An eSIM for the Balkans: staying online on a route that leaves the EU and comes back
A Balkan route crosses a border every two or three days, and not every country on it is covered by the same plan. Croatia, Slovenia and Greece are in the Europe pack; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia are not. Once you know which stretch of the route falls on which side, the plan is simple.
See the Europe packWhich Balkan countries the Europe pack covers
The 33-country Europe pack works in Croatia, Slovenia and Greece, and also in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria if your route starts or ends there. It is one eSIM that keeps working across those borders without changing anything, with 3 GB for 15 days or 10 GB and 20 GB for 30 days. The full list is on the Europe coverage map.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia are outside it: in those five countries the Europe eSIM has no data. Each of them has its own pack, with 3 GB for 15 days or 5, 10 and 20 GB for 30 days: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia. Kosovo is not in the Europe pack and has no pack of its own on Snoozim.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Your plan from home does not cover them either
Those five countries are not in the EU, so the EU roam-like-at-home rules do not apply there: what a European phone plan charges for data in Montenegro or Albania depends on each operator's own price list. The EU has opened talks to extend roam-like-at-home to the Western Balkans, but each country first has to adopt the EU roaming rules, and until that happens an EU plan is billed as roaming there.
How to combine the packs
- The Europe pack for the days in Croatia, Slovenia and Greece.
- A country pack for each stretch in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia or North Macedonia.
- Install them all at home on Wi-Fi. Installing does not start a plan: each one starts counting at its first connection in its own country, and you can buy up to 180 days ahead.
- At each border, choose the eSIM of the country you are entering as the line for mobile data, with data roaming switched on for it.
Most recent phones can keep several eSIMs installed and use one of them for data at a time. The dual SIM setup guide shows where that setting is on iPhone and Android.
The days run from the first connection, so check the dates when the EU countries are at both ends of the trip. If you start in Croatia and reach Greece five weeks later, a 30-day Europe pack will not stretch from one to the other, and a Greece pack for the end is the simpler choice.
Typical routes, stretch by stretch
Dubrovnik to Kotor. The coast road enters Montenegro at Karasovići and Debeli Brijeg, the busiest crossing between the two countries. Use the Europe pack or the Croatia pack up to the border and the Montenegro pack from there on. Many people visit Kotor on a day trip from Dubrovnik; for a single day, the smallest Montenegro pack or a set of offline maps is enough.
Split, Mostar and Sarajevo. Mostar and Sarajevo are both in Bosnia and Herzegovina, linked by bus and by train. Europe pack in Split, Bosnia and Herzegovina pack from the border to Sarajevo. If you drive the coast between Split and Dubrovnik, the short stretch at Neum is Bosnia too; the road trip guide explains how to avoid it.
Kotor to Tirana. The usual way goes through Shkodër, in northern Albania. Montenegro pack around the bay, Albania pack from the border, and the same Albania pack covers you down the coast to Saranda. From Saranda there are ferries to Corfu, which is Greece and back in the Europe pack.
Ohrid and on to Greece. Lake Ohrid lies on the border between North Macedonia and Albania, and the town of Ohrid is on the North Macedonian side, so take the North Macedonia pack. From Skopje, the road to Thessaloniki enters Greece at Bogorodica and Evzonoi, where the Europe pack or the Greece pack takes over again.
Belgrade. Serbia is outside the Europe pack, so the Serbia pack covers the days there. Coming from Croatia or Hungary, the Europe pack works up to the border.
Near a border, check which network you are on
In border areas a phone can pick up a network from the country next door, where the pack that is active does not work. Lake Ohrid, with one shore in each country, is a typical place for it. If data stops for no clear reason near a border, check which network the phone is using, pick a network of the country you are in by hand, or switch the data line to the right eSIM. If you have no signal at all, the no-service guide goes through the usual fixes.
How much data for a Balkan trip
- One or two weeks in a country, with offline maps and messages: 3 GB.
- Two to four weeks in the same country, with photos and video calls: 5 or 10 GB.
- Working online or sharing the connection with a laptop: 20 GB.
The country packs come in 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB; the Europe pack in 3, 10 and 20 GB. These are data-only eSIMs, with no number, calls or SMS. WhatsApp keeps working with your usual number, as the WhatsApp guide explains. Hotspot is allowed, and if you run out you can top up the same eSIM without reinstalling it.
Does the Europe eSIM work in Montenegro and Albania?
No. Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia are not in the 33-country Europe pack. Each of them has its own country pack.
Which Balkan countries are in the Europe pack?
Croatia, Slovenia and Greece, plus Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria if your route goes through them.
Do I need another eSIM for a day trip to Kotor or Mostar?
To have data that day, yes: Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are outside the Europe pack. The smallest pack of that country covers it; if you can do without data for a day, offline maps are enough.
Can I keep several eSIMs on one phone?
Yes, most recent phones keep several eSIMs installed. You choose which one carries data and change it when you cross a border; each plan only starts at its first connection in its own country.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See the Europe pack