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As one of the most visited cities in Europe, you cannot miss Istanbul if you are traveling to Turkey. With plenty of tourist places, full of history, such as the ancient Ottoman Empire and more. To enjoy your trip to the fullest, you will need a great internet connection. If it is the first time you are traveling to this city, and you don’t know how to connect to the internet, here we will tell you all you need to know about the new eSIM card for Istanbul. It will let you connect to the internet for a reasonable price.
You will read all the essential aspects, the conditions you must meet to get it, its data plans, prices, and so much more. Let’s begin with this article!
Table of Contents
The first thing you need to know about the eSIM card is that, since it is such a new product, not all smartphones are compatible. The eSIM technology is a microchip inserted into your smartphone. There will be some devices that will be able to support this technology, while others won’t.
You can read the conditions below so you make sure that it is an excellent option for you:
If your smartphone is not eSIM compatible, you can always get a traditional SIM card for Istanbul. Holafly offers this type of card with mobile data to use in Istanbul.
(You may be interested in Best eSIM for the USA)
You have read about the requirements for getting an eSIM card. Now, we are going to tell you about the international providers that offer this product. They only offer eSIM cards for travelers, so their eSIM cards won’t be valid for longer than three months.
If you plan to stay at your destination for a longer time, we recommend that you get an eSIM card from a local cellular operator.
The international providers are the following:
Another important aspect if you want to stick to your budget is to keep in mind are the prices and data plans that each company offers. Since not all international eSIM providers offer the same thing, you will have to compare them and pick the one that best suits your needs. We have made a list to help you with this decision.
Before buying an eSIM card, we recommend you also check the coverage it offers at your destination. We will tell you about this later.
| Provider | Data | Days | Price (USD) | Support in English? | Where can I buy it? |
| Holafly | Unlimited data | 30 | $75 | Yes | Web |
| GigSky | 5GB | 30 | $39.99 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| Truphone | 1GB | 30 | $4 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| Truphone | 3GB | 30 | $9 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| Truphone | 5GB | 30 | $13 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| WifiMap | 500MB | 30 | $4.72 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| WifiMap | 1GB | 30 | $8.27 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
| WifiMap | 3GB | 30 | $22.47 | Yes | Web, App Store, Play Store |
Now that you have read about data plans and prices, we are going to show you the characteristics of this product. You can read the list below to learn more about it:
(You may be interested in Best eSIM for Europe)
As we told you before, the coverage of the eSIM card is a crucial aspect. If it is not reliable coverage, you won’t be able to enjoy your data plan, you’ll end up with connectivity issues. Those issues may vary from having a low internet connection to ending up without a connection in some remote places.
To avoid having these problems, you can check the coverage your provider offers in your destination. The best cellular operators in Turkey are Turk Telecom, Turkcell, and Vodafone. The Holafly eSIM card works with Turk Telecom’s network, one of the best in the country.
If you are planning to stay in this destination for a long time, such as a year or more, you will need an eSIM card from a local operator. To get one of them, you will have to comply with some conditions, since it can be a little more complicated to get.
All you have to do is to visit the physical store of one of the cellular operators we will show you below, and ask for a prepaid or postpaid data plan that includes an eSIM card. You will have to show some identifications or information, and that’s it!
The cellular operators that offer this product are the following:
No, it is not necessary to show your passport to acquire an eSIM card. But some sellers may ask for your address. So, you may need a temporary address in this destination, such as a hotel.
It will depend on your provider, some will let you do it, while others won’t.
It will depend on your smartphone, but usually, all you have to do is to scan the QR code you receive in your email. Once you do it, you have to pick the eSIM card as the mobile data provider, turn on the data roaming, and that’s it!
There are two important aspects you should know: the amount of cellular data you usually use day to day, and the number of days or weeks you are going to stay at your destination. This way you will be able to pick the eSIM card that best suits your needs.
Other alternatives will let you connect to the internet during your trip, but some of them can be expensive or annoying, such as international roaming or having to carry a Pocket WiFi everywhere with you.
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