eSIM and SIM cards in Romania

If you have an EU plan, stop reading

• Roam-like-at-home applies. A SIM from any EU or EEA country works here at your domestic rates, with your domestic allowance. Buying anything local is money wasted.
• UK plans are not covered any more. Several UK networks reintroduced EU roaming charges after Brexit - check yours before you land rather than after.

Local prepaid SIM

• Orange, Vodafone and Digi cover the country. Coverage is good even in the Carpathians, and Romanian mobile data is among the fastest and cheapest in Europe.
• Digi is the budget option and is what price-conscious Romanians use.
• Bring your passport. Prepaid SIMs are registered to a person.
• Buy in an operator shop or a mall kiosk - supermarket top-ups are everywhere once you have the SIM.

eSIM

• An eSIM is live before you land and skips the shop entirely, which on a short trip is the whole argument for it.
• Check your phone takes one. Most flagship phones since 2019 do; most budget models do not.

Practical points

• Keep your home number reachable for two-factor codes. If you swap in a local SIM as your only card, bank apps that text a code to your home number stop working at the worst possible moment. A dual-SIM phone, or an eSIM alongside your home SIM, solves it.
• Wi-fi is widespread in cafes, hotels and stations.