How I Got Internet While Traveling in Europe Without Roaming Fees

When I first started traveling around Europe years ago, getting internet on the road usually meant juggling a handful of local SIM cards, one for every country I passed through. This time, on a road trip from Greece through Italy, I decided to try something different to get internet while traveling in Europe.

Instead of swapping SIMs at every border or paying ridiculous roaming fees, I was able to stay connected the entire trip with a single plan that automatically switched networks as I crossed countries.

In this guide, I’ll explain exactly how I got internet while traveling in Europe and completely avoided roaming fees using a regional eSIM. I’ll explain what this actually is, which one I personally used.

What Is a Regional eSIM and Why It’s Perfect for Europe

I’ve been living out of my backpack and traveling full-time since 2018, and for years, I always bought a physical SIM card as soon as I landed in a new country. It worked fine most of the time, but it was always a bit of a pain in Europe, especially on road trips.

Unlike airports, where you can easily grab a SIM from a telco desk, small border towns or highway stops don’t have that convenience. I’d often find myself driving around trying to find a SIM card dealer every time I crossed into a new country.

That’s where eSIMs come in, and more specifically, regional eSIMs. They’ve completely changed the way I get internet from my phone while traveling across Europe without paying roaming charges.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what they are and why I use them now:

• An eSIM is a digital SIM card built into your phone so you don't need any plastic card or slot swapping
• A regional eSIM covers multiple countries under one plan, so you can cross borders without losing your connection.
• You install it by scanning a QR code or downloading it via an app with no physical shop required.
• Once active, your phone automatically connects to local partner networks in each country you visit.
• You can choose between unlimited or pay-per-GB plans, depending on how much data you use.

The End of Roaming & How to Take Back Control From Telcos While Traveling

I genuinely cringe when I hear travelers say they “don’t bother” with eSIMs or local SIMs because their telco offers international roaming. What, for $10 per gigabyte? I’ve even heard people justify it with,

“Oh well, my trip’s only ten days, it’s just an extra $250. I saved all year for this holiday, so I don’t mind paying more for convenience.”

Yeah, but what else could you do on your trip for $250? That’s a hot-air balloon in Cappadocia, the cost of a full 3-day open water scuba diving course in Thailand, or a permit to trek with wild gorillas in Uganda.

For years, I traveled the world on a budget of about $50 per day, and if you’ve read my blog, you’ll know I’ve had one hell of an adventure doing it. So, why hand that money over to telcos just for the “convenience” of keeping the same SIM?

Travel is about freedom and experience. With eSIMs, you can now choose exactly who you pay, when you pay, and how much. There’s no lock-in, no hidden roaming charges, and no need to hunt down a shop at every border crossing.

You just switch providers right from your phone and stay connected on your own terms. The way it should be.

Which eSIMs Work Across Europe?

I actually avoided eSIMs for a long time because I thought they were overpriced. For years, I’d just grab a physical SIM card whenever I landed somewhere new because it felt cheaper. But recently, prices for eSIMs have dropped a lot, and now they’re usually about the same as local SIMs, sometimes even cheaper once you factor in convenience.

Over the past few years, I’ve tested quite a few eSIMs, including:

• Truley
• Holafly
• Sim Local
• Jetpac

On my most recent road trip through Europe, I used the Holafly Unlimited eSIM and it worked so well that I wrote a pretty darn positive review about it. It worked seamlessly across every country I drove through, with unlimited data and no need to swap SIMs or reconfigure anything at the border which was a massive win when traveling between countries every few days.

All eSIMs essentially work the same way, but in Europe, the real difference lies in whether they offer a regional plan or not. Some only work in a single country, while others, like Holafly’s Europe plan, cover an entire region, making them far more practical for multi-country travel.

Since I work online while traveling, I also need to hotspot my laptop regularly, which means I burn through data fast. I’ve tried saving money with smaller data plans before, but it never works out and I almost always end up paying more by topping up later. That’s why unlimited plans like Holafly’s make the most sense for me.

Next, I'll briefly break down how I set up the Holafly eSIM and let you know how it held up for my long road trip.

Setting Up the Holafly eSIM in Europe

I organized all of this before I even arrived in Europe, so the eSIM was ready to activate the moment I landed. This is especially handy if the airport Wi-Fi is slow or spotty.

Here’s how my setup went, step by step:

1. Choosing the eSIM
I selected the Europe regional eSIM on Holafly’s website. They have a phone compatibility checker where you select your model to make sure it supports eSIMs—super helpful and saved me from digging through tech specs myself.

2. Payment & Discount
The checkout was straightforward with options like card, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. I entered the code WESEEKTRAVEL for 5% off, and immediately received an email with the installation instructions.

3. Installing the eSIM
The email included a QR code. On my iPhone, I just pressed and held it, tapped “Add eSIM,” and it installed in seconds. For devices that don’t support one-click installation, Holafly provides a manual method or an optional app. I like avoiding extra apps, so I stuck with the QR code method.

4. Configuring on My Phone
Once installed, I labeled the eSIM “Holafly Europe” to easily switch between my regular SIM and this one. I set my personal number as the default for calls and texts, and used Holafly for data only. I also turned off “Allow Mobile Data Switching” to avoid accidental roaming charges on my main SIM.

5. Confirming It Worked
A quick check in Settings → Mobile → Mobile Data confirmed everything was active. I loaded a webpage and it connected instantly.

Overall, the setup was smooth, quick, and simple—nothing fancy, but it works perfectly. I didn’t need an app, it installed in a few clicks, and I didn’t run into any issues. For travelers in Europe, especially on a road trip hopping between countries, having this ready before you leave removes one more logistical headache from your trip.

eSIM Internet Speeds in Europe

Internet speed with an eSIM in Europe is basically the same as using a local SIM, it depends entirely on the local towers. That means it can vary a lot depending on the country and location. In Switzerland, for example, I got speeds close to gigabit in the cities, whereas in rural parts of Italy the connection dropped out frequently.

The key thing to remember is that an eSIM isn’t magically faster than a physical SIM. It’s literally connecting to the same local networks, so your speed is only as good as the towers around you. Unless you’re carrying a Starlink satellite dish in your backpack, this is the reality of mobile internet abroad.

Even though it relies on the same towers, an eSIM will often outperform roaming on your home SIM. Roaming agreements don’t cover every local provider, which is why your home country SIM card often struggles to find a strong connection. With a local or regional eSIM, you’re essentially treated like a local user, so you’ll usually get faster, more reliable internet than roaming would allow.

Here are some screenshots of the speeds I got on my road trip. Note the worst connection I had was in Tuscany while driving on country roads, and the internet would cut out quite often, but I wasn't complaining with that view!