Greece eSIM 2026: Island-Hopping Data Guide for Travelers from the US and Canada

Published November 12, 2026

Greece is about islands, and islands are about ferries: schedules change, tickets live on your phone and you check the Meltemi wind forecast every morning. Add maps of Athens, rental cars on Crete and messages to your villa host, and you need reliable data. Your US or Canadian plan works in Greece for a daily fee. This guide shows the alternatives and the pitfalls that are special to Greece. As of November 2026.

The short version

• Verizon and AT&T charge $12 per day, Rogers and Telus CAD 18, Bell CAD 16. Two weeks of island hopping cost up to $168 or CAD 252 per phone.
• A Greece eSIM covers the mainland and the islands. For a cruise or a trip that adds Italy or Turkey, take a Europe plan.
• On ferries and cruise ships your phone can connect to an onboard network billed at maritime rates: AT&T charges $20 a day at sea.
• Emergency number: 112.

Greece eSIM or Europe eSIM?

Island hopping within Greece? A Greece plan gives you the most data for the money. A Mediterranean cruise, a combination with Italy, or a day trip from Kos or Rhodes to Bodrum or Marmaris in Turkey? Our Europe plans currently include Turkey, so one eSIM covers the whole trip:

Read more: eSIM for Europe 2026: A Guide for Travelers from the US and Canada

The ferry and cruise trap

Out at sea, the phone loses the land networks and may connect to the ship's own mobile network. That network is billed as maritime roaming, not as roaming in Greece: AT&T charges $20 per day at sea, and per-megabyte rates without a pass are higher. A travel eSIM does not work on ship networks either. Switch the phone to airplane mode with Wi-Fi on while at sea, or turn off data roaming for every line, and switch back on when you reach port.

Coverage on the islands

• Athens, Thessaloniki and the big islands (Crete, Rhodes, Corfu): good 4G and 5G in towns and resorts.
• Small islands, mountain villages and remote beaches: patchy; some coves have no signal at all.
• Open sea between islands: often no land signal for part of the crossing.

Save ferry tickets and boarding passes offline, download offline maps for each island, and check ferry changes on the operator's site while you still have signal in port.

Can I buy a Greek SIM?

Greece has three mobile networks, Cosmote, Vodafone and Nova, with prepaid SIM cards in their stores and at some airports; you register them with your passport. For a vacation, the eSIM saves the store visit and keeps your home number on the phone. US iPhones since the iPhone 14 cannot take a physical SIM.

How much data do you need?

• One week in Athens and one island: 3–5 GB.
• Two weeks of island hopping with photos and social media: 8–15 GB.
• Remote work from a villa or daily video calls: 20 GB or more.

Setting up and entry

• Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi; switch it on after landing in Athens and turn on data roaming for it only.
• Turn off data roaming for your home line before the flight lands.
• Greece is in the Schengen area: the EU's Entry/Exit System registers your fingerprints and photo at the first Schengen border. ETIAS is not in operation yet and has no start date.

Get the app

Your eSIMs, the data you have left and top-ups – all in the app.

Scan the QR code with your phone to open Google Play.