Roaming in Turkey on UK networks: the best choices

Specialist roaming eSIM providers will be cheapest option

If you’re only going to Turkey for a week or two, it might not be worth getting a full contract on a UK network with Turkish roaming included. Instead, you could just take a second SIM out with a travel eSIM provider.

There are now tonnes of roaming eSIM providers who offer one-off, short term plans that will cover however much data you need, at a fraction of the cost of paying your mobile network’s charges:

Cheapest small amount of data (2GB+)

Cheapest medium amount of data (10GB+)

Cheapest big amount of data (20GB+)

Cheapest unlimited data

Your phone will need to support eSIM (most phones made in the last few years do). You can then have your normal UK SIM in your phone and let the eSIM work alongside at the same time.

These do tend to only cover data, so you’ll need to use WhatsApp or similar if you need to make calls while you’re out there. But overall, travel eSIMs could be the way to go to keep things cheap.

Useful link: See Breeze SIM’s full range of eSIM plans

Three are the best UK network for inclusive Turkey roaming

If taking out a short-term eSIM sounds like too much faff and you’d rather just join a UK mobile network that includes Turkey roaming with your regular UK, we’d recommend taking a look at Three.

Their Complete plans are available on SIM only and phone contracts, and include Turkey as a roaming destination. The plans are pricier than Three’s regular deals but much cheaper than other main networks:

Three’s SIM only plans with roaming in Turkey

These let you use your regular UK minutes and texts while in Turkey, for talking to UK friends out there with you or back home. But it’s worth knowing calls to local numbers aren’t included and are chargeable.

For data, you’ll get 12GB per month to use in Turkey, without paying extra. If you’re only going for a week or two, that should more than cover you. The SIM will also work in all 160+ Go Roam countries here.

Useful link: Full details on roaming in Turkey with Three

Some O2 deals are decent for roaming in Turkey

O2 are another option to get inclusive roaming in Turkey. You can get this on their premium Ultimate plans. These all include Turkey as a roaming destination within their Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate.

This gives you unlimited mins, texts and data to use in Turkey for as long as you need. While that sounds amazing, your data speeds will be limited to just 2 Mbps, so there is technically a limit to your data usage.

O2’s SIM only plans with Turkish roaming

Those speeds are good enough for social media browsing and looking at maps, but you won’t be streaming HD videos by the pool or anything like that. It’s a big reason for why they’re not the best choice.

It’s worth thinking about whether you travel often enough to justify the higher cost of O2’s Ultimate Plans compared to their regular ones. It’s pointless paying monthly for a benefit you only use a few days a year.

Useful link: Read O2’s guide to their Travel Inclusive Zone Ultimate

A few Vodafone plans are good for roaming in Turkey

On Vodafone, you can get Turkish roaming included on their premium SIM only or phone contracts labelled “Xtra Go Roam”. Basically you’re paying more to get more included in your plan.

With Vodafone you can go to Turkey as many times as you want in the year (but less than 62 days in a four month span) and use your plan at no added cost. And you can use 25GB of your allowance while there.

Best current SIM only deals on Vodafone with inclusive roaming

But it’s worth saying these plans come with a significant monthly cost. And if you’re not going away that often, you’ll be paying extra each month while sitting in the UK, not getting benefit from roaming.

You could be better off taking out a travel eSIM for a short period and sticking with your current mobile network for your main deal.

Useful link: Read Vodafone’s full guide to their Global Roaming

Some other networks have reasonable roaming rates

The networks above offer some way of getting Turkish roaming included in your plan. However, there are a few other providers out there that offer ways to roam in Turkey without emptying your pockets still.

Our favourite of these are Lebara. While they don’t include Turkey as a roaming destination with your plan, they offer some cheap temporary add-ons while you’re out there, with a decent amount of data and some international calls and texts.

Considering Lebara are already one of the cheaper mobile providers out there, you may actually spend less buying their add-on vs joining a premium plan on the networks above for 12 or even 24 months.

Best current SIM only deals on Lebara

Sky Mobile can be another good option. With them you’ll pay a reasonable £2 a day rate to use your allowance in Turkey, with no limits on your data usage or speeds. Both are excellent options for roaming in Turkey.

Best SIM only plans currently on Sky Mobile

Useful links: See Lebara’s full range of SIM only plans