Visiting Türkiye: tourist SIM or travel eSIM?

A tourist line is a prepaid SIM that Türkiye’s operators sell to visitors with a foreign passport. It comes with a new Turkish number, local minutes and texts, and a data allowance, and it is activated in a shop or at an airport dealer. Vodafone states that the package is for foreign customers taking a new line and that registration asks for a foreign passport number.

Tourist packages are for foreign passports. People living in Türkiye or holding a Turkish ID number use the operators’ regular prepaid tariffs; Turkish citizens living abroad sometimes get separate welcome offers when they visit, which you need to ask about in a shop.

Turkcell Tourist Welcome Pack: 20 GB of data, 200 local minutes, 28 days, 1,800 TL; the offer runs until 31 December 2026. The page does not mention a line activation fee or a passport requirement. Source: https://www.turkcell.com.tr/kampanyalar/mobil-hat-data-hatti-kampanyalari/yeni-turkcell-musterisi/tourist-welcome-pack

Vodafone Welcome to Turkey: 20 GB of domestic data, 750 minutes, and texts (the page says 250 in one place and 1,000 in its FAQ); WhatsApp (including calls), Telegram and Messenger do not count against the data, nor do Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the first week; the package lasts 28 days. According to the page the package itself is free and includes 5 TL of credit for the radio usage tax; the SIM card price varies by shop and is not listed. The line closes automatically after 60 days unless you change the tariff before day 60. It is sold in Vodafone shops, including airport shops, as a physical SIM or an eSIM, and registration asks for a foreign passport number. Source: https://www.vodafone.com.tr/en/tourist-sim-card-turkey

Türk Telekom Welcome: Welcome 10GB (250 minutes, 250 texts, 7 days) 320 TL; Welcome 25GB (750 minutes, 750 texts, 28 days) 420 TL; Welcome 50GB (1,500 minutes, 1,000 texts, 28 days) 550 TL; Welcome 75GB (750 minutes, 750 texts, 15 days) 550 TL. On the 25, 50 and 75 GB packages WhatsApp messaging does not count against the data, nor do X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube in the first week. The packages are one-off and are not renewed in later months; the line is sold in Türk Telekom shops and by airport dealers, and you choose the package when the line is activated or later by text message. Source: https://turktelekom.com.tr/en/prepaid-tourist-sim-turkey

Prices change with each campaign; these figures were taken from the operators’ official pages on 20 October 2026. Some pages list the line activation fee and taxes separately or not at all, so ask for the total you will pay in the shop.

A Voyafi Türkiye eSIM is a data-only plan: no phone number, no calls and no texts. Your own number stays active on your own SIM, and apps such as WhatsApp and FaceTime work over the eSIM’s data.

There is no shop, no queue and no passport registration: the installation details arrive by email after payment, you install the eSIM before your flight, and validity starts on installation or on the first connection in Türkiye, depending on the plan. Türkiye plans currently cost $2.03 (1 GB, 7 days), $2.20 (3 GB, 30 days) and $7.46 (20 GB, 30 days); prices are final, in US dollars, and come live from our catalogue.

Some tourist packages cost less per GB than a travel eSIM and some cost more; the real difference is not the price: the eSIM is ready before you land, needs no registration and does not change your number. Your phone has to support eSIM and be carrier-unlocked.

According to the consumer page of Türkiye’s telecoms regulator BTK, a phone brought from abroad can be used without registration for 120 days from the date you enter the country; a device that is not registered in that time is blocked on Turkish networks. Registration is done through e-Devlet, the government portal (it needs a foreign ID number and an e-Devlet password), can be made within 365 days of entry, and requires a fee set each year under the Fees Law. Source: https://tuketici.btk.gov.tr/merkezi-cihaz-kayit-sistemi · 2026 fee amounts: Official Gazette, 31 December 2025, Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2025/12/20251231M5-28.pdf

On a normal holiday this rule is not a problem: stays shorter than 120 days need no registration. If you stay longer than four months (students, remote workers, long visits), the phone is blocked on Turkish networks on day 120. BTK’s page does not set a separate rule for roaming on a foreign operator’s line; for your own case you can call BTK’s consumer line (120).

A tourist line makes sense if you want a Turkish number, make lots of calls inside Türkiye, stay about a month and can visit a shop. Türk Telekom’s 25 GB and 50 GB packages include the most minutes and texts; Vodafone’s can also be issued as an eSIM.

A travel eSIM is the shorter route if you want data the moment you land, want to keep your own number, are on a short or multi-stop trip, or land at night when shops are closed. You can also use both: the eSIM works as soon as you land, and you pick up a tourist line the next day at a quiet hour.

Either way, check before you fly that your phone supports eSIM or dual SIM and is not carrier-locked; the phone check on our Türkiye page is there for that.

Do I have to buy the tourist line at the airport? No; all three operators have shops in town. Türk Telekom’s and Vodafone’s pages also list their airport dealers and shops.

Can I get the tourist line as an eSIM? According to Vodafone’s page, the Welcome to Turkey package can be issued in a shop as a physical SIM or an eSIM; Turkcell’s and Türk Telekom’s pages do not mention an eSIM option.

What happens when the package ends? Türk Telekom’s Welcome packages are one-off and are not renewed; Vodafone’s package allowance lasts 28 days; Turkcell’s page does not say anything about renewal. With a travel eSIM you buy a new plan when it ends, and your number does not change in the first place.