On my trip through Europe in July 2019 for my Instagram and YouTube channel I ended up in Milan. For this article I made my way to the international Airport to find out everything you need to know for buying an Italy sim card at Milan Malpensa.
Buying a Europe sim card (click on the link for a complete guide) upon arrival is in most of the airports around Europe not always the best idea as prices are much higher than the regular sim cards in the country. Click here to find out about the best Italy sim card for example. Italy has pretty good deals for Europe sim cards comparing them with Germany sim cards, Denmark, Netherlands or Sweden sim cards. Those ones are in essential the same but much more expensive.
Italy sim cards and traveling in Europe
Since summer 2017 roaming costs within Europe are from the past and therefore you can use your Italy sim card for traveling in Europe. But be aware not all data you get on an Italy sim card can be used in Europe. Most of the time the amount of GB to use while traveling in Europe is capped.
Buy a Europe sim card online
To avoid all the hassle buying an Italy sim card at Malpensa Airport you can also buy your sim card for traveling in Europe online. Check out the Orange sim card with 20GB data and 200 international minutes in the link or click below. Free shipping to most countries!
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
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
May 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 Italy 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
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 WIND Italy by the way, but I bet they are not related to Tutto Communications at all.
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!
Best Italy sim card Milan Malpensa Airport
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!
Paying around €30 per person for 18GB data to use everywhere in Europe makes Vodafone a good Italy sim card to buy at Milan Airport.
When not in a rush wait till Milan city center and buy your sim card there. Click here for my research about the best prepaid sim card in Italy.
Buy a Europe sim card online
Remember you can also buy a sim card for traveling in Europe online and it will be send to your home address before your trip. It is activated and valid for 30 days from the first day you use it. It comes with 20GB to use everywhere around Europe and 200 international minutes. Check out the link or click on the banner below!
Portable WiFi device
When traveling with kids you might want to look into buying a TEP Wireless. This portable WiFi device lets you connect 5 devices at the same time and gives you unlimited internet per day. Check the link or click on the banner below.
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. May you have more questions send me a message on Instagram or leave me a comment below.
