The short answer
Turkey is outside the EU roaming zone, and none of the four big UK networks treats it as Europe. Unless your plan specifically includes it, expect to pay £6 to £8 a day to use your allowance: £42 to £56 for a week, £84 to £112 for a fortnight. A 10 GB travel eSIM for the whole trip costs €3.99.
- EE charges £6 a day, O2 £7, Three £7 or £8 and Vodafone £6 or £8, depending on when you took out your plan.
- Vodafone's 8-day and 15-day European roaming passes do not cover Turkey.
- EE Full Works, O2 Ultimate, Three Complete and Vodafone Xtra Global Roam plans include Turkey. Check yours before you buy anything.
- The £45 roaming data cap that used to protect UK customers expired in June 2022.
Why your European allowance stops at the Turkish border
The EU's “roam like at home” rules cover the 27 member states, the three EEA countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — and, more recently, Moldova and Ukraine. Turkey is a candidate country, not a member, and it is not on the list. A European plan that works in Greece at no extra cost stops doing so on the ferry to Bodrum.
For UK travellers there is a second layer. Since 1 January 2021 UK networks have had no obligation to offer free roaming anywhere, and each decides for itself which countries count as “Europe”. All four big networks put Turkey outside it.
What the four big networks charge
| Network | Daily charge for Turkey | Longer passes | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| EERest of World Zone 1 | £6 for 24 hours | £30 for 7 days, £50 for 15 days | Without a pass, data is blocked. The clock starts when you buy the pass. |
| O2O2 Travel Bolt On | £7 per day used | None | Unlimited data, but speed capped at 2 Mbps. |
| ThreeGo Roam Around the World Extra | £7 if you joined between 1 October 2021 and 17 December 2025; £8 if later | £17.50 for 3 days, £42 for 7, £84 for 14 | 12 GB fair-use limit. |
| VodafoneZone C (Global Roam) | £8 on plans from 11 August 2021; £6 on older plans | None for Turkey | 25 GB limit. The European roaming passes cover Zone B only, so not Turkey. |
Pay-monthly prices from each operator's own pages and price guides, checked on 21 September 2026. Each daily charge unlocks your UK allowance for 24 hours.
Two details are worth knowing. EE and Three raised these prices during 2026, so older comparison articles quote lower figures. And Three also sells a separate Data Travel Pass that covers Turkey — 18 GB over 7 days for £26, or 40 GB over 14 days for £54 — which works out cheaper than paying by the day.
What a week and a fortnight actually cost
Assuming you use your phone every day of the trip:
| Network | 7-day trip | 14-day trip |
|---|---|---|
| EE | £42 by the day, or £30 with the 7-day pass | £84 by the day, or £50 with the 15-day pass |
| O2 | £49 | £98 |
| Threejoined before 18 December 2025 | £49, or £42 with the 7-day pass | £98, or £84 with the 14-day pass |
| Threejoined since | £56, or £42 with the 7-day pass | £112, or £84 with the 14-day pass |
| Vodafoneplan from 11 August 2021 | £56 | £112 |
| Vodafoneolder plan | £42 | £84 |
| Travel eSIM from us | €3.99 for 10 GB | €3.99 for 10 GB, or €9.99 for 20 GB |
The comparison is not quite like for like, and it is fair to say so. A roaming pass unlocks your whole UK allowance, calls and texts included. A travel eSIM is data only: calls go over WhatsApp or FaceTime, and your UK number stays reachable on your normal SIM.
Plans that already include Turkey
Check this before you spend anything. Each network has a top tier that covers Turkey at no extra charge:
- EE: Full Works plans taken after 29 August 2024 include Zone 1 roaming, with Turkey named and a 50 GB fair-use limit. All Rounder plans include Europe only.
- O2: Ultimate Plans include Turkey. The 27-destination Inclusive Zone that comes with Plus Plans and Volt does not.
- Three: Complete plans taken on or after 22 June 2025 have Go Roam built in. Lite and Advanced plans have none.
- Vodafone: Xtra plans with Global Roam include all 84 Global Roam destinations, Turkey among them, up to 25 GB.
If yours is one of these, roaming is already paid for and you do not need an eSIM for a short trip.
The smaller networks
These vary far more than the big four — from a genuinely good deal to the most expensive megabyte you will ever buy.
| Network | Using your phone in Turkey |
|---|---|
| Sky Mobile | £2 per 24 hours unlocks your UK allowance (Roaming Passport Plus). The cheapest roaming in this guide. |
| Lebara | Add-ons: £5 for 8 days with 4 GB, or £10 for 15 days with 7 GB. |
| VOXI | UK allowance does not work. Global Roaming Pass: £16 for 8 days with 2 GB, or £26.60 for 15 days with 4 GB. |
| iD Mobile | Add-ons: £5 for 2 GB over 1 day, £20 for 10 GB over 5 days, £35 for 20 GB over 10 days. Otherwise £1.50 per MB. |
| SMARTY | Plan allowance does not work. Pay-as-you-go credit at 10p per MB — £100 per GB. |
| Tesco Mobile | Turkey is not a Home From Home destination. Data is £5 per MB. |
Operators' own roaming pages, checked on 21 September 2026.
The protection you no longer have
Many travellers still believe their bill is capped at £45 a month for data abroad. That cap was EU law carried over after Brexit, and it expired on 30 June 2022, together with the rule that made networks warn you at 80% and 100% of it.
What replaced it is weaker. Since 1 October 2024 Ofcom has required networks to send roaming alerts that spell out the charges, any fair-use limit and how to set your own spending cap — but there is no mandatory cap any more. Some networks still apply one by choice; set your own in your account before you travel.
When roaming is the right choice, and when it is not
- Roam if your plan already includes Turkey, or if you are on Sky Mobile at £2 a day. There is nothing to set up.
- Roam for a day or two. For a city break of two days, £12 to £16 for your full allowance with calls is reasonable.
- Use an eSIM for anything longer. A single day's roaming charge already costs more than 10 GB for the whole trip (€3.99), and the gap grows with every day.
- Use an eSIM if your network charges by the megabyte. On Tesco Mobile or SMARTY there is no sensible way to use data in Turkey otherwise.
If you go the eSIM route, read Is eSIM banned in Turkey? first: most international eSIM shops no longer open from inside Turkey, which matters the moment you need a top-up.
Questions people ask
Does EU roaming include Turkey?
No. The EU's “roam like at home” rules cover the EU, the EEA countries, Moldova and Ukraine. Turkey is not included, so a European allowance does not apply there.
How much is roaming in Turkey per day?
On the four big UK networks in September 2026: £6 on EE, £7 on O2, £7 or £8 on Three and £6 or £8 on Vodafone, depending on when you took out your plan. Each charge unlocks your UK allowance for 24 hours.
Does Vodafone's European roaming pass work in Turkey?
No. Vodafone's 8-day and 15-day European Roaming passes cover Zone B. Turkey is in Zone C, where the charge is £8 a day, or £6 on plans bought before 11 August 2021.
Is Northern Cyprus charged like Turkey?
On EE and Vodafone, yes: both group Northern Cyprus with Turkey rather than with the Republic of Cyprus, which is in their Europe zones. Near the border a phone can switch network without warning.
Is there still a £45 cap on roaming data?
Not by law. The cap expired on 30 June 2022. Since October 2024 networks must send alerts about roaming charges and tell you how to set your own spend cap, but there is no mandatory limit.
Sources
Facts checked 21 September 2026
- EE: pay monthly price guide — dated 3 September 2026: Zone 1 passes
- EE: roaming costs
- O2 Travel — £7 a day, 2 Mbps
- O2: using your phone abroad — Turkey is not in the Europe Zone
- Three: Go Roam — daily charges by joining date
- Three: roaming destinations — passes and fair-use limit for Turkey
- Vodafone: Global Roam — Zone C, daily charge, 25 GB limit
- Sky Mobile: Roaming Passport Plus
- VOXI: charges
- Tesco Mobile: roaming
- iD Mobile: roaming
- Lebara: roaming rates for Turkey
- SMARTY: roaming in Turkey
- Your Europe (EU): roaming — which countries “roam like at home” covers
- House of Commons Library: mobile roaming charges — end of the £45 cap on 30 June 2022
- Ofcom: new mobile roaming alerts for UK holidaymakers — press release of 25 March 2024; rules in force from 1 October 2024
Keep reading
- Is eSIM banned in Turkey?The headlines said Turkey had banned eSIMs. It has not. What it did is narrower, stranger and, if you are about to travel, more useful to understand.
- Turkey SIM card vs eSIMThree operators sell tourist SIM cards in Turkey, and only one of them publishes what it costs. Here are the official prices, what travellers report paying at the airport, and an honest account of when a SIM card beats an eSIM.