Travelling in Europe with an eSIM: the guide to put all your questions to rest
"In Europe, my plan is enough, I don't need an eSIM." That's what most travellers think, and it's true... until it isn't. Between the Roam Like at Home regulation that covers a good chunk of the continent and the exceptions that still catch plenty of people off guard, here's everything you need to know.
What's actually free in the European Union
Since 2017, the European "Roam Like at Home" regulation requires your operator to include calls, texts and data in your usual plan across the entire EU. So in Lisbon, Rome or Warsaw, you use your phone exactly as you would back home.
Countries covered: all 27 EU member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The catch that changes everything: your operator can cap your data allowance while roaming if your plan is particularly generous (fair use policy). A cheap "unlimited" plan can quietly shrink to just 15 or 25 GB once you leave your home country. Beyond that, extra charges apply. They're capped, but they're real.
→ Browse Roamance eSIM plans for Europe
The countries that catch you out (even though they're "in Europe")
This is the most common source of confusion. "Europe" and "European Union" are not the same thing when it comes to roaming. Several destinations popular with travellers are not covered:
- Switzerland: outside the EU, roaming is generally charged and can be expensive
- The United Kingdom: since Brexit, coverage depends entirely on your operator. Some still include it, others don't
- Turkey: never included in standard European roaming
- Albania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro: outside the EU, a specific plan is required
- Andorra, Monaco, the Vatican, the Faroe Islands: often excluded from plans despite their geographical location
The habit to get into: before every trip, check the exact list of countries covered in your operator's app. The term "Europe zone" shifts in meaning from one plan to the next, even with the same operator.
When an eSIM actually makes sense in Europe
If you're staying within the EU for a standard short trip, your home plan will cover you in the vast majority of cases. A Roamance eSIM really comes into its own in specific situations:
- You're travelling to Switzerland, the UK, Turkey or a non-EU Balkan country
- Your home plan caps out at under 5 or 10 GB when roaming in Europe
- You're planning heavy usage: work hotspot, daily video calls, continuous streaming
- You're spending several consecutive months outside your home country (after 4 months, your operator may flag the usage as abnormal)
- You're moving through several countries, some of which fall outside EU coverage, and you don't want to juggle multiple SIM cards
→ See all plans by destination
How a multi-country eSIM works in Europe
One of the great advantages of a travel eSIM: a single profile can cover multiple countries, switching automatically as you cross each border.
In practice, you install your Roamance eSIM before you leave, activate it on arrival, and it keeps working seamlessly whether you go from Spain to Switzerland to Italy. No reconfiguration needed, no new QR code at every border.
Your physical SIM stays active alongside it for your regular calls and texts, and your home number doesn't change.
→ How to install your eSIM before you leave
5 things to do before travelling in Europe
A few minutes of preparation is all it takes to travel without any connectivity worries:
- Check your home plan's exact country-by-country coverage
- Install your eSIM over Wi-Fi before you leave, so you arrive already connected
- Turn off automatic mobile data switching, to avoid accidentally falling back onto your home line while roaming outside the EU
- Download offline maps on Google Maps as a backup, always useful when signal is weak
- Keep your physical SIM active only for calls and texts, with your eSIM handling all data