Planning a trip to Europe and flying to London Luton and wondering what is the best way to stay connected in the UK? Don't ruin your trip to London by high roaming charges or slow overseas data roaming. Get yourself a UK prepaid sim card or an e-sim card for the UK and stay connected while exploring London.
This is a complete guide for buying a sim card at London Luton Airport. Find out where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per August 2023, the best e-sim cards for the UK, my recommendation and information about international sim cards for the UK.
The first thing I do when arriving in a new country is making sure I get connected and have a data connection on my phone. Because I like to document everything and because I am 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 and many more.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest e-sim card and prepaid sim card advice for your destination.
Is London your first stop on a trip to Europe then you might be better off with a European sim card. Check out my article about the best sim cards for traveling in Europe in 2023.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying a Three UK prepaid sim card at London Luton Airport for traveling in the UK. Unfortunately you can only buy physical prepaid sim cards, e-sim cards are still NOT provided at London Luton Airport. But you can buy an e-sim card for traveling in the UK on the internet.
A great alternative is to order an international sim card for travelers before your trip and get it delivered to your home address. Check out my comparison of the best international sim cards with data for traveling in 2023 and pick the one that suits your trip.
But the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to London in 2023 is an e-sim card.
Best e-sim cards for the UK
An e-sim card is the most convenient and also the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to London in 2023. No need to go to a sim card store anymore, no need to swap a physical sim card, just an online process. You order an e-sim card, receive a QR code, scan the code, follow the instructions and you are connected in just a few simple steps.
Check out the following UK e-sim card deals:
- 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
Order an e-sim card for the UK directly through this link.
The above e-sim cards plans for the UK from Uki Mobile are data-only and calls are NOT supported. The data allowance is only valid in the UK, there is no free EU roaming with these e-sim cards. They operate on the 4G/LTE networks of O2 and Three.
There are also e-sim cards for the UK that support calling and texting AND they come with free EU roaming. Check out the following international e-sim cards for the UK:
- 5 GB data only in the UK for 30 days = $17.90 USD
- 10 GB data in all of Europe + $2 calling credit for 30 days = $24.90 USD
- 8 GB data in all of Europe + unlimited calls in Europe for 14 days = $29.90 USD
- 20 GB data in all of Europe + unlimited calls in Europe for 14 days = $49.90 USD
- 20 GB data only in all of Europe for 30 days = $34.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for the UK or find more offers and info in the link.
Before ordering an e-sim card for the UK first make sure your phone is unlocked. Second, make sure your phone is e-sim compatible. E-sim cards only work in unlocked phones that are e-sim ready.
Since not every smartphone is e-sim compatible there are also still physical sim cards for the UK that you can order on the internet. You can find an international prepaid sim cards for the UK with 10 GB data and unlimited calls in all of Europe for $24.90 USD. Click here to directly order this sim card for the UK or see all the offers and find more info.
When you can wait till London city center there are numerous mobile phone shops to get your UK sim card from. Have a look at my UK prepaid sim card comparison for 2023 and find the best UK sim card for tourists.
RELATED: a list of charming but cheap Airbnbs in London! Check out these 15 homes for under $100 per night!
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.
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 Lyca Mobile sim cards can be bought from the sim card vending machine.
Free data roaming in EU with UK sim cards
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. 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.
But 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 airport, 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.
Brexit and EU roaming
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 2023.
Prices sim cards London Luton Airport in 2023
Vodafone UK prepaid sim card
There is only one Vodafone UK prepaid sim card available at London Luton Airport and I can already tell you it is not the best deal at all. You can buy it at the sim card vending machine in the baggage hall.
|
Price |
£20 |
|
Data |
1GB + 4GB extra |
|
Minutes |
Unlimited |
|
Text |
Unlimited |
|
Valid |
30 days |
Lyca Mobile UK prepaid sim card
The Lyca Mobile UK sim cards can only be bought at the sim card vending machines as well.
|
Price |
£25 |
£35 |
|
Data |
6GB |
15GB |
|
Minutes |
3,000 |
Unlimited |
|
International minutes |
100 |
100 |
|
Text |
3,000 |
Unlimited |
|
Valid |
30 days |
30 days |
Lebara UK prepaid sim card
Lebara prepaid sim cards can only be found at the WH Smith shop in the arrivals hall. 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.
|
Price |
£20 |
£30 |
|
Data |
1GB |
5GB |
|
Minutes |
500 |
Unlimited |
|
International minutes |
500 |
Unlimited |
|
Text |
- |
1,000 |
|
Valid |
30 days |
30 days |
In case you might be someone who calls a lot to international numbers the unlimited bundle on the £30 UK sim card of Lebara could be of use. Although WhatsApp calls are for free nowadays and you only need a proper data connection.
Three UK prepaid sim card
At the sim card vending machine you find 1 Three prepaid sim card and at the WH Smith shop you can find three more.
|
Price |
£30 vending machine |
£20 WH Smith shop |
£30 WH Smith shop |
£45 WH Smith shop |
|
Data |
12GB |
1GB |
12GB |
Unlimited* |
|
Minutes |
Unlimited |
3,000 |
3,000 |
3,000 |
|
Text |
Unlimited |
3,000 |
3,000 |
3,000 |
|
Valid |
30 days |
30 days |
30 days |
30 days |
*The unlimited data bundle in the EE UK Prepaid sim card for £45 is limited to 12GB per destination in Europe.
EE UK prepaid sim card
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.
|
Price |
£20 |
€25 |
|
Data |
10.5GB |
13GB |
|
Minutes |
150 UK or international |
250 UK or international |
|
Text |
150 |
500 |
|
Valid |
30 days |
30 days |
Best UK sim card London Luton Airport in 2023
I would never recommend buying a Vodafone or a Lebara prepaid sim card at London Luton Airport, simply because the offered value for money is not good. Personally I like big internet bundles and calling and texting I can’t be bothered about as I never do it that much.
So when we compare the sim cards with data bundles we can see that EE UK has the best value for money. On top of that is EE the only mobile internet provider who makes it possible to connect in the London Underground. There is no phone signal but all stations are equipped with an exclusive WiFi signal for EE costumers.
Therefore EE is the best sim card at London Luton Airport in 2023!
Buy a sim card for the UK online
Does buying a sim card at London Luton Airport sounds like too much effort and hassle then you should look into buying a sim card for the UK on the internet. These pre-activated international sim cards will be delivered to your home address before your trip to London and it works like plug and play.
Check out the following international sim card deals for the UK:
Three data pack 10 GB - $24.90
- 10 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- Unlimited calls/sms within Europe and UK
- Valid 30 days
There are also 3 UK international sim cards for 1 year and for 2 years. Click on the link below for more info!
O2 Go Card - $24.90
- 10 GB data in all of Europe and UK
- $2 calling credit - top up possible
- Valid 30 days
Orange Holiday Europe - $49.90
- 20 GB data
- Unlimited calls/sms in Europe
- 120 minutes worldwide
- 1,000 sms worldwide
- Valid 14 days
Click here to directly order an international prepaid sim card for the UK or find more info and offers.
Also a last reminder that you can arrange everything online by simply getting an e-sim card for traveling in the UK. Click here to order a data-only UK e-sim card or here for ordering an international e-sim card for the UK including calls and texting.
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 ended up on three different airports in London in December 2019 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 130 countries in 11 years continuous traveling and by documenting these trips I became a full time professional travel blogger. Read more about it in the link.
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 August 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to London!