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Can I use my phone in Turkey? UK guide

Wondering if you’ll be able to use your phone in Turkey for an upcoming trip? Learn all about how you can use your phone and top options to stay connected.

Most cell phone plans in the UK don’t include roaming in Turkey, which means you’ll have to look for other options to use your phone in Turkey. Follow along to learn whether you’ll be able to use your phone in the country at all and the top options to get data during your trip.

If you want complete peace of mind during your trip, get an eSIM from Holafly. With unlimited data and 24/7 customer support included in every plan, you’ll be able to stay connected at all times without worrying about your data usage.

In this article

Will my phone work in Turkey?

Yes, your phone will work in Turkey with multiple data roaming options to choose from. You can either use your regular card with a roaming plan or get a travel service, such as a travel eSIM, local SIM card, or pocket WiFi. No matter which option you choose, you’ll be connected to local networks in Turkey, ensuring solid coverage throughout your stay.

How to use my UK phone in Turkey

Once you’ve made sure you can use your phone in Turkey, you’ll need an international plan to get data in the country. Let’s take a look at some of the best options.

eSIM for Turkey

An eSIM offers the perfect blend of price and convenience, making it one of the most popular ways to get data in Turkey. You can buy your eSIM before your trip and activate it on arrival for instant connectivity. No need to queue up at a SIM card shop at the airport or fiddle around with plastic cards, all you need is an eSIM-compatible phone.

The Holafly eSIM for Turkey offers unlimited data, hotspot sharing, and 24/7 customer support for as little as £1.23 per day. You can choose any number of days from 1 to 90 for your plan, with the daily cost going down as plan duration goes up.

Roaming in Turkey

Top UK cell service providers, such as EE, O2, Three, and Vodafone, all offer data roaming plans for Turkey. In some cases, roaming in Turkey is included in the monthly price, but usually you’ll need to buy a roaming pass. The daily roaming charges are typically between £5 and £7, but can get much higher if you use pay-as-you-go roaming instead of getting a plan.

Physical Turkish SIM card

You can buy a tourist SIM card for Turkey when you arrive. There are multiple SIM card shops at all international airports in the country, carrier stores, and even convenience stores in Turkey. Expect to pay anywhere from £5 to £10 or more for your card, depending on the data allowance, calls, and texts included in the plan.

Pocket WiFi for Turkey

Renting a pocket WiFi in Turkey is a popular choice for groups of tourists as it allows you to keep multiple devices connected at all times. That said, it’s also one of the most expensive options, with most rentals costing £50 per week or more.

The extra cost can only be justified if you’re splitting the bill amongst multiple travellers, and is rarely a good option for solo travellers or couples.

You can get a similar experience without the need to rent an additional device with Holafly Plans. It’s a pay-monthly eSIM service with unlimited hotspot sharing options, so you can share data from your phone to other devices throughout your travels. When you no longer need the plan, simply cancel it, as there are no contracts or cancellation fees to worry about.

Can I use my UK data in Turkey?

With roaming plans, your regular UK service provider can either:

Allow you to access your regular data allowance in Turkey.
Give a fixed amount of data to use during your trip.

In most cases, you’ll also be able to make and receive calls and texts.

Can I use my EE phone in Turkey?

Yes, you can use EE roaming in Turkey, with three different options to choose from:

Roaming inclusive plan: EE’s Full Works monthly plan includes roaming in Turkey. Alternatively, you can add Roaming Inclusive Extras for the rest of the world, Zone 1, to your pay-monthly plan. Keep in mind that such plans cost more per month, so they’re best-suited for frequent travellers instead of one-off trips.
Roaming pass: You can either get a 24-hour pass for £5 or a 7-day pass for £25, with each plan allowing you to access your regular allowance of data, calls, and texts while in Turkey.
Pay-as-you-go roaming: If you don’t get a roaming plan or pass, you’ll be charged pay-as-you-go rates in Turkey. The charges are £1.66 per minute of calls and £0.76 per text sent. Mobile internet in Turkey isn’t available with pay-as-you-go roaming.

Can I use my O2 phone in Turkey?

Yes, you can use your O2 phone in Turkey, with three O2 international roaming options to choose from:

Roaming-inclusive plan: Turkey belongs to O2’s Travel Inclusive Ultimate zone, which means that roaming in Turkey is only included in the Travel Inclusive Ultimate Bolt On plan. If you don’t use this monthly plan, you can get a roaming pass instead.
Roaming pass: The O2 Travel Bolt On offers unlimited minutes, texts, and data for £7 a day. You can opt-in for a O2 Travel Bolt On by texting TRAVEL to 23336. After opting in, you’ll automatically be charged the daily fee when you use a phone abroad.
Pay-as-you-go roaming: O2’s pay-as-you-go roaming charges in Turkey are £3 per minute of calls and £1 per text sent. Data isn’t available at pay-as-you-go rates, but you can buy a data bundle at an extra cost.

Can I use my Three phone in Turkey?

Yes, you can use your Three phone in Turkey with one of Three’s international roaming plans:

Roaming-inclusive plan: All O2’s Complete plans include roaming in 160 selected destinations, including Turkey. The roaming is limited to 12 GB of data per month, no matter what your regular data allowance is.
Roaming pass: Turkey is part of O2’s Go Roam Around The World Extra zone, which has multiple roaming options available. You can either be charged £7 per day or buy a Go Roam pass, with options from 3 to 14 days and prices ranging from £17.50 to £84.
Pay-as-you-go roaming: Once your allowance runs out or if you have a monthly plan without roaming, you can pay 1p per MB of data, up to £1.40 per minute of calls, and up to 35p per text.

Can I use my Vodafone UK phone in Turkey?

Yes, you can use your Vodafone UK phone in Turkey with one of Vodafone’s roaming in Turkey plans:

Roaming-inclusive plans: Roaming in Turkey is included in Vodafone’s Unlimited Max Global Roam plan, which allows up to 25 GB of data roaming per month.
Roaming pass: You can access your regular monthly allowance of calls and texts, as well as up to 25 GB of data, for £7.86 a day with Vodafone UK’s roaming pass.
Pay-as-you-go roaming: If you don’t get a roaming plan or pass, you’ll have to pay 60p per minute of calls, 8p per text, and 12p per MB of data used while in Turkey.

Can I use my phone in Turkey? The verdict

Using your UK phone in Turkey isn’t as simple as in most other European destinations, but there are still plenty of options available. Holafly’s eSIM for Turkey makes it easy to stay connected with unlimited data, hotspot sharing, and 24/7 customer support included in every plan.

Get your eSIM before your trip, activate it on arrival, and enjoy non-stop connectivity without having to worry about roaming charges or running out of data.

Visiting more destinations during your holiday? Make sure you’ll be able to use your phone everywhere you go with the blogs below:

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Rokas Aniulis

Senior SEO copywriter

A senior SEO writer from Lithuania, combining my passion for writing and travel at Holafly. With years of experience in technical fields, I'm here to answer all of your questions about staying connected. I specialize in turning even the most complicated topics into something everyone can understand.

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