Travel Greece eSIM | Cosmote, Vodafone & Nova Coverage
Roami
Roami is a global eSIM carrier focused on travel connectivity. This guide is compiled from network data, official carrier and manufacturer documentation, and traveler inquiries.
📑 Table of Contents
The best Greece eSIM depends on your island group, not the brand logo — this guide matches the three national networks to the routes you will actually sail. Greece runs on three national networks, and they are not the same. On Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report for the first half of 2025, Cosmote took both the Best Mobile Network award and the Best 5G Network award, with a Speedtest Connectivity Score of 77.64. Vodafone followed at 73.42, and Nova (the network formerly called Wind) closed the field at 70.59. The right network is the one that still works on the ferry route you booked.
Quick answer: Go with Cosmote if coverage matters more than price, Nova if you are staying across the main cities. Before buying anything, make sure your device is eSIM-ready via the compatibility checker.
If the handset question or the install process is still fuzzy, start here. Run your model through the device compatibility list first, then read how an eSIM profile installs — both are prerequisites this page deliberately skips.
Fast take: Staying in Athens or Thessaloniki? Cosmote is the strongest network in the country and the only one Ookla named best overall and best for 5G. Island hopping the Cyclades, Crete or Rhodes? Cosmote also posts the highest 5G availability at 78.5% and holds signal where the others thin out, so it is the safe pick on the water. Want a visitor eSIM without a shop visit and a passport copy? zero-cost trial eSIM tests the networks at no cost, and the code WEB20 cuts 20% from Greece prepaid eSIM plans.
Which carriers can your Greece eSIM use?
This section maps the three networks, the prepaid brands stacked on top of them, and the choice between buying from a carrier and using a travel eSIM. The single most useful fact is that Greece bans anonymous prepaid lines, so every local SIM or eSIM you buy in a shop is registered against your passport by law.
Cosmote vs Vodafone: which is better in Greece?
| Cosmote | Vodafone | Nova | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can visitors buy prepaid eSIM? | eSIM on eligible postpaid and prepaid lines; prepaid often a physical SIM registered with your passport | eSIM on eligible plans via the app or a store | eSIM on eligible plans; the network was Wind until the rebrand |
| What it leads on | Best Mobile Network and Best 5G Network in Ookla 1H 2025 | Strong urban 5G, second on most Ookla metrics | Cheapest unlimited, decent in cities, thinner in remote spots |
| Cheapest entry plan | Giga Week unlimited about EUR 6.50 for 7 days; 30-day unlimited EUR 11 to 15 in town | CU unlimited summer about EUR 10.90; airport tourist bundle EUR 25 | Free2Go tourist unlimited 30 days about EUR 20; summer offer about EUR 10.60 |
| How to get it as a tourist | ★★★ — buy in a Cosmote or Germanos shop, show passport, walk out connected | ★★★ — Vodafone shop or kiosk, passport registration required | ★★ — Nova or Wind shop, cheapest but patchier away from towns |
Read that table carefully, because it holds the practical core of this page: all three networks sell eSIMs, but the visitor path is not a clean walk-up download for everyone. Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova all support eSIM on eligible plans, and each will hand a prepaid SIM across the counter once you show identification. If you want a Greece eSIM with no shop visit, no queue and no passport photocopy, a travel eSIM is the route most short-stay travellers take.
Which prepaid brands sell eSIMs for visitors
Greece’s prepaid tier is where visitors actually find usable eSIM and SIM products, sold under the carriers’ own prepaid names.
| Brand | Parent network | eSIM available | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| What’s Up | Cosmote | Yes on eligible devices through Cosmote channels | Visitors who want Cosmote reach without a postpaid contract |
| Vodafone CU | Vodafone | Yes, prepaid eSIM through Vodafone | City breaks and resort stays on a familiar network |
| Nova Free2Go | Nova, formerly Wind | Yes on eligible plans | Budget travellers who want the cheapest unlimited bundle |
| Cosmote postpaid | Cosmote | Yes, eSIM for contract customers | Longer stays that need a Greek phone number |
Two cautions. First, budget prepaid products are tied to one network, so they show the same gaps as the parent the moment you leave the city or the main island. Second, Greek law registers every prepaid line against your passport, so even the cheapest bundle means a copy of your ID at the point of sale. A travel eSIM sidesteps that paperwork.
Can you buy a Greece eSIM from Cosmote?
| Direct from a Greek carrier | Travel eSIM on a Greek network | |
|---|---|---|
| What you need | Passport or EU ID for registration; a Greek address for postpaid contracts | A compatible, unlocked phone |
| How the profile arrives | In a shop, through an app, or a carrier-issued QR code | A QR code or app install immediately after checkout |
| Typical cost | Unlimited 30-day prepaid about EUR 11 to 20 in town; airport desks charge far more | One upfront price in EUR, no registration step |
| Network access | One carrier, fixed at purchase | Automatic switching across Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova |
| ID rule | Greek law registers every prepaid line against your passport | Passport upload at checkout for some, none for others |
| Best for | Stays of two weeks or more, or anyone who needs a Greek number | Trips of days to weeks, online the moment you land |
For a normal holiday — navigation, bookings and the occasional laptop hotspot — the economics favour the travel eSIM. A Greek prepaid plan is built for residents who want a local number and monthly billing; a travel eSIM buys data at wholesale and lets the device move between networks. Where the carrier wins is longevity and voice, a real Greek number and unlimited domestic calling, which only matters once you live in Greece.
💡 A multi-network eSIM profile is the practical middle path: Roami’s Greece eSIM keeps the convenience of instant delivery, switches automatically between Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova, and still lands you on Cosmote in the Cyclades and Nova in town without buying twice.
Is my phone ready for a Greek eSIM?
Three things decide whether your phone works on a Greek carrier: its frequency bands, its lock status, and a short list of device-specific quirks. All three are covered below.
Is your model approved for Greece eSIMs?
Greek carriers build their 4G on bands 3 (1800 MHz), 7 (2600 MHz) and 20 (800 MHz), and their 5G on band n78 (3500 MHz) and band n1 (2100 MHz). Almost every flagship phone sold in Europe, North America or Asia since 2019 carries those bands, so most visitors connect without thinking about it. The phone you should worry about is an older model or a budget handset that lacks band 20, because that 800 MHz layer is what carries signal into rural valleys and across open water.
Nobody expects you to memorise band charts. What counts is the model number, not the retail name, so match it against eSIM compatibility quiz. If the technical side interests you before you board the ferry, what your phone does when it loads an eSIM profile covers it in plain terms.
Who sells mobile service in Greece
A locked phone is the most common reason a Greece eSIM install simply fails, and the fix is the same everywhere. Greek carriers sell phones locked to their own network, and a handset locked to a carrier abroad will refuse any profile that is not from that carrier.
Check it: on iPhone, open Settings -> General -> About -> Carrier Lock. A “No SIM restrictions” line means you are free to install anything. A “SIM locked” result means travel profiles will refuse to install until the phone is freed.
Fix it: the lock belongs to whoever sold the phone, so the unlock request goes to them, not to Cosmote. Devices that are paid off are normally cleared within hours, and most carriers no longer charge for it. Only then try installing your eSIM.
If you bought a used phone, or a phone on a plan from a US or European carrier, assume it may be locked and check before you fly. The Greek shop staff cannot unlock a foreign handset for you.
Does your handset suit Greece networks?
| Device | Symptom | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland-China iPhone models | No “Add eSIM” option at all, the hardware is disabled in that market | Not fixable; use a physical SIM or another device |
| Carrier-purchased phone still under contract | eSIM greyed out or install fails | Ask the original carrier to unlock it first, then reboot |
| Phone without band 20 | Fast in Athens and Thessaloniki, weaker on islands and in valleys | Expected behaviour; prefer Cosmote for reach |
| Dual-SIM users | eSIM installed but no data | Set the eSIM as the line used for mobile data |
Past that point the quirks belong to your handset, not to the Greek networks. Before you pay for an island-hopping plan, push your model through the compatibility lookup tool.
What does data cost from each Greek carrier?
Three routes exist, and they differ more in paperwork than in price: Cosmote for the widest reach, Vodafone for strong cities, and Nova for the cheapest unlimited. Each route, step by step.
Where to get a Greece eSIM
Cosmote is the incumbent and the market leader, and it is the network Ookla named best overall and best for 5G in the first half of 2025. Cosmote supports eSIM on eligible postpaid plans and on prepaid lines through its app and shops.
Cosmote eSIM, step by step:
- Visit a Cosmote or Germanos shop, or use the Cosmote app if you already hold an eligible plan; pick a prepaid or postpaid line.
- Show your passport or EU identity card. Greek law requires the seller to register the line against that document, so there is no anonymous option.
- Choose eSIM at activation. On prepaid, staff often hand a physical SIM, but eSIM is available on eligible devices; on postpaid the eSIM is issued to your account.
- No credit check is needed for prepaid. The profile then connects to Cosmote’s network, the one with 78.5% 5G availability and the highest consistency scores among the three.
Cosmote’s prepaid bundles are among the most generous for island travel, which makes Cosmote the default Greece eSIM recommendation for anyone leaving the mainland. Check your model before buying.
How do you get a Vodafone Greece plan?
Vodafone Greece is the solid number two. It supports eSIM on eligible plans through its app and stores, and it runs strong 5G in Athens, Thessaloniki and the bigger islands.
For a Vodafone plan, the newcomer path is a shop or kiosk visit: bring your passport or EU ID, and staff register the line on the spot. Vodafone’s own prepaid brand, CU, sells an unlimited summer bundle that is popular with visitors, and the airport desk sells a tourist pass at a premium. Vodafone posted a Speed Score of 63.65 and a Consistency Score of 92 in Ookla’s 1H 2025 data, so it is a close competitor to Cosmote in towns even if it trails on raw reach.
Does Nova sell a prepaid eSIM for visitors?
Nova is the network you may still hear called Wind, a name it dropped after the merger. It supports eSIM on eligible plans and runs the most aggressive prices, which is why budget travellers gravitate to its Free2Go prepaid brand.
Nova’s Ookla numbers are third of the three: a Speed Score of 59.76 and a 5G availability of 75.3%, with a Game Score of 81.27 that actually edges Vodafone. In practice Nova is perfectly good in cities and large resorts but historically thinner on the smaller islands and in the mountains. If your trip is Athens plus a single big island, Nova saves money without much risk; if you are stringing together the small Cyclades, spend the extra euros on Cosmote.
What to have ready before a shop visit
- Passport or EU identity card — Greek law registers every prepaid line against it; a photocopy or scan is taken at the counter
- IMEI — dial
*#06# - EID — also from the
*#06#screen; this is the eSIM’s own identifier - A card that works in Greece — some carrier checkouts reject foreign billing addresses
- Unlocked phone — look for No SIM restrictions in the Carrier Lock entry
- Wi-Fi — install the profile before you fly, not in the airport queue
Plans and current tiers live on our Greece eSIM page. Do the install at home, so the line is alive the second you step off the ferry or plane.
Where data is cheapest in Greece
All prices below are summer 2026 tourist offers in euros and shift with the season; the same bundle can cost more in winter. They are here so you can see the real shape of the local market before you decide.
| Carrier or brand | Plan | Data and validity | Price (EUR) | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmote | Giga Week unlimited | Unlimited, 7 days | about 6.50 | Cosmote or Germanos shop |
| Cosmote | DIY Pack 10 GB | 10 GB, 30 days | about 12.00 | Cosmote or Germanos shop |
| Cosmote | Summer prepaid unlimited | Unlimited, 30 days | 11 to 15 | Town shops |
| Vodafone CU | Summer unlimited | Unlimited, 30 days | about 10.90 | Vodafone shop |
| Vodafone | Giga WiFi on the spot | 40 GB, 30 days | about 9.90 | Vodafone shop |
| Vodafone airport | International tourist | Unlimited, 15 days | about 25.00 | Airport desk |
| Nova Free2Go | Tourist unlimited | Unlimited, 30 days | about 20.00 | Nova or Wind shop |
| Nova | F2G summer offer | Unlimited, 30 days | about 10.60 | Nova shop |
One detail worth memorising: the airport desk charges roughly triple the in-town price for the same data. Walk past the arrivals-hall counter, get into Athens or Thessaloniki, and buy the identical bundle from a town shop or a street promoter for a third of the cost. If you need data the instant you land, put a travel eSIM on the phone before departure instead.
Your eSIM speeds: Cosmote vs Vodafone
Two things decide this section: what each network delivers where you are standing, and the shape of your trip. The Ookla table below settles the first; the trip and regional tables settle the second.
Cosmote vs Vodafone: which Greece carrier is faster?
All figures below come from Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report for Greece, collection period January to June 2025, and are national-level measurements. The report named Cosmote the Best Mobile Network overall and the Best 5G Network in that period.
| Metric | Cosmote | Vodafone | Nova |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speedtest Connectivity Score | 77.64 | 73.42 | 70.59 |
| Speed Score | 71.26 | 63.65 | 59.76 |
| Consistency Score | 91.2 | 92 | 89.7 |
| 5G Availability | 78.5% | 76.1% | 75.3% |
| Video Streaming Score | 76.56 | 75.72 | 74.04 |
| Game Score | 84.91 | 81.08 | 81.27 |
| 5-Star Rating | 3.59 | 3.28 | 3.43 |
Source: Ookla Speedtest Connectivity Report — Greece, January to June 2025, the per-carrier report. Cosmote also recorded a median download of 118.8 Mbps across all technologies and a median 5G download of 200.52 Mbps in the same report, ahead of Vodafone at 70.91 Mbps and 105.34 Mbps. Ookla noted no statistically significant difference in overall consistency between the three, even though Vodafone edged the published score at 92.
An empty cell means the report withheld that number; none are estimated. Two things worth noticing: Cosmote leads on reach and 5G availability, which is exactly the metric that matters on a ferry or a mountain road, while Vodafone’s consistency edge is real but small. For country-level context, DataReportal’s Digital 2026 Greece reports a median mobile download of about 120.53 Mbps at the end of 2025, and Greek mobile data is consistently ranked among the more expensive in the EU, which is one reason visitors compare a travel eSIM against a local prepaid plan.
The best Greece eSIM for how you travel
| The trip | Best-fit carrier | Why | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| City break, Athens or Thessaloniki | Cosmote or Vodafone | Both are excellent downtown; Cosmote is fastest overall | Airport desks overcharge; buy in town |
| Island hopping, Cyclades or Dodecanese | Cosmote | Highest 5G availability at 78.5% and best reach on the water | Ferries lose signal mid-crossing regardless of carrier |
| Crete or Rhodes stay | Cosmote | Strong coast and town coverage, 5G in the main towns | South-coast roads and gorges drop out |
| Budget traveller | Nova | Cheapest unlimited, about EUR 10 to 20 for 30 days | Thinner on small islands and in mountains |
| Business travel and video calls | Cosmote | Best Video Streaming Score at 76.56 and top Game Score | Hotel upper floors help; download maps for drives |
| Mainland road trip, Peloponnese or Meteora | Cosmote | Holds signal on climb where others fade | Mountain passes still patchy; keep offline maps |
| Multi-island tour | A multi-network eSIM | Switches as you move between carriers | Single-carrier plans show gaps between islands |
Cosmote vs Vodafone: coverage compared
Greece’s coverage follows population and coastline: dense in the cities and resort towns, thinning fast on the open water and in the mountains. Put that on real Greek routes and the picture looks like this:
| Region | Reality on the ground |
|---|---|
| Athens and Attica | Full 5G across the capital; Cosmote fastest, all three strong. Marousi recorded the fastest median mobile download in Greece at 233.19 Mbps in Ookla’s data. |
| Thessaloniki and the north | Strong 5G in the second city and along the highways; Vodafone competitive here. |
| Crete | Well covered along the north coast in Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno; the Samaria Gorge is 16 km of zero signal. |
| Cyclades, Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos | 5G in the towns, all operators; small northern Cyclades keep only Cosmote. |
| Dodecanese, Rhodes, Kos | Good in Rhodes Town and Kos Town; on Kos and Patmos your phone may latch onto a Turkish network. |
| Peloponnese and Meteora | Towns and main roads on 5G; mountain switchbacks and high trails patchy, Cosmote holds best. |
| Open sea by ferry | Signal lost for a large part of most crossings, often 30 to 90 minutes offline mid-route. |
Crossing a border? We publish the same sourced breakdown for Italy eSIM plans, compare Turkey eSIM guide and Cyprus eSIM guide. If your trip covers several countries, a Europe eSIM saves buying twice.
Roaming with a Greece eSIM
EU rules let a Greek SIM roam at domestic rates across the EU and EEA, but the neighbours that draw the most visitors sit outside that zone. This table is the part most travellers miss.
| Destination from Greece | Covered by EU roam like at home | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria, all EU and EEA states | Yes | A Greek SIM works at home rates under the fair-use policy |
| Turkey | No | A Greek SIM roams at extra cost; on Kos or Patmos you may connect to a Turkish mast by accident |
| Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia | No | Separate Western Balkan deals exist but a plain Greek prepaid plan is not covered |
| United Kingdom | No | Post-Brexit, standard international roaming rates apply |
The practical takeaway: a Greek SIM is a brilliant tool inside the EU and on the Greek islands, but the moment your itinerary touches Turkey or the Western Balkans, either buy a local plan there or carry a travel eSIM that already covers the country.
Automatic network selection is what makes Greek travel work. A profile that can move between Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova covers the gaps that any single-carrier plan cannot, especially on the ferries and in the hills.
Does a Greek SIM need its own APN?
APN settings sit at the bottom of most travellers’ to-do list, yet they are the first suspect when data dies on a ferry. The values for the three Greek networks appear below, for the rare cases where manual entry is truly needed, along with the exact menus.
APN values for Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova eSIMs
You will only need these if you bought a SIM or eSIM directly from a Greek carrier. Travel eSIM profiles carry their own APN, so on the islands you should leave that field untouched.
| Carrier | APN | Username | Password |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmote | internet |
blank | blank |
| Vodafone | internet.vodafone.gr |
blank | blank |
| Nova | internet.wind.gr |
blank | blank |
Leave username and password empty. Most modern eSIM profiles configure the APN automatically, so if data works you can ignore this table entirely. If a carrier-issued prepaid eSIM did not auto-configure, enter the value above and restart.
The rare cases that need a manual APN
- A handset too old to fetch carrier settings on its own
- A profile set up with a manual activation code instead of a QR scan
- A carrier-issued prepaid eSIM where automatic configuration did not run
- Almost never on a travel eSIM, which is the point of a managed profile
Greece eSIMs that need a typed APN
- iPhone: in Settings → Cellular, tap the eSIM line → Cellular Data Network, then enter the APN
- Android: Settings → Connections → Mobile Networks → Access Point Names → add a new APN
After saving, restart the phone. No data yet? Check that the data line is the eSIM and not your home card before touching anything else.
Greece eSIM activation and early fixes
Work through this section once: it takes a Greece eSIM from clean install to working data, plus the failure patterns Greek networks actually produce, in the order you’ll meet them.
Greece eSIM installation steps
| # | Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phone is not carrier locked | No SIM restrictions listed in About → Carrier Lock |
| 2 | Phone supports eSIM | *#06# shows an EID, or the eSIM compatibility checker confirms your model |
| 3 | QR code and activation code saved | Screenshot stored on the phone and in cloud storage |
| 4 | Profile installed before departure | Install on Wi-Fi at home; the profile connects when you land |
| 5 | Data line and roaming set | eSIM selected for mobile data, data roaming on |
Do step 4 at home. Athens International arrivals halls have congested Wi-Fi exactly when you need it most, and a profile you install on the ground competes with everyone else’s.
Does every carrier activate eSIMs the same way?
The full walkthrough, from scanning the QR code to switching roaming on, sits in our eSIM activation walkthrough. What differs by carrier:
- Cosmote: eSIM issued through the app or shop on an eligible plan; prepaid often a physical SIM, eSIM on request for compatible devices
- Vodafone: eSIM through the Vodafone app or a store, on eligible prepaid or postpaid plans; passport registration required
- Nova: eSIM on eligible plans, formerly Wind; activation through Nova channels with ID
- Travel eSIMs: install by QR code, and the same profile roams onto whichever of Cosmote, Vodafone or Nova is strongest
Four fixes when a Greece eSIM refuses to work
General activation errors, a profile that will not download, a scan that fails, an eSIM that installs but never registers, are covered in our eSIM troubleshooting resource. Four patterns come up again and again in Greece — the list below covers them.
A. The eSIM will not install
- Check the phone is lock-free: Carrier Lock shows No SIM restrictions
- Look over the QR code before scanning; one scan is all it gets
- If the status looks odd, ask the operator whether your profile is parked in a pending state
B. Installed, but no signal bars
- Re-check the lock status
- Settings → Cellular → Network Selection → select Cosmote, Vodafone or Nova manually instead of automatic
- Do a network settings reset and reboot the phone
C. Signal bars, but no internet
- Cross-check the APN row by row with the table above
- Make certain the data line is the eSIM rather than your usual card
- On Kos or Patmos, manually pick Cosmote GR so the phone does not camp on a Turkish network
D. Offline on the ferry or in a gorge
- This is expected, not a fault; open water and deep gorges have no mast in range
- Download offline maps and your ferry ticket as a PDF before you board
- Wait for the next coastline; signal returns as you approach port
What to prepare before contacting support about a Greek eSIM
| Info needed | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| Order or account number | Confirmation email |
| Phone model and OS version | Settings → About |
| EID | *#06# |
| Screenshot of the error | Take it before the screen changes |
| Current APN settings | Settings → Cellular Data Network |
| Data roaming status | Settings → Cellular → your eSIM line |
| Steps already tried | Keep a short list |
Greece eSIM questions and answers
Cosmote eSIM plans for visitors
Cosmote supports eSIM on eligible plans, and its prepaid brand What’s Up runs on the Cosmote network. In practice, visitors buying prepaid at a Cosmote or Germanos shop are often handed a physical SIM, with eSIM available on compatible devices. Either way, Greek law requires the line to be registered against your passport. If you want a Cosmote profile with no shop and no ID copy, a travel eSIM that rides Cosmote is the cleaner route.
Does Vodafone sell a tourist eSIM for visitors?
Yes, on eligible plans through the Vodafone app or a store, with passport registration. Vodafone’s prepaid brand CU sells an unlimited summer bundle that is popular with visitors, and the airport desk sells a pricier tourist pass. Vodafone posted the second-best Ookla numbers after Cosmote, so it is a strong choice in Athens, Thessaloniki and the larger islands.
Can international visitors get a Nova eSIM?
Nova supports eSIM on eligible plans and is the cheapest of the three, with Free2Go unlimited around EUR 20 for 30 days. The trade-off is reach: Nova’s Ookla 5G availability was 75.3% and its network thins out on the smaller islands and in the mountains. For a city-plus-one-big-island trip it is fine; for scattered island hopping, spend up on Cosmote.
Which carrier wins outside Athens?
Cosmote, on the evidence. It led Ookla’s 5G availability at 78.5% in the first half of 2025 and is the network most travel writers name for holding signal on the Cyclades ferry routes and in remote island harbours. Vodafone is a close second in towns; Nova is the one to avoid if your itinerary flirts with the small islands.
Do I need ID to buy a Greek SIM?
ID is required. Greek law bans anonymous prepaid lines, so every local SIM and prepaid eSIM is registered against a valid passport or EU identity card, and the seller photographs or copies the document at the point of sale. You must also be 18 or over. A travel eSIM bought before you fly usually needs only an email, which is why many visitors skip the shop entirely.
Does a Greek SIM roam free in the EU?
Inside the EU and EEA, yes, a Greek SIM roams at home rates under the roam-like-at-home rules. Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia are outside that zone, so a plain Greek prepaid plan is not covered and roaming charges apply. On Kos and Patmos you can even connect to a Turkish mast by accident, so set the network manually to Cosmote GR near those borders.
Why do ferries lose signal mid-crossing?
Because there is no mast in the open Aegean. Cellular signal typically drops about 5 to 10 km from any coastline and does not return until you approach the next port, leaving 30 to 90 minutes offline on most crossings. Even Cosmote, the strongest network, falls to nothing a few kilometres off Santorini. The fix is preparation: download offline maps and your ferry ticket as a PDF before you board.
Why is my phone on a Turkish network?
On Kos and Patmos, which sit close to the Turkish coast, a phone set to automatic network selection can camp on a Turkish operator, a non-EU network that bills at international rates. Open Settings, Cellular, Network Selection, switch off automatic, and manually choose Cosmote GR. That keeps you on the Greek network you paid for.
Rural coverage in Greece: Cosmote vs Vodafone
Cosmote, on the evidence. Its Connectivity Score of 77.64 led the market and its 5G availability of 78.5% was the highest, which matters most on mountain roads and minor islands where the other two fade. Nova’s reach is the most limited inland and on the smaller archipelagoes.
Should I buy from a Greek carrier or use a travel eSIM?
Direct means one network, carrier-issued provisioning, and a passport registration step; in exchange you get a real Greek number and unlimited domestic calling. A travel eSIM means instant delivery, no paperwork, automatic switching across Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova, and a fixed upfront price. Short trip: travel eSIM. For trips measured in months — or if a local number matters — buy from a carrier directly.
What if my Greece eSIM stops working in the Samaria Gorge?
That is expected, not a fault. The Samaria Gorge runs 16 km through a national park with no signal from end to end, so download offline maps and the Agia Roumeli ferry schedule before you start the descent. Signal returns at the trailhead in Omalos and at the coastal exit in Agia Roumeli. The same applies to the Vikos Gorge in Zagori and to any deep mountain road.
How does an eSIM actually work?
The eSIM is the chip factory-fitted in your handset that holds carrier profiles in place of a plastic card. An operator issues the profile, your handset saves it onto that built-in chip, and from then on it acts like any SIM. The mechanics, SM-DP plus servers, activation codes, and why a QR code is single-use, are explained in eSIM activation mechanics.
More questions? Full FAQ index
The sources behind this Greece guide
- Ookla Speedtest Connectivity Report — Greece, January to June 2025 — the per-carrier report underpins every carrier-level figure here: Cosmote’s Connectivity Score of 77.64 and Best Mobile Network award, the Speed Scores of 71.26, 63.65 and 59.76, the 5G availability of 78.5%, 76.1% and 75.3%, and the consistency, video, game and 5-Star ratings.
- Ookla Speedtest Global Index — the Greece country page tracks national median mobile download and rank, refreshed monthly.
- Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) — the national regulator documents the licensing, coverage and prepaid-registration rules cited on this page.
- European Commission — the EU mobile roaming guide sets out the roam-like-at-home rules and their limits at the non-EU border.
- DataReportal / GSMA Intelligence — Digital 2026: Greece supplies the median mobile download and adoption figures used for country context.
Third-party measurements only. What you actually get depends on the handset, the band in use, and crowding on the local mast.
Get your Greece eSIM ready before you fly
One profile covers Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova, so your phone finds the strongest Greek network wherever the ferry or the road takes you. First-time customers can start with a free Greece trial, or use code WEB20 for 20% off Greece eSIM plans.
A first-time-customer offer
If you would rather test before you commit, Roami’s test at no charge runs on the same networks this guide compares — including Cosmote. New Roami customers can also use WEB20 for 20% off a paid Greece plan.
