How to get Wifi in Europe: A Guide for European Tourists

Whether it’s for business or pleasure, if you want to stay connected while traveling in Europe, you’ll need a data roaming solution.

There are a few ways you can do this. Your domestic network provider may offer international data roaming services, but this is often costly. You can also choose one of the other more common solutions like portable or pocket WiFi, a SIM card, or even an eSIM card.

Each of these solutions comes with some pros and cons and a solution that may be right for one traveler mightn’t be right for another.

Let’s have a look at the best solutions for Europe travelling and the best providers.

Summary

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• The Best Ways of Getting Wifi in Europe
• Pocket Wifi
• Sim Cards
• Data Roaming International Plan
• Use Free WiFi
• How to Choose the Best Wifi Option for Your Europe Trip
• Rental Duration
• Connectivity
• Data Limit
• Top Portable Wifi and SIM Card Providers for Travelers to Europe
• Hippocketwifi
• My Webspot
• HolaFly
• Rentconnect

The Best Ways of Getting Wifi in Europe

When many people say “WiFi”, what they actually mean is an internet connection. With most devices relying on an internet connection to work, for many travelers, a fast and reliable internet connection is a must.

There are 4 main ways travelers can get such a connection: Pocket WiFi, SIM cards, eSIM cards, data roaming plans, or through local WiFi hotspots and connections.

Pocket Wifi

Pocket WiFi is essentially a mini portable wireless router that you carry with you. It connects to the internet via a mobile network connection like your smartphone would and then creates a WiFi network for your other devices to connect to.

If you have multiple WiFi-enabled devices that you need to use, it’s a great solution since it’s relatively cheap, especially for groups traveling together.

The main downside is that you do have one extra device to carry with you, though most pocket WiFi devices aren’t much bigger than other mobile devices.

You can rent a pocket WiFi device for as little as €3.90 a day.

Sim Cards

Many travelers prefer to buy a prepaid SIM card for when they travel. This is much the same as having a smartphone from your travel destination and allows you to make calls, send messages, and access the internet in the same way the locals do, using their domestic mobile networks to do it.

You won’t need an extra device for this solution, but you might need to keep your other SIM card somewhere safe while using it and you won’t have access to your usual phone number while you do (unless your phone has two SIM slots).

Travel SIM cards tend to start at around €20 for a week of unlimited data and get cheaper per day the longer you opt for.

eSIM

An eSIM is a configurable SIM card that’s built into certain newer smartphone models. They allow you to “change” SIM cards without the need for a physical SIM.

These are useful as you can essentially contract data roaming services from specific providers without needing a new SIM.

While this allows you to use multiple SIM cards at once, it still means you only have internet access on the device with the eSIM. You can always tether other devices or create a mobile hotspot, but this tends to drastically drain the battery of the host device.

Data Roaming International Plan

Your current network provider will likely offer international data roaming plans.

Ideally, you’ll want to contract this service before you travel as the costs for unplanned international data use can be very costly.

With this solution, you just have to continue using your phone with the same number, and no need for additional devices or SIM cards.

However, this is often the most expensive option unless you have an excellent contract with your current provider.

In fact, all the other solutions exist because data roaming services provided by operators are often considered unnecessarily expensive, with many users having experienced what they considered excessive.

Use Free WiFi

Your last option for internet access while traveling is to use WiFi hotspots. This is essentially just using the free internet offered in public places or by local businesses.

The best thing about this option is that it’s free, but you need to be very careful when using public WiFi as the networks aren’t as secure as private networks, with some being little more than fake networks designed to scam users.

The biggest disadvantage to this free option is that the connection speeds are usually poor and inconsistent as they depend largely on how many people are using the network at a given time.

Device	Pros	Cons	Price
Pocket WiFi	Can connect multiple devices. Fast. Reliable.	Requires an extra device.	From €4 per day.
Sim Cards	No extra device needed.	Some phones only have 1 SIM card slot. Changes your phone number.	From €20 for 1 week.
eSIM	Pros: Immediately available, can be used in conjunction with your other eSim(s).	Only available on more modern phones. Tethering can drain battery.	From €20 for 5 days.
Data Roaming International Plan	Easy to set up, available immediately.	Often expensive, only for one device.	Consult your mobile carrier for prices.
Free WiFi	Free	Location-dependent. Uses public networks. Sometimes slow.	€0

How to Choose the Best Wifi Option for Your Europe Trip

So with so many options, how can you choose the right option for a trip to Europe?

When it comes to the price, most providers’ prices are affected by how long you need the service, the type of connectivity offered, your data limit, and how you’ll be using the connection.

Rental Duration

Generally, the longer you rent a pocket WiFi device or contract data roaming services, the less you’ll pay per day.

The same is true with SIM and eSIM cards with the cost per day decreasing for longer-term options.

For longer-term options, the cost almost reaches the crossover point with domestic internet connection costs so those traveling or working in a given country or region will end up paying only slightly more than the locals do.

Connectivity

Different users will have different needs in terms of connectivity.

Different network types (3G, 4G, or 5G) offer different connection speeds and come at different costs.

3G and 4G connections are usually suitable for light internet browsing, checking emails, and sending small files.

Other users, particularly business users, might require a 5G connection. This offers connection speeds up to 100 times that of 4G and is great for streaming video, making video calls, and sending large files.

Better connections are also more useful if you intend to connect many devices at once, with pocket WiFi devices usually capable of connecting 10 or more devices at once.

Data Limit

How much you intend to use your internet connection is worth thinking about. Solutions with a data limit are usually cheaper, but if you reach that data limit, you’ll be without a connection or provided with a much slower connection.

Unlimited data options are also available, but there’s no point in paying for data that you aren’t going to use.

Try to work out your typical data use. You can normally find this within your device’s settings and remember that your typical usage will likely be different while traveling. Think about whether you’ll use more or less data and go from there.

Top Portable Wifi and SIM Card Providers for Travelers to Europe

Now that you know what to think about, here are just some of the top portable WiFi and SIM card providers in Europe.

With all the factors to consider before you choose the right solution, we recommend that you do your research and compare similar plans before making a decision.

Hippocketwifi

Hippocketwifi rents portable WiFi devices starting at €3.90 a day, allowing you to create a private WiFi hotspot wherever you go across France and around Europe.
You can connect up to 10 devices at once including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and any WiFi-enabled device.

The 10-day Europe-wide solution is the most popular, with users allowed 1GB per day across Europe for €5.90 a day.

My Webspot

My Webspot is another pocket WiFi rental company based mainly in Asia with offices around the world.

Renting a pocket WiFi device for 14 days in France works out at €133 or €9.50 a day. A 10-day Europe-wide rental costs €95 or €9.50 a day. Both options are for 1GB of high-speed internet per day.

HolaFly

HolaFly offers unlimited data eSIM cards starting at €19 for 7 days in France. Similarly, their Europe-wide plan is also €19, but this is for just 5 days.

Like with other providers, the longer you opt for, the less you’ll end up paying each day.

As this is an eSIM provider, you will need to check that your smartphone is compatible with eSIM first. If you don’t have an eSIM-compatible smartphone, you won’t be able to use HolaFly.

If it is, you can buy and contract data roaming through an eSIM fairly instantaneously, with the details being sent via email and setup requiring you to simply scan a QR code.

This is certainly one of the better options, but not so much better that it’s worth buying a new phone for.

Rentconnect

Rentconnect is a pocket WiFi rental company offering mobile hotspots for travelers all over the world as well as eSIM solutions.

A 10-day rental for an EU mobile hotspot with a 5G connection would cost €99.90 or €9.99 a day. The slower option costs around €7.49 per day.

There are certainly more options out there, but these are the top options and the ones we’d recommend comparing first before making your decision.