Roaming in Turkey on UK networks: the best choices

Three are the best UK network for roaming in Turkey

Three are one of a handful of mobile networks that offer inclusive roaming in Turkey. You can get this by joining on one of their Value or Complete plans on a 12 or 24-month contract.

These give you a number of daily roaming passes that let you use your UK plan in Turkey at no added cost. The higher the cost of your plan and the longer your contract, the more days you get (see full details here).

Three’s SIM only plans with roaming in Turkey

You’ll be limited to 12GB of your data allowance, but most won’t get through that on a trip anyway. Your minutes/texts can be used for UK numbers while there (but not local ones).

Three can’t be beaten on price for a SIM only plan that includes roaming in Turkey without paying extra. Even if you take the more expensive options with the maximum number of roaming passes included.

Useful link: See which destinations are covered by Three’s Go Roam passes

These specialist travel eSIMs may be an even better option

If you’re not travelling to Turkey all that often, you might be better off just keeping your regular mobile plan going and buying a short term travel eSIM to use while you’re out there.

There are now loads of specialist roaming eSIM providers offering a range of short term and long term plans. You can use these eSIMs alongside your UK plan without having to cancel or pause it.

For us, the best provider for roaming in Turkey are Breeze SIM, as they consistently work out as the cheapest option on small and large plans. But Nomad also offer excellent value on unlimited data in Turkey too.

Rather than paying a premium for a plan every single month that includes roaming in Turkey, it can just be cheaper overall to run two plans for just a short period. It’s worth a look.

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

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.

O2’s SIM only plans with Turkish roaming

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.

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

That’s more flexible than Three’s scheme, so why are they below them? Well, the cost of their plans is quite a bit higher. Three will generally be better for those looking for the best value way to roam in Turkey.

Vodafone’s Global Roaming is really for users that need to go away very often and use lots of data while there. So if you’re always going back and forth from Turkey, Vodafone are still a good choice for you.

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