Roaming or a Travel eSIM from the UK in 2026? EE, Vodafone, Three and O2 Compared

Mykyta Dzhus · Updated 2026-11-10 · 10 min read · eSIM & mobile data

Since Brexit, UK networks set their own roaming rules, and they differ a lot: O2 still includes Europe, EE, Vodafone and Three charge around £2–3 a day there, and outside Europe a week can cost £30–56. On 10 November 2026 we read the price guides of EE, Vodafone, Three and O2 and compared them with travel eSIMs for the destinations Britons fly to most. Short version: in Europe your network may be good enough; beyond Europe a travel eSIM is usually 5–10 times cheaper. And we say plainly where you don't need us.

In short

• O2: Europe is included up to 25GB a month, so for Spain or Greece you don't need anything else. Outside Europe O2 Travel costs £7 a day (unlimited at 2Mbps), £49 a week.
• EE, Vodafone, Three in Europe: about £2–3 a day, or a pass: Three £12 for 7 days, Vodafone £16 for 8 days, EE £16.50 a week. A 5GB eSIM for Spain is $7.99 for 30 days, about half of Three's weekly pass and a third of EE's or Vodafone's.
• Outside Europe (Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Thailand, Morocco): £30–56 a week on the four networks. A 5GB eSIM for 30 days costs $6.49 in Turkey, $6.99 in Thailand, $10.49 in Egypt.
• Check your plan first: some plans include roaming (EE Full Works, Vodafone Global Roam, Three plans with Go Roam built in, O2 Plus/Volt for the USA and Ultimate for 75 destinations). If yours does, you may not need an eSIM at all.
• giffgaff includes up to 5GB in the EU; iD Mobile and Lebara reportedly include Europe too.

Why UK roaming is complicated now

Until 2021 UK SIMs roamed in the EU like at home. After Brexit each network chose its own path. O2 kept Europe included (with a 25GB limit), while EE, Vodafone and Three brought back a daily charge for most plans. Outside Europe there were never free rules: each network has zones, daily charges and passes, and the price for the same week in Turkey ranges from £30 to £56.

Two more things changed in 2026: Vodafone raised its daily charges in April (Europe £2.75, the rest of the world £8), and Three now charges newer customers more than older ones (£2.75 instead of £2 a day in Europe for plans joined from 18 December 2025).

A week of data abroad: the four networks

The cheapest way to cover about a week for a pay monthly customer whose plan doesn't include roaming, from the networks' price guides and roaming pages (10.11.2026):

EE passes and daily charges use your UK data allowance. Vodafone has no multi-day pass outside Europe, so a week is 7 × £8. O2 Travel gives unlimited data but at up to 2Mbps, enough for maps and messaging, slow for video.

EE: no data outside Europe without a pass

In Europe EE charges £2.72 a day on plans launched since July 2021, automatically on the first day you use your phone, unless your plan includes roaming. The Weekly EU Roaming Pass is £16.50 and the 12-day pass £27.50. Outside Europe you get no data at all until you buy a pass: £6 a day or £30 a week in Zone 1 (Turkey, UAE, Thailand, USA), £8 a day or £40 a week in Zone 2 (Egypt, Morocco). Full Works plans include Zone 1.

On EE pay as you go, Europe costs £2.50 a day or £10 a week, but outside Europe the add-ons are tiny: £52.25 for 7 days buys 900MB in Turkey or the USA and just 110MB in Egypt.

Vodafone: £8 a day beyond Europe

Vodafone's Europe zone (52 destinations) costs £2.75 a day from 14 April 2026, or £16 for an 8-day pass and £21 for 15 days. Ireland, Iceland, Norway and the Isle of Man are included in every plan. Further away, Zone C (incl. Turkey and the USA) and Zone D (Egypt, Morocco, Thailand, UAE) cost £8 a day, and we found no weekly pass, so a week is £56. Global Roam plans include Zone C. Fair use in Europe is 25GB a month, then £3.84 per GB.

Three: cheapest passes in Europe

Three's Go Roam in Europe pass is £12 for 7 days (£5 for 3 days, £24 for 14 days), the cheapest weekly Europe option of the big four. The daily charge is £2 for plans joined between October 2021 and 17 December 2025 and £2.75 for newer ones. For the USA a 7-day pass is £30; for Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Thailand and the UAE (Around the World Extra) £42. Some newer plans have Go Roam built in. Fair use is 12GB a month.

O2: Europe included, £7 a day elsewhere

O2 is the only big network that still includes Europe at no extra cost, up to 25GB a month. Beyond Europe, Plus and Volt plans include 27 destinations including the USA, Ultimate plans include 75 (incl. Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Thailand). Everyone else can add the O2 Travel Bolt On: £7 a day, charged only on days you use it, unlimited data at up to 2Mbps. Morocco isn't on any O2 Travel list, so standard rates apply there.

Travel eSIMs: Airalo, Saily, Nomad, Holafly and Tutu eSIM

30-day plans with 5GB from eSIMDB (Airalo, Saily, Nomad, in US dollars), Holafly's 7-day unlimited from its own pages (GBP), and our live prices:

At the ECB rate of 9 November 2026, $1 ≈ £0.75: $6.49 for Turkey is about £5.60. Tutu eSIM shows prices in dollars; the card is charged in Ukrainian hryvnias at monobank's rate and your bank converts.

Turkey, Egypt and the UAE

A week in Antalya with maps, taxis (BiTaksi or Uber; Bolt doesn't operate in Turkey) and messaging needs 3–5GB. EE: £30, Three: £42, O2: £49, Vodafone: £56. A 5GB travel eSIM: $6.49 with Tutu eSIM, $9–10 with Nomad, Saily or Airalo, roughly 5–10 times cheaper.

In Egypt the networks charge £40–56 a week; eSIMs are pricier there too: Tutu eSIM $10.49 for 5GB, Nomad $15 (regional), Airalo $18, Saily $22.99. In the UAE: Tutu eSIM $10.99, Nomad $11, Airalo $12. Note that WhatsApp voice and video calls are often blocked on UAE networks; messages work.

Thailand, the USA and Morocco

Thailand is one of the cheapest places for eSIMs: 5GB for 30 days at $6.99 with Tutu eSIM, $8 with Airalo, while the networks charge £30–56 a week. On the islands the network matters more than the price: on Koh Muk in November 2026 a Thai eSIM gave us 2.3Mbps and a regional South East Asia eSIM 49Mbps.

USA: O2 Plus, Volt and Ultimate include it; otherwise EE and Three charge £30 a week, Vodafone £56. eSIM: Tutu eSIM $8.99 for 5GB, Airalo $13.50.

Morocco: EE £40 a week, Three £42, Vodafone £56, O2 standard rates. eSIM: Tutu eSIM $10.49, Nomad $15, Airalo $18.

Europe: do you need an eSIM at all?

Often not. O2 customers have Europe included; giffgaff includes up to 5GB. On Three a 7-day pass is £12, about twice what a 5GB eSIM for Spain costs ($7.99). An eSIM makes sense in Europe if you're on EE or Vodafone (£16–19 a week), travel longer than a week (the eSIM is valid 30 days), need more than your UK fair-use limit, or want to keep your UK data allowance for home.

Typical cases: what to choose

A week in Spain on O2: nothing to buy. On EE or Vodafone: a 5GB eSIM for 30 days or the network's pass; the eSIM is cheaper.

Two weeks in Turkey with the family: 10–15GB. Networks: £60–112 for 14 days. eSIM: 10GB for $9.99, or 15 days unlimited for $27.99.

A business trip to the USA: if you're on O2 Plus or above, you're covered. Otherwise a 10GB eSIM ($13.99) costs less than EE's or Three's £30 weekly pass.

Backpacking South East Asia: one regional eSIM for several countries instead of passes per country; it starts in the first country where you switch it on.

Pitfalls

• Daily charges start on their own. EE, Vodafone and Three charge the daily fee the first time your phone uses the network that day. If an eSIM handles your data, turn off data roaming on your UK SIM.
• Fair use limits. 12GB (Three), 25GB (O2, Vodafone), 50GB (EE) of UK data abroad a month, then extra charges or a stop.
• Join date matters. Three charges newer customers more; EE plans launched before July 2021 roam free in Europe.
• «Unlimited» has limits. O2 Travel is capped at 2Mbps; unlimited eSIMs have a daily full-speed allowance, then slow down.
• Locked or non-eSIM phones. Dial *#06#: if you see an EID line, your phone supports eSIM. It must not be locked to your network.
• Installing at the airport. You need internet to install an eSIM: do it at home.

How to buy and install an eSIM

1. Check your phone. Dial *#06# and look for the EID line. Device list: “Compatible devices”.
2. Estimate your data. Maps and messaging 300–500MB a day, social media with video 1–2GB a day. Work it out in the the data calculator.
3. Buy before you travel by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The QR code arrives by e-mail and on the order page.
4. Install at home over Wi-Fi: Settings, Mobile Data, Add eSIM, scan the QR code. Step by step: the installation guide.
5. After landing pick the eSIM for mobile data, turn on data roaming on it and off on your UK SIM. Calls and texts still reach your UK number.
6. Running low? Top up on your order page, no new eSIM needed.

Sources and date checked

Network prices were checked on 10 November 2026 in the price guides and pages below (pay monthly consumer plans; pay as you go noted where we checked it). Smaller networks other than giffgaff were not verified on their own sites. eSIM prices from eSIMDB without promo codes; Holafly from its own pages. Tutu eSIM prices on this page update automatically. If a price has changed, tell us in the chat.

• EE: Pay Monthly standard and non-standard price guide, from 31 March 2026
• Vodafone UK: Global Roaming
• Vodafone UK: out-of-bundle price changes 2026
• Vodafone UK: Extras (roaming passes)
• Three UK: roaming abroad (Go Roam in Europe, Around the World, Around the World Extra)
• O2: using your phone abroad, O2 Travel
• O2: roaming in Europe, 25GB limit
• giffgaff: roaming in the EU (updated 30 September 2026)
• eSIMDB: Airalo, Saily, Nomad prices (10 November 2026)
• Holafly: country pages with GBP prices

Tutu eSIM: data abroad without bill shock

Tutu eSIM sells travel eSIMs with mobile data in 197 countries and regions. We're smaller than Airalo or Holafly, but a 30-day plan with us often costs less than a week of roaming, and you know the price before you go. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, get the QR code right away, support answers every day in the chat on this site, and if the eSIM won't install, we refund you. Your UK number stays in the phone for calls and texts.

Prices for your destination: Spain, Turkey, Egypt, UAE, Thailand, USA, Morocco.

FAQ

Mykyta DzhusProgrammer and traveller from Kyiv

I got tired of overpaying for SIM cards that didn't work and of searching for where to go next. So I built this site: travel guides and an eSIM that just works.

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Spainfrom $2.99Greecefrom $2.99Italyfrom $2.99Turkeyfrom $1.99Egyptfrom $3.49UAEfrom $3.49Thailandfrom $2.99USAfrom $2.99Moroccofrom $3.49

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