If you’re traveling to Croatia, we recommend that you buy a local Croatian SIM card or an eSIM (such as those from Holafly, Sim local, or Airalo) so you can have internet on your smartphone at all times and enjoy its benefits: you’ll be able to stay in touch with friends and family, upload photos and videos to social media, look up information, make inexpensive local calls to accommodations and/or tour operators, use Google Maps and other apps, and more.
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about buying a SIM card or eSIM in Croatia: which carriers are available, which one is best, whether a physical SIM or an eSIM is better, what data plans and prices are available, how to top up your balance and purchase additional data, how to make local calls, and more.
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Telephone Companies in Croatia (Local SIM Card/eSIM)
There are three major telephone companies in Croatia:
- Hrvatski Telekom (HT): Croatia’s leading carrier, offering the widest coverage and fastest speeds (check HT’s coverage here). Approximate price: 10 days of unlimited data for €15
- A1: the other major carrier, which also offers good coverage and speed (check A1’s coverage here). Approximate price: 10 days of unlimited data for €14.90
- Telemach: the third operator—cheaper but with less coverage—ideal if you’re only visiting the major cities and want to save money. (Check Telemach’s coverage here), as it may cause more problems in more remote areas. Approximate price: 10 days of unlimited data for €14.90
Do I need to buy a SIM or eSIM if I have a European carrier?
If your carrier is based in a European country, you can continue to use your data and/or minute plan in Croatia at no additional cost, although it’s important to understand that there may be “Fair Use Policy” limits on the amount of data or minutes you can use.
For example, in our case, we have Simyo prepaid SIM cards in Spain, and for the plan we had during our visit to Croatia (50GB + 120 min), we could use 16GB of that total 50GB while roaming.
Another important factor to keep in mind is that Croatia shares borders with several countries that are not part of the European Union (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro), so if you pass near any of those borders and your device connects to a local network there—since you’ll need to enable “Data Roaming” to access the internet in Croatia with your carrier—this could result in very high roaming charges.
Therefore, while you can certainly use your European carrier to access the internet during your visit to Croatia, we recommend that you carefully review your carrier’s specific fair-use limits and the areas you plan to visit to avoid any surprises.
Which is better: a travel eSIM or a local physical SIM card (or local eSIM)?
When choosing between a travel eSIM and a local SIM (or eSIM), it’s important to keep in mind that neither option is perfect and that each has its pros and cons.
In our opinion, the eSIM option is the easiest and most convenient in most cases, since you avoid having to waste time buying a physical SIM card, inserting it into your phone, etc., and you arrive in Croatia with internet already working on your phone.
If your phone doesn’t support eSIM, you can try one of these adapters. It’s a physical SIM card that you insert into your phone and that allows you to install eSIMs through it.
On the other hand, a physical SIM card will give you a local number, which you can use to make calls or send text messages to local businesses; it’s usually cheaper (depending on how much data you need), and you can top up your balance and purchase data plans as needed.
You can also buy a local eSIM in Croatia; the three major carriers all offer one, with unlimited data for 10 days or other options for longer periods. We didn’t get a chance to try this option, but here you can see the options available from each carrier:
- HT: https://www.hrvatskitelekom.hr/visiting-croatia
- A1: https://www.a1.hr/tourist-offer/en
- Telemach: https://telemach.hr/for-tourists
Where to Buy a Croatia Travel eSIM Card
As we mentioned, with an international eSIM, you avoid wasting time going out to buy a physical SIM card, topping up your balance, and signing up for data plans, etc., plus you’ll have internet access as soon as you land. If you decide to get a travel eSIM, you have many options; here we’ll tell you about the three we know of (for which we also offer you a discount for reading our blog):
- Holafly: You can choose the exact number of days for your trip, and it includes unlimited data, making it the easiest option so you don’t have to worry about a thing. It also lets you share the connection with other devices (1GB per day). It costs between 1 and 4€ per day, depending on the number of days (the more days, the cheaper it is).
- Sim local: It offers several limited data plan options (1GB, 3GB, 5GB, 10GB…), for predefined periods (7 or 30 days).
- Airalo: It also offers limited data plans for a set number of days
In all three cases, they offer both eSIMs for Croatia only and eSIMs for Europe in general that are valid in several countries, so depending on the nature of your trip, one or the other might be a better option for you. In our case, since we were only visiting Croatia, we tried the Croatia-specific ones, but if you’re planning a trip that takes you to several European countries, a Europe-wide eSIM might be a better option:
How to Install eSIMs
Installing eSIMs on your phone is super easy. Once you make your purchase, you’ll receive the necessary information via email.
If you have an iPhone, on most devices (all those running iOS 17.4 or later), you can install the eSIM with a single click from the app or simply by scanning the QR code you’ll receive (remember to perform the installation from a device with a stable internet connection, whether via mobile data or Wi-Fi)
In all other cases, you’ll need to perform a manual installation, which is also very easy—just follow the instructions provided in the email you’ll receive.
Depending on the type of eSIM and the provider, the days will start counting once you install the eSIM or once the eSIM connects to a network in Croatia. Be sure to check the details and confirm in advance, and just to be safe, it’s best to install it right before boarding your outbound flight.
Internet Speed with Holafly and Sim Local in Croatia
Below are several speed tests we conducted in various areas of Croatia using our eSIMs (from Holafly and Sim local):
Dubrovnik – Holafly
Dubrovnik – Sim local
Hvar – Holafly
Hvar – Sim local
From the boat, sailing among the islands – Holafly
From the boat, sailing among the islands – Sim local
Trogir – Holafly
Trogir – Sim local
Where to Buy a Physical SIM Card or Local eSIM in Croatia
If possible, the cheapest option is to buy a physical SIM card once you arrive in Croatia. You can buy one at various locations (newsstands, cell phone stores, post offices, etc.).
Once you receive the physical SIM card, just insert it, enter the PIN if there is one, and you’ll have internet access.
If you’d like to purchase an eSIM from one of the local carriers, you can do so either online or in person, and you’ll need to install it on your device by following the instructions.
Croatia’s country code
Just in case you need it, the country code for Croatia is +385—keep this in mind when adding local numbers (for accommodations, tour agencies, etc.) to your contacts list if you want to reach them via WhatsApp or SMS.
Remember that with a local SIM card, you can use tethering on your smartphone to share your internet connection with other smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more… You can also do this with eSIMs, though there may be limitations (if you plan to use tethering, check before buying the eSIM). If you do, remember to bring a good power bank with you, since it uses up a lot more battery power. At Randomtrip, we travel with these two:
- This one from ANKER with 10000mAh, which is enough to charge the battery a couple of times
- This one from Xiaomi, with 20000mAh, which is enough to charge the battery 4-5 times
If you prefer, another good option is to buy a portable router and take it with you to every country you visit so you can insert a SIM card into it, like this one, for example
We hope this is helpful, and that you have a wonderful time on your trip to Croatia!
