Getting online in Tunisia as a tourist: roaming, local SIMs and the crossing
A phone plan from Spain or any other EU country does not roam like at home in Tunisia: the EU scheme stops at the EU, the EEA, Moldova and Ukraine. That leaves three ways online: a travel eSIM installed before you leave, a Tunisian prepaid line that is only activated once your identity has been checked, or Wi-Fi where your hotel or café offers it. If you arrive by ferry, there is one more thing to settle: what your phone does at sea, where EU rules do not protect you either.
Why your EU plan is not at home prices in Tunisia
The EU's Your Europe portal lists where roam-like-at-home applies: the EU countries, the EEA members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and Moldova and Ukraine. Other countries are not covered by the regime, although the portal notes that many operators choose to extend these offers, so it is worth reading your own contract. For everyone else, Tunisia is roaming outside the EU, and Your Europe warns that this, data in particular, can be expensive, and advises checking the cost with your provider before you travel.
If you are not buying your operator's add-on, turn data roaming off on your home line before you land. Apple puts the switch under Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data Options, Data Roaming, choosing the line first if you have more than one. The steps for iPhone and Android are in how to turn off roaming on your home line.
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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.
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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.
Three ways to get online in Tunisia
- A travel eSIM: installed at home from a QR code, it joins a Tunisian network as a visitor when you arrive. It carries data only, with no Tunisian number, and your usual SIM stays in the phone.
- A Tunisian prepaid SIM or eSIM: sold by the local operators with data, calls and a local number, and activated only after your identity is checked, as explained below.
- Wi-Fi only: whatever your hotel, riad or café offers. It covers evenings in, not finding your way around a medina or a day trip.
For a week in Djerba, Hammamet, Sousse or Tunis, most travellers only need data for maps, messages, bookings and photos. A Tunisian number makes sense when someone in Tunisia needs to call you on it. For an eSIM, Apple says the iPhone has to be unlocked: in Settings, General, About, Carrier Lock should read No SIM Restrictions, and the eSIM is activated over Wi-Fi. Other models are in the list of compatible phones, and the setup is in how to install an eSIM.
What a Tunisian SIM involves: passport and airport pickup
Tunisia has three mobile operators, Tunisie Telecom, Orange Tunisie and Ooredoo, the three that received 5G licences from the Ministry of Communication Technologies. Ooredoo sells a Holiday SIM aimed at visitors, with data, local and international calls, also available as an eSIM. You can preorder it online: the form asks for your name, email, passport ID, arrival date and arrival airport, with a choice between Tunis-Carthage and Djerba-Zarzis, and whether you want a SIM or an eSIM. The page refers you to Ooredoo's airport booths for the rest of the details.
Identity checks are not optional. The ministry and the national regulator, the INT, have announced that operators must deactivate SIM cards that are unidentified or have incomplete identity records, that a line is only activated after a valid ID has been checked, and that selling SIM cards in streets and markets is banned. So a SIM offered outside an operator's shop or booth is one to avoid. The trade-off of a local line is time at a counter after the flight; what you get for it is a Tunisian number.
Crossing by ferry from Marseille or Genoa
If you travel by sea, the Tunisian ferry company CTN runs car ferries between Europe and Tunisia, and its site mentions Marseille and Genoa among the European ports and La Goulette, the port of Tunis, at the other end. The crossing is where an unplanned bill is most likely. Your Europe explains that on board a ship or a plane, once mobile services run over satellite systems, EU rules no longer apply: these are non-regulated roaming services with no price caps.
Its advice is to turn roaming off or switch on flight mode while on board, and you can keep Wi-Fi on if you buy a package from the ship. A travel eSIM for Tunisia only uses land networks, so it will not connect at sea and cannot run up charges there; it is useful once the coast is in range. The whole routine, including how to stop your phone joining a ship's network in port, is in phone and mobile data on a cruise.
Beyond the resorts: Tozeur, the desert and offline maps
Do not assume coverage everywhere on a trip south towards Tozeur or the Sahara. Ooredoo's own coverage page says its maps are indicative, produced from a simulation model, and that coverage can change with the number of users and with obstacles. Look at the map for your route before you go, and wherever there is no network there is no data, whichever line you use.
Prepare the phone for those stretches while you still have Wi-Fi. Google Maps can guide you offline only for driving, and only if the whole route is inside the area you downloaded; Google says transit, bicycling and walking directions are unavailable offline. You download an area from your profile picture, Offline maps, Select your own map; the details are in how to use Google Maps offline. In Google Translate, download the languages you expect to need on Wi-Fi; Google says camera translation then works for downloaded languages without a connection.
WhatsApp, bank codes and your usual number
A data-only eSIM leaves your usual number untouched. WhatsApp runs over data and keeps your account, as explained in keeping your WhatsApp number with an eSIM. On an iPhone you choose which line uses data under Settings, Cellular, Cellular Data. Apple notes that if you keep your home line switched on alongside the travel eSIM, the eSIM handles data but you might still incur roaming fees from the home line, which is why its data roaming should stay off.
Keeping the home line on is what lets a bank's SMS codes reach you during the trip. If you switch to the travel eSIM only, Apple says FaceTime and iMessage carry on working on your home line. The setup for iPhone and Android, line by line, is in dual SIM for travel.
How much data, and which network our plans use
There is no official figure per tourist per day, so measure your own. On an iPhone, Settings, Cellular lists the data each app has used, with Reset Statistics at the bottom: reset it, spend an ordinary day at home with Wi-Fi off and read the total. Low Data Mode, under Cellular Data Options, Data Mode on 5G phones, turns off Background App Refresh and automatic downloads and backups. On a Pixel, Settings, Network and internet, SIMs, App data usage gives per-app figures, and Data warning and limit alerts you at an amount you set; Google adds that some carriers measure usage differently.
Multiply by your days in Tunisia and add a margin for photos and video, or use the data calculator and how much data do I need. Snoozim's Tunisia plans connect to Ooredoo TN, listed as 5G, in sizes of 3 GB for 15 days and 5, 10 or 20 GB for 30 days. They start counting at the first connection in Tunisia, work only in Tunisia, can share data through the hotspot and can be topped up without reinstalling, as shown in how to top up a travel eSIM.
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Does EU roaming work in Tunisia?
No. Roam like at home covers the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Moldova and Ukraine, and Tunisia is not among them. Some operators extend their offers to other countries, so check your contract and the price before you go.
Do I need my passport to buy a SIM card in Tunisia?
You need an identity document: Tunisian rules say a line is only activated after a valid ID has been checked. Ooredoo's Holiday SIM preorder form asks for your passport ID.
Can I collect a Tunisian SIM at the airport?
Ooredoo lets you preorder its Holiday SIM online and choose Tunis-Carthage or Djerba-Zarzis as your arrival airport, as a SIM or an eSIM. Its page points to Ooredoo's airport booths for more details.
Will I be charged for using my phone on the ferry to Tunisia?
Possibly, if your phone joins a network on board. Your Europe says that once services run over satellite, EU rules no longer apply and there are no price caps, so use flight mode or turn roaming off during the crossing.
Does Google Maps work offline in the Tunisian desert?
Only for driving, and only if the whole route is inside the area you downloaded. Google says walking, cycling and transit directions are unavailable offline.
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 Tunisia eSIMs