Traveling to London and flying to Luton Airport and wondering if you can buy a sim card on arrival? Avoid high roaming charges and slow overseas data roaming plans.
This is a complete guide with everything you need to know before buying a sim card at London Luton Airport in 2025.
Find out where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per January 2025, info about eSIMs for the UK, my recommendation, international sim cards, how to get to London city center and more.
In the past I always used to buy a prepaid sim card in every country, nowadays I mostly use eSIMs to stay connected.
Traveltomtom also wrote a complete guide on how to buy a prepaid sim card in the UK with a comparison of the best eSIMs for the UK in 2025.
Table of Contents
- My recommendation
- Why buying a sim card for the UK
- London Luton Airport
- Where to buy a sim card at London Luton Airport
- EU data roaming with UK sim cards
- Prices prepaid sim cards London Luton Airport
- Best sim card at London Luton Airport
- Best eSIMs for the UK
Is London your first stop on a trip to Europe then you might be better off with a European sim card. Check out my comparison of the best eSIMs for Europe in 2025.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying an EE UK prepaid sim card at London Luton Airport. For around $25 USD you get a little more than 10 GB data.
This also makes it a super easy conclusion and recommendation that eSIMs are the best way to stay connected when traveling to the UK.
Forget about buying a sim card at London Stansted Airport. With an eSIM you are online as soon as the plane lands and there are already eSIMs for just $1 USD.
On Sim Local you can order an eSIM for the UK with 100 GB data for just $25 USD and a Jetpac eSIM gives you 10 GB for just $11 USD. Check out my article why EE eSIMs are the best value eSIMs for traveling to the UK.
For a much more detailed guide about using eSIMs when traveling to the UK check out my comparison of the best eSIMs for the UK in 2025.
There are cheaper tourist sim cards in phone stores in London city center check out my guide on how to buy a prepaid sim card in the UK in 2025.
A great alternative is to order an international sim card for travelers that is valid all over the world. Check out my comparison of the best international sim cards with data for traveling in 2025 and pick the one that suits your trip.
Why buying a sim card for the UK
Let's keep it real, we just want to stay connected when traveling, right? It just makes our life much easier. Think about ordering a taxi through an app, looking for the nearest ATM's, finding cool restaurants nearby, keeping in touch and what about emergencies, bank transfers, etc.
Don't rely on WiFi, it is not reliable and although most places offer free WiFi also keep in mind that surfing the internet through public WiFi is on an UNSECURED network. The use of a VPN is recommend.
So to not get stuck with high roaming charges Traveltomtom recommends either buying a prepaid sim card in London or ordering an eSIM on the internet.
Traveling is my biggest passion and I like to document all my travel tips for other travelers. Getting connected is one of the first things I look for when planning my next trip.
Since Traveltomtom is also on on a journey to visit every country in the world you can already find more than 200 sim card guides on Traveltomtom from all over the world: Europe, Frankfurt, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Moscow, Malaysia, Marrakech, Aruba, Oman, Zanzibar, New Zealand, Philippines and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest eSIM and prepaid sim card advice for your holiday destination.
London Luton Airport
After Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Luton is the 4th largest airport in London. More than 90% of the arrivals are from European destinations, only a handful intercontinental flights arriving here per day. Mainly intercontinental flights from Asia and Northern Africa fly into London Luton Airport.
Because I like to research sim card for tourists in the UK I also traveled to Luton Airport, just as I did it for Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Paris and many more. Buying a sim card at an airport is not always the best idea. Especially in Netherlands and Germany you get ripped off buying a sim card on arrival.
Where to buy a sim card at London Luton Airport
Just like at the other London Airports there are two places where you can buy a UK sim card: sim card vending machines in the baggage claim hall and at the WH Smith shop in the arrivals hall.
Of course the vending machines won't give you any costumer service, although all the info is clearly displayed. Though I can understand that there are still a lot of questions that rise. At the WH Smith shop they are able to give you a little more information in case you have questions about buying a UK prepaid sim card at London Luton Airport.
There are 4 main mobile internet operators in the UK: Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE. Apart from O2 you can buy a sim card from all of the mobile internet providers in the UK on London Luton Airport. On top of that you also have Lebara and Lycamobile sim cards for the UK.
Lebara sim cards can be found at the WH Smith shops and Lycamobile sim cards can be bought from the sim card vending machine.
EU data roaming with UK sim cards
Since summer 2017 data roaming fees within the EU are banned. Therefore most people traveling to London Luton can use their own local sim cards from home.
Unfortunately there is no more free EU data roaming on UK sim cards. You will either be charged a daily fee or there are a lot of limitations. UK sim cards are simply NOT worth it anymore for traveling to Europe. Check out my list of the best sim cards for traveling to Europe in 2025.
Prices prepaid sim cards London Luton Airport
Because there are hardly any intercontinental arrivals the demand for UK sim cards at Luton Airport is not as big as on other international airports in London.
Vodafone
1 GB data + 200 minutes + unlimited sms in the UK for 30 days = £20 - $24 USD
Lycamobile
The Lycamobile UK sim cards can only be bought at the sim card vending machines.
- 6 GB data + 3,000 minutes + 100 sms for 30 days = £25 - $30 USD
- 15 GB data + unlimited minutes/sms + 100 international minutes for 30 days = £35 - $43 USD
Lebara
Lebara prepaid sim cards are only sold at the WH Smith shop in the arrivals hall.
- 1 GB data + 500 international minutes to 41 destinations + 500 UK minutes + £2 credit = £20 - $24 USD
- 5 GB data + unlimited international minutes to 41 destinations + unlimited UK minutes + 1,000 sms + £5 credit = £30 - $37 USD
If you have read my article about prepaid sim cards in Spain, Germany and France you already know Im not a big fan of Lebara sim cards. At London Luton Airport they have offer two UK sim cards.
Three
In the sim card vending machine you find one Three prepaid sim card and at the WH Smith shop you can find three more.
WH Smits shops:
- 1 GB data + 3,000 minutes + 3,000 sms for 30 days = £20 - $24 USD
- 12 GB data + 3,000 minutes + 3,000 sms for 30 days = £30 - $37 USD
- Unlimited data* + 3,000 minutes + 3,000 sms for 30 days = £45 - $55 USD
*12 GB EU data roaming included.
Sim card vending machine:
- 12 GB data + unlimited minutes/sms for 30 days = £30 - $37 USD
EE
Last but not least the EE UK sim cards. There are only 2 different UK sim cards available, but you can buy them at both the sim card vending machine and the WH Smith shop.
- 10.5 GB data + 150 minutes + 150 sms for 30 days = £20 - $24 USD
- 13 GB data + 250 minutes + 500 sms for 30 days = £25 - $30 USD
Best sim card at London Luton Airport
The Vodafone and Lebara prepaid sim cards at London Luton Airport are too expensive and not worth it. Personally I like prepaid sim card plans with big data bundles.
After comparing all the available prepaid sim cards at London Luton Airport it leaves no doubt that eSIMs are the best way to stay connected.
You can order EE eSIMs online via Sim Local and you get 100 GB data for just $25 USD. Therefore Traveltomtom named EE as the best eSIM for the UK in 2025.
A Jetpac eSIM with 10 GB for just $11 USD is another recommended UK eSIM.
Check out Traveltomtom's comparison of the best eSIMs for the United Kingdom in 2025.
The EE UK prepaid sim cards at London Luton Airport have the best value for money. For £20 GBP ($24 USD) you get 10.5 GB data. It makes EE the best sim card at London Luton Airport in 2025.
Best eSIMs for the UK
eSIMs are the most convenient and easiest way to stay connected when traveling to London in 2025. No more visiting a sim card store or swapping physical sim cards. You arrange everything online within just a couple minutes.
You order an eSIM for the UK on the internet, you receive a QR code, scan it, follow the simple steps and within less than 2 minutes you have a UK eSIM installed on your phone.
Upon arrival in London it automatically connects you to an available network and you enjoy data on your phone pretty much when the plane lands.
For all FAQ's about using eSIMs when traveling to the United Kingdom click on the link to read my detailed guide.
Here are some recommendations.
Sim Local
At Traveltomtom we recommend getting an EE eSIM for the UK via Sim Local. They have the best deals for tourists. The Traveltomtom Team tested and reviewed the services of Sim Local and came back with positive feedback.
Here are the amazing eSIM deals:
- 30 GB data + unlimited calls/sms for 30 days = $19 USD
- 100 GB data + unlimited calls/sms for 30 days = $25 USD
- 200 GB data + unlimited calls/sms for 30 days = $38 USD
- Unlimited data/calls/sms for 30 days = $50.50 USD
Keep in mind that these eSIMs are only valid in the UK, there is NO free EU data roaming included.
Click here to order an EE UK eSIM via Sim Local.
Airalo
Airalo offers multiple data-only eSIMs for traveling in the UK and Traveltomtom has used Airalo lots of times without any problem.
Check out the Airalo eSIM deals for the UK in 2025:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $7.5 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $10 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $15 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $22.5 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $36 USD
Click here for more info or to directly order an eSIM for the UK via Airalo.
The above Airalo eSIMs for the UK are from Uki Mobile and are data-only. Calling and texting is NOT supported. The data allowance is only valid in the UK, there is no free EU roaming with these eSIMs. They operate on the 4G/LTE networks of O2 and Three.
SimOptions
If you are looking for eSIMs for the UK that also work in other countries in the EU then Traveltomtom recommends to check out SimOptions as they have UK eSIMs including free EU data roaming.
Traveltomtom has used SimOptions all over the world and called it a marketplace for eSIMs. Read more about it in our complete SimOptions review.
The international eSIMs from Orange and Bouygues Telecom are also rated as the best eSIMs for traveling to Europe in 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 + 30 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 14 days = $28.90 USD
- 30 GB data + 120 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 70 GB data + 120 minutes international + unlimited calls/text for 28 days = $55.90 USD
Click here to order an international eSIM for the UK via SimOptions or find more info in the link.
Make sure your phone is eSIM compatible before ordering an eSIM for the UK.
For more UK eSIM offers and much more details check out my comparison of the best eSIMs for traveling to the United Kingdom in 2025.
Buy a prepaid sim card for the UK online
If your phone is not eSIM compatible but you would like to order a sim card for traveling to the United Kingdom online before your trip then check out the following.
Arrive prepared for your trip to London 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 London, basically when the plane lands you are instantly online.
SimOptions offers the following international prepaid sim cards for the UK:
- 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 order an international sim card for traveling to the UK via SimOptions.
Also a last reminder that if your phone is eSIM compatible you can arrange everything online by simply getting an eSIM for traveling to the UK.
Curious to know more detailed info about using eSIMs then check out Traveltomtom's guide with everything you need to know before ordering an eSIM for the UK in 2025.
From Luton Airport to London City
There are many busses and trains leaving every 10 minutes. Close to the exit there is an information center on your right side if you walk out. There you can find information about how to get from Luton Airport to London and also directly buy your tickets.
Trains are the fastest option, busses are cheaper though. There are live information screen available about the departing busses and trains and free shuttles to the train station. The bus stop is directly outside the terminal.
The reason I once ended up on three different airports in London is a funny one, or rather stupid.
For my flight to Gdansk, Poland I showed up at London Stansted Airport instead of London Luton Airport. I missed my flight but was lucky enough to fly a couple hours later to Poland on a different flight from Luton Airport.
When traveling to and from London double check that you are at the right airport. It sounds like a simple thing but apparently even for a very well experienced traveler like me it is not. In total I have been to more than 155 countries while continuously traveling around the world since 2012.
By documenting all my trips I became a full time professional travel blogger.
I hope this article with information about buying a sim card at London Luton Airport was helpful for your trip to the UK.
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 London!