per 2! Like a couples sim card or what? Solo travelers will just have to deal with it…
At some of the Exchange offices they where very strict, but one was like: ok, you can also buy 1. WEIRD!!!!
Prices Italy sim cards Milan Malpensa Airport in 2023
Terminal 1 Exchange Office
The exact same shops basically sell the exact same Vodafone Italy sim card packages. Vodafone is the only prepaid Italy sim card they offer. For some strange reason they differ slightly in price for the same package. Arrival Hall A and B are only 3 minute walk from each other and in and between you find 3 Exchange Shops.
These are the Vodafone Italy sim card welcome packs they offer:
All the packages are for 2 sim cards so you get twice the package below.
- 18 GB data in all of Europe, no roaming costs for 30 countries
- 500 minutes in Italy
- 300 minutes international
- Texting is NOT included
- Valid for 30 days
The price? In Hall B you pay €60,50, in Hall A you pay €56,50 (+1 sim card gets free social media) and in and between the two arrival halls there is an Exchange shop that sells the same Italy sim card for €55,50.
The Exchange shops are literally within 400 meters from each other. Why they all have a different price for the same sim card packages is very strange! Welcome to Italy! :)
There is also a slightly cheaper option for €50/€51,50 depending on which Exchange Store you go but you get 2 sim cards with each only 8GB instead of the above 18GB. If you want to buy just 1 sim card instead of two you pay €30 for this package. So you get 8GB, 500 minutes in Italy, 150 minutes international.
All the above Vodafone Italy sim cards can be topped up through the Vodafone Italy website after 30 days. You then get the same package for only €10!
Tutto Communications
As I mentioned earlier there is also a little sim card booth just next to Arrival Hall B. I have done research for buying sim cards at Rome Airport, Venice Airport, Paris Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Amsterdam Airport and many more but never have I seen outrageous prices like this!
When I saw it I was like: who the hell on earth pays €169 for 20GB? Like for real? You can also buy 3GB for €69! INSANE!
Please people I hope when you are reading this you are also laughing. Things like this is why I love to write travel tips for people traveling around the world, because never ever buy a sim card for this price! It is a scam!
To prove I was not lying I took photos of what they offer. If you haven’t laughed your ass off today this is your moment! Go for it… :)
The offered sim cards are from WindTre Italy by the way, but I bet they are NOT related to Tutto Communications.
The Tutto Communications booth also offers Lyca Mobile Italy sim cards. Also these ones are extremely overpriced and NOT worth buying!
Please avoid this booth completely! I am only mentioning it to give you a complete guide for buying a sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport and of course helping you NOT to waste money and travel more, because in the end that is what I love doing.
My passion for traveling turned me into a professional travel blogger. Read my story of continuously traveling around the world since 2012 in the link above.
Terminal 2 Exchange Office Departures
The Exchange office at Departures Terminal 2 sells only a package of 2 Vodafone Italy sim cards for €60,50. For that price you get the following per sim card:
- 18 GB data in all of Europe, no roaming costs
- 500 minutes in Italy
- 300 minutes international
- Texting is NOT included
- Valid for 30 days
This Vodafone Italy sim card can be topped up through the Vodafone Italy website for the second month. The same package then only costs €10!
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Best sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport in 2023
This is of course a very easy conclusion as Vodafone Italy is the only sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport worth considering. Still can’t get my head around why you can only buy them per two though. But in fact the offer is not bad at all if you are with two people!
The best prepaid sim card at Milan Airport is Vodafone Italy. For around €30 you get for 18GB data to use everywhere in Europe and 500 minutes. Definitely good value for money.
When not in a rush you can also wait till Milan city center and buy your sim card there. Click here for my research about the best sim card for Italy in 2023 and you will see that things are much more cheaper in stores around Milan.
Order a sim card for Italy online
If buying a sim card on arrival at Milan Malpensa Airport sounds like too much hassle and effort then order a sim card for Italy online. There are multiple international sim cards for Italy that you can buy online before your trip. These pre-activated sim cards will be shipped to your home address.
Check out the following international prepaid sim card deals:
1. Orange Holiday ZEN - $29.90
- 8 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe and UK
- 30 minutes worldwide
- 200 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
2. O2 Go Card - $24.90
- 10 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- $2 calling credit in Europe and UK
- Valid for 30 days
3. Three Data Pack 12 GB - $29.90
- 12 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- Unlimited calls/sms within Europe and UK
- Valid 30 days
4. Orange Holiday Europe - $49.90
- 20 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe and UK
- 120 minutes worldwide
- 1,000 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
Click here to directly order an international prepaid sim card for Italy.
Personally I would recommend the last option from Orange with a lot of data, but that is just because I am a heavy data user.
Also another reminder that you can easily order an e-sim card for Italy through either Airalo or SimOptions through the link. No more swapping a physical sim card and you keep your own phone number.
How to get to Milan city from Malpensa Airport
Apart from taxis there are two other options: bus and train. Both run very frequent, busses go every 10 minutes, train every 20 minutes. A one-way bus ticket cost €10 and busses can be found right outside Arrival Hall A. My bus from Milan city to Malpensa Airport took only 40 minutes, but on the way back it took 1,5 hours. The advantage of taking a bus is that they have 3 other stops before they end at Milan Central Station.
The train is slightly more expensive and costs €13 one-way but guarantees you to reach Milan Central Station in 57 minutes. The train station is 3 minutes walk from both arrival halls and tickets can easily be bought at the train station.
I hope all the above tips for buying an Italy sim card at Milan Malpensa Airport were helpful. If you have any more questions please leave me a comment below and I will be more than happy to help.
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 May 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Milan!
