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How to get a WindTre tourist eSIM in Italy in 2026
WindTre sells the only Italian tourist eSIM you can buy online before arrival. Tourist Pass prices, EU data limits, and setup steps in English.
The Tourist Pass range gives you 200 GB in 5G, unlimited minutes to Italian numbers, and 100 minutes to 53 countries, from €25 (~$29), with the eSIM delivered immediately at purchase and activation included. WindTre is the only Italian carrier selling a tourist eSIM you can buy online before your trip.
The offers are reserved for visitors without an Italian tax code, which means no codice fiscale and no residency paperwork: the requirement that blocks tourists at every other carrier is the eligibility condition here.
This guide covers the current Tourist Pass options, how to buy a WindTre eSIM online and install it before you land, what to expect from the in-store route, and how the passes compare with a Holafly eSIM for Italy that lasts precisely the same as your trip.
Match your eSIM to your vacation
Choose a plan lasting between 1 and 90 days so you never pay for days or data you don't use.
WindTre tourist eSIM plans
The Tourist Pass range is built for one audience: new foreign customers without a tax code registered in Italy. Three passes are on sale as of late July 2026, all with unlimited minutes to Italian numbers and 100 minutes to 53 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia:
- Tourist pass digital: 200 GB in 5G plus 23 GB usable in the EU, €25 (~$29) for 1 month
- Tourist Pass XL: 200 GB in 5G plus 15 GB usable in the EU, €25 (~$29) for 2 months
- Tourist pass XXL: 200 GB in 5G plus 15 GB usable in the EU, €50 (~$57) for 6 months
How the pass clock works
- Validity windows vary by pass: Tourist Pass XL stays valid for 120 days after installation, letting you buy up to four months ahead, while Tourist Pass XXL extends this to 210 days, roughly seven months.
- The offer only starts counting with your first traffic event in Italy; no validity is lost until you land.
- Data outside the EU isn’t included at all, and since June 2025 the UK sits outside WindTre’s EU-roaming terms, so the EU gigabytes stop on a London stopover.
- The pass deactivates automatically at the end of its period and can’t be reactivated on the same SIM.
- Unlimited traffic follows WindTre’s standard fair-use conditions; ordinary hotspot use is explicitly included at no extra cost.
How to buy a WindTre eSIM online
The purchase runs entirely on windtre.it, with the tourist pages published in English. Pick your pass, hit Get Your eSIM, and the eSIM is issued at checkout, no shipping and no store visit.
Weighing up eSIM vs SIM? The same flow lets you book a physical SIM instead and collect it at one of 3,500 WindTre stores once you arrive, where staff can also help set up an eSIM in person.
Requirements
These are the conditions to getting the WindTre eSIM for Italy as a tourist:
- A passport or ID document, since Italian law requires identity registration for every SIM, tourist offers included
- Being a foreigner with no tax code registered in Italy, which is the eligibility condition for the Tourist Pass range
- An unlocked, eSIM-compatible phone
- A card for the one-off payment; there’s no subscription and nothing to cancel later
Activation
Here’s how you can activate your WindTre eSIM for Italy:
- Choose your pass on the tourist offers page and select the eSIM option at checkout.
- Complete the purchase and identity details in the online flow.
- Receive your WindTre eSIM QR code and install it over WiFi: scan, confirm the download, and enable the line in your phone’s settings. The menu path differs slightly on an iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy, and a Google Pixel.
- Land, switch off airplane mode, and the pass begins. The line deactivates by itself when the validity period ends.
- Optional step: On Tourist Pass XL, the installed eSIM stays valid for 120 days, and the offer only starts counting with your first traffic in Italy.
Prefer plastic, or arriving without setting anything up? The same online flow lets you book a physical WindTre SIM card and collect it at one of 3,500 WindTre stores across Italy, passport in hand, with registration handled at the counter. Store staff can also set up your eSIM in person if you’d rather not do it yourself, and the dedicated WhatsApp support line for customers born abroad (+39 392 9332224) answers questions before and during your trip.
Tourist SIM options from other Italian carriers
WindTre’s online tourist eSIM has no direct equivalent at the other operators, though two of them sell to visitors in person:
- TIM sells the TIM eSIM Italy Tourist plan at store counters against a passport: 200 GB for 30 days at €14.99 (~$17) plus €10 (~$11.50) for the SIM, with no eSIM version advertised.
- Vodafone Italy runs its Dolce Vita range for holders of non-Italian tax codes, from €14.95 (~$17) a month for 100 GB, available only in Vodafone stores.
- Iliad eSIM doesn’t exist as a tourist offer: every plan requires an Italian codice fiscale, which rules visitors out.
- Fastweb likewise sells nothing to visitors; the group’s tourist products live under its Vodafone brand instead.
Disclaimer: The data in this article is accurate as of July 30, 2026, and is subject to change.
Holafly: Sized to your trip, not the calendar
A Tourist Pass comes in fixed blocks of one, two, or six months, and when the block ends, the line goes dead for good. AHolafly eSIM for Italy works the other way around: you pick the number of days your trip actually lasts, from a weekend to a season, and unlimited data covers exactly that, bought in minutes with no eligibility conditions attached.
There’s also no expiry cliff waiting at the end. WithAlways On, your Holafly profile keeps 1 GB of backup data running each month in 150+ destinations at no added cost, so even after a plan ends you’re never suddenly offline in a foreign city.
And for trips that keep going,Holafly Plans carry unlimited data across more than 160 destinations on one subscription that simply renews for as long as you’re traveling, whether that’s Rome this month or Lisbon the next.
Peace of mind before you fly
Set up your eSIM before travel and get unlimited data on arrival.
FAQs about WindTre eSIM for Italy
Buy it at windtre.it on the English tourist pages: choose a pass, select the eSIM at checkout, complete the identity details with your passport, and install the QR code over Wi-Fi. On Tourist Pass XL the installed eSIM keeps for 120 days, with the offer starting on your first traffic in Italy.
Yes, on both resident plans and tourist offers. For visitors, the Tourist Pass range can be bought online with the eSIM issued immediately at checkout, which makes WindTre the only Italian carrier selling a tourist eSIM before arrival.
Scan the QR code from your purchase confirmation over Wi-Fi, confirm the profile download, and enable the new line in your phone’s settings. The menus sit in slightly different places on each brand, with the exact paths covered in the device guides linked in the activation steps above. Install it at home before the trip; the pass won’t start until your first traffic in Italy.
WINDTRE (also written WindTre or W3) is the Italian operator created by the 2020 merger of Wind and Tre, the local 3 Italia brand. Seeing it in your status bar simply means your line is connected to the WindTre network.
Few, but real: your phone must support the format and be carrier-unlocked, setup needs a Wi-Fi connection and a QR code rather than just inserting a card, and moving the line to another phone usually takes a reissue step. The trade-offs between the formats are small either way, as theeSIM vs SIM comparison shows in detail.
For most visitors with a compatible phone, clearly yes. There’s nothing to ship, collect, or lose, the line can be ready before departure, and network speed is identical to a physical SIM. The honest exception is anyone carrying an older phone without eSIM support, for whom a physical tourist SIM remains the workable route.
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.
