Mobile internet in Venice: a visitor's guide
Venice is a city you cross on foot and by water, and the phone comes along for all of it: the boat timetable, the map in a dead-end alley, the ticket you show at the door. Two things decide how the day goes: whether your plan charges roaming, and how well your phone knows where it is.
See eSIMs for ItalyRoaming in Venice
- EU phone plans: Italy is in the EU, so roam-like-at-home applies, sometimes with a fair-use data cap.
- UK phone plans: since Brexit it depends on your operator, and several charge a daily fee for Italy.
- Plans from outside Europe: usually international roaming prices or a daily pass. The detail is in our Italy internet guide.
- An Italy data eSIM settles the question: fixed price on local networks (TIM (5G), Iliad (5G), Wind (5G)).
eSIM for Italy
Data on your phone the moment you land in Italy. No account, no app, no shop.
Choose your data
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.
And if it turns out yours cannot use it, write to us and you get every cent back.
Discount code
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.
From Marco Polo airport to the centre
The airport is on the mainland, so the way in is a bus across the bridge or a boat across the lagoon, and the two leave from different places. Which one you take, what the ticket costs and when the next one goes are all looked up on the phone, and the boat in particular does not run on a city-bus rhythm. You want data before you leave the terminal: for the ticket, for the timetable, for the message to the place you are staying and for the walk from the stop, which is never a straight line. Airport Wi-Fi usually asks for a registration and often cuts out after a set time, so do not build the arrival around it. Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi (step by step): it only starts counting when the phone connects to a network in Italy.
A labyrinth where the GPS loses the plot
Venice is the hardest city in Europe to be navigated by a phone. The alleys are narrow and the walls are high, so the satellite signal bounces before it reaches you and the blue dot drifts, turns the wrong way or places you in the canal. Add bridges, courtyards that look like streets and streets that end at the water, and a route that looks like five minutes turns into fifteen. Download the offline map of the whole city before you fly: GPS keeps working without data, the map does not. Inside museums, on ground floors and in the thick-walled rooms of old palaces, mobile coverage depends on the building and can simply go, the same as anywhere else built in stone.
Apps that eat data in Venice
- Offline maps, downloaded before you travel. Here you will open the map more often than anywhere else, and each time it reloads it costs data.
- The vaporetto: routes, times and tickets are checked and paid from the phone, and the app keeps refreshing while you wait at the pontoon.
- Timed-entry tickets for St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace are booked and shown from the phone. Save them to your phone wallet or as a PDF the night before and a queue with no signal stops being a problem.
- The city access fee is handled online on certain days. Amounts and dates change from year to year, so check the official city website before you travel, and do it with data in hand.
- Water, sun and a screen that never rests drain the battery faster than you expect. Carry a power bank: a flat phone means no map, no ticket and no boat.
How much data for a few days in Venice
- 3 GB: a long weekend of maps, messaging and tickets.
- 5 GB: a week with photos, social media and some video calls.
- 10 GB: two weeks, or two people sharing over the hotspot.
- 20 GB: a month, or working from the city. If you are unsure, the data size guide works it out from what you actually do.
Prices for Italy
Data eSIMs for Italy: 3 GB for 4,49 €, 5 GB for 6,49 €, 10 GB for 11,79 € and 20 GB for 16,99 €. It is data only, so your own line keeps your number and WhatsApp. Buy it weeks ahead if you like: installing does not start the plan, and the hotspot is included without any speed limit from us.
Why does the map keep losing me in Venice?
Narrow alleys and high walls bounce the satellite signal, so the blue dot drifts and points the wrong way. Download the offline map before you travel and check the street names as you go.
Can I check and pay for the vaporetto from my phone?
Routes, times and tickets are looked up and paid from the phone, which means you need data at the pontoon. Take a screenshot or download the ticket once you have it.
Do I need internet for the city access fee?
It is handled online on certain days of the year. The amounts and the dates change, so check the official city website before you travel rather than trusting an old article.
Does an Italy eSIM give me an Italian number?
No, it is data only. Your own line keeps your number, and WhatsApp carries on working with it.
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 eSIMs for Italy