Internet in Turkey: eSIM for Istanbul, Antalya and Cappadocia from €2.19
Turkey is one of the most popular trips from Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia: a long weekend in Istanbul, a beach week in Antalya, or Cappadocia for the balloons. Turkey is outside the EU and the Western Balkans roaming zones, so roaming there is expensive. A travel eSIM for Turkey costs a few euros and works from the moment you land.
Your three options
- Roaming on your home SIM. Easy, but data in Turkey is usually charged per megabyte or with costly daily passes.
- A Turkish SIM card. Sold at the airport and in shops, but tourist packages are often expensive, you need your passport, and the phone registration rule below applies.
- A travel eSIM. Bought and installed before you fly, priced in euros, no shop visit.
What a Turkey eSIM costs
| Trip | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Long weekend in Istanbul | 3 GB, 30 days | €2.19 |
| One week, maps and social media | 5 GB, 30 days | €3.29 |
| Two weeks, or lots of photos and video | 10 GB, 30 days | €4.39 |
| Heavy use, or sharing with a partner | 20 GB, 30 days | €8.39 |
Prices as of October 2026. Current prices are always on the Turkey eSIM page. The plans run on a major Turkish 5G network.
The 120-day phone registration rule
Turkey registers phones by IMEI. A foreign phone with a Turkish SIM card works for a limited period (currently 120 days) and is then blocked on Turkish SIMs unless you register it and pay a high fee. A travel eSIM connects as a roaming line, so for a normal holiday you do not have to think about this.
How much data do you need?
- Maps and messaging: about 1 GB per week. Istanbul is big, and you will use maps a lot.
- Plus Instagram, TikTok and photos: 3 to 5 GB per week.
- Video calls home every day: 10 GB for two weeks is a safe choice. An hour of video uses about 0.5 GB.
Tips for Turkey
- Install the eSIM before you fly. Free airport Wi-Fi in Istanbul often needs a text message to a Turkish number or a passport scan.
- Taxi and transport apps such as BiTaksi and the Istanbulkart app need data to work well, so an eSIM pays for itself quickly.
- Hotspot: you can share the eSIM's data with a partner or a laptop. Choose a bigger plan if you do.
- Visiting more countries? Some Europe-wide plans include Turkey too. See the Europe plans.
How it works
- Buy the eSIM on rrugo.com/esim or in the RruGO app. The QR code arrives straight away.
- Install it at home on Wi-Fi with our step-by-step guide.
- When you land, choose the eSIM for mobile data, turn on data roaming for it, and turn data roaming off for your home SIM.
Not sure your phone supports eSIM? Dial *#06#: if an EID number shows up, it does. More in which phones support eSIM.
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