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Vodafone Italy eSIM for tourists: How to get one in 2026
There's no online Vodafone Italy eSIM for tourists: Dolce Vita plans are store-only, and eSIM issue happens at the counter. Prices, steps, and a surer way.
The most likely route to a Vodafone Italy eSIM as a tourist is a two-step one: buy a Dolce Vita tourist plan at a Vodafone store, then ask the counter to issue or convert it as an eSIM. That’s the standard process for every Vodafone SIM, documented in Vodafone’s own support guides, even though the Dolce Vita pages never state it for the tourist plans specifically.
What is certain: the Dolce Vita range is store-only, reserved for holders of foreign tax codes, and can’t be bought or set up before you arrive in Italy.
The rest of this piece covers what the three Dolce Vita plans include, how the store visit and the eSIM request work in practice, and where a Holafly eSIM for Italy fits if you’d rather have data confirmed before your flight than negotiated at a counter.
Peace of mind before you fly
Set up your eSIM before travel and get unlimited data on arrival.
Vodafone eSIM for Italy: Dolce Vita tourist plans
The Vodafone Italy eSIM plans for tourists, if the counter grants the format, are the three Dolce Vita tiers, priced per month with zero activation fee:
- Dolce Vita Start: 100 GB in 5G, including 25 GB for EU countries, €14.95 (~$17)/month
- Dolce Vita Pro: 200 GB in 5G, including 33 GB for EU countries, €19.95 (~$23)/month
- Dolce Vita Ultra: 300 GB in 5G, including 41 GB for EU countries, €24.95 (~$29)/month
Things to know:
- The plans are reserved for holders of non-Italian tax codes, sold only at Vodafone stores, and the offer pages publish no small print on renewal or cancellation, so treat the monthly pricing as a store question too.
- Every tier includes 200 minutes for calls in Italy and to more than 40 countries, and 5G runs at up to 2 Gbps on compatible devices in covered areas.
- This is a Vodafone Italy eSIM with a phone number attached: you get an Italian number for calls, deliveries, and restaurant bookings, which is the range’s genuine advantage for longer stays.
- On Vodafone Italy roaming, the EU allowance is carved out of your bundle rather than added to it: the Start plan’s 100 GB includes the 25 GB usable in other EU countries, and beyond that allowance, standard Vodafone Italy roaming charges apply.
How to get your Vodafone eSIM for Italy
There’s no online route here: Dolce Vita can’t be bought on vodafone.it, so the process starts at a Vodafone store with your passport and your foreign tax code details. Staff activate the plan at the counter, and this is the moment to ask for the eSIM. Before asking, make sure your phone is eSIM-compatible and carrier-unlocked, or the request ends there.
When a store issues one, you’re handed a card with a QR code instead of plastic, and the profile installs on the spot: scan it over the store WiFi, confirm the download, and the line is live before you leave.
On an iPhone the whole thing takes about two minutes, andadding an eSIM on iPhone follows the same steps whether the QR comes from a counter card or an email.
On Android the path runs through the SIM manager on aSamsung Galaxy or the network settings on aGoogle Pixel.
If the store hands you a physical SIM anyway, the conversion is a standard Vodafone request rather than a special favor:
- Ask at any Vodafone store to replace your physical SIM with an eSIM. This is the documented in-store route, and for a tourist, it’s the realistic one.
- The My Vodafone app offers a do-it-yourself conversion under Manage > SIM Info > Request an eSIM, but the flow asks for photos of an Italian health card alongside your ID, which is a document visitors don’t have. Treat the app route as one for residents.
- Keep the QR card the store gives you. If you change phones mid-trip, the profile moves by deleting it from the old device and re-scanning, and a lost or stolen phone means a store visit with a police report for a replacement.
Tourist eSIM options from other Italian carriers
Sorted by how much you can settle before landing, the rest of the market looks like this:
- WindTre is the only carrier where everything happens in advance: its Tourist Pass range sells online as an eSIM, installable up to four months before arrival, with 200 GB from €25 (~$29) and the clock starting on your first traffic in Italy.
- TIM handles tourists at the counter: the TIM Tourist plan brings 200 GB for 30 days at €14.99 (~$17) plus €10 (~$11.50) for the SIM, passport-only and non-renewable, with no eSIM version advertised anywhere.
- Iliad and Fastweb have nothing for visitors: both require an Italian codice fiscale on every offer, and Fastweb’s tourist-facing products are precisely the Vodafone Dolce Vita plans this article covers, since the two brands share one company.
Not the same product: the Vodafone travel eSIM for Italy on vodafone.com
Searching for a Vodafone eSIM for Italy also surfaces the Vodafone travel eSIM sold on vodafone.com. That’s a separate, data-only product from Vodafone Group, bought online in US dollars for travel worldwide; it doesn’t come from the Italian network, doesn’t include an Italian phone number, and isn’t what a Vodafone store in Italy sells. If you’re weighing that kind of pre-arrival, data-only eSIM, that’s the product category the next section covers.
Holafly: The eSIM that’s confirmed before you fly
AHolafly eSIM for Italy removes every maybe from the process: it’s an eSIM by definition, bought online in minutes, and installed from a QR code before you pack, with unlimited data running the moment you land.
No tax code of any nationality, no store visit, no conversion request that depends on who’s behind the counter that day, and support in English around the clock if anything needs sorting. You choose the number of days your trip actually lasts, so a ten-day holiday isn’t paying for a month.
For a route that runs past Italy,Holafly Plans keep unlimited data on one subscription across more than 160 destinations. Every Holafly eSIM also comes withAlways On, a built-in 1GB monthly backup at no extra cost.
Disclaimer: The data in this article is accurate as of July 30, 2026, and is subject to change.
FAQs about Vodafone eSIM in Italy
Yes, across its Italian lineup: stores issue eSIMs as QR-code cards, online orders are activated via email, and existing physical SIMs can be converted on request. What’s not confirmed in writing is the Dolce Vita tourist range specifically, which is why the counter question matters.
If you’re a Vodafone UK customer, that’s a roaming question rather than an Italian SIM question: your plan’s terms decide whatroaming in Italy costs you, and Vodafone UK’s sets out the current charges and passes. For stays beyond a short holiday, a local tourist plan or a travel eSIM usually works out cheaper than extended roaming.
Two products can be bought online from the US before you fly: the Vodafone travel eSIM on vodafone.com, a data-only eSIM from Vodafone Group covering Italy among its destinations, and the Holafly Italy eSIM, with unlimited data sized to your trip dates and support in English. Both install by QR code at home, so you land connected either way; neither includes an Italian phone number.
The network case is solid: since the Fastweb merger the two brands share one infrastructure, with 5G up to 2 Gbps on compatible devices and coverage among the strongest in the country. The experience reports are more mixed. Factually, the products work; the variable travelers report is the process, which is store-based and not documented in writing for tourists.
Plans that may interest you
With a background in English literature and a focus on storytelling, I’ve turned my interests in travel and technology into a career helping others stay connected abroad. Originally from Serbia, I work remotely with my husband, experiencing local cultures firsthand and bringing that perspective to my writing for Holafly. Fun fact: before focusing on content creation, I was a professional volleyball player.
