Choosing how to stay connected
You will use your phone in Italy more than you do at home: for maps in medieval streets with no grid, for train tickets, for timed museum entries and for messaging your B&B host on WhatsApp. Going without data is possible, but it makes everything harder.
You have three main choices, and the right one depends on how long you are staying and what plan you have now.
| Option | Best for | Cost picture | Keep your US number? |
|---|---|---|---|
| US carrier day pass | Short trips, travelers who want zero setup | $12 a day on Verizon and AT&T; adds up quickly on long trips | Yes, calls and texts work as usual |
| Plan with international data included | T-Mobile and Google Fi customers | No extra charge, but speeds or allowances may be limited | Yes |
| Travel eSIM | Most trips of a week or more | Usually a fraction of a carrier pass for the same days | Yes, if your phone keeps the US line active for calls and texts |
| Italian prepaid SIM or eSIM | Long stays, heavy data users, anyone needing an Italian number | Cheap for large allowances, with some paperwork | Only on a dual-SIM phone |
US carrier plans in Italy
All three big US carriers work in Italy, and they connect to the Italian networks automatically. The question is what they charge. Prices below are what the carriers advertise in fall 2026; check your own plan in your carrier's app before you go, because older plans differ.
Verizon
TravelPass costs $12 a day per phone in more than 200 countries, including Italy. It lets you use your plan's talk, text and data abroad, with a daily high-speed allowance before speeds slow down. You are charged only on days you actually use the phone on a network abroad, and the day runs on a 24-hour clock from first use. For longer trips Verizon also sells a monthly international plan, advertised at $100 a month with 250 minutes of calls, unlimited texts and 20 GB of high-speed data, which it recommends for trips of 10 days or more.
AT&T
The International Day Pass is $12 a day in more than 210 destinations, with unlimited talk and text and data according to your domestic plan. Additional lines on the same account cost less per day, and AT&T caps the daily charges at a set number of days per billing cycle (10 days at the time of writing), so a three-week trip does not cost three weeks of passes. Charges kick in on any day the phone uses data or makes or takes a call.
T-Mobile
Most T-Mobile plans include some international data in Italy at no extra charge. The cheaper Essentials plan gives you only very slow data abroad (256 kbps), fine for text messages and email but painful for maps. Experience More includes 5 GB of high-speed data in more than 200 countries, and Experience Beyond includes 15 GB, after which speeds slow. If you need more, T-Mobile sells International Passes: a 10-day pass with 5 GB for $35, a 30-day pass with 15 GB for $50, and a one-day pass with 512 MB for $5.
Google Fi and others
Google Fi charges the same for data abroad as at home, and its top plan includes a generous high-speed roaming allowance. Some smaller US carriers and prepaid brands include little or no international roaming; check before you leave.
Watch out
If your plan has no international feature at all, pay-per-use roaming can cost several dollars per megabyte. Before you fly, either add a pass or turn off cellular data and data roaming, then turn them back on only when you mean to. One app syncing photos in the background at Fiumicino can cost more than a week of passes.
Save money
Two phones on Verizon TravelPass for a two-week trip come to $336 (14 days at $12 each, times two). A travel eSIM for each phone usually costs a small fraction of that. Day passes make the most sense for trips of under a week or for travelers who need their US number to work for calls without thinking about it.
Travel eSIMs
An eSIM is a digital SIM card you download to your phone. Travel eSIM companies such as Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi sell prepaid data plans for Italy alone or for Europe as a whole, priced by gigabytes and days. Your phone uses the eSIM for data while keeping your US line for calls and texts.
Does your phone work with one?
- Unlocked: your phone must be unlocked by your carrier. Phones you own outright usually are; financed phones may not be. Ask your carrier before you travel.
- eSIM-capable: iPhones from the XS and XR onward, recent Google Pixels and most recent Samsung Galaxy phones support eSIM. US iPhones from the iPhone 14 onward have no physical SIM slot at all, so eSIM is the only way to add a second line.
How to set one up
- Buy the plan in the provider's app or website a few days before you fly. Choose Italy only, or a Europe plan if you are also visiting France, Greece or Croatia. If you are going to Switzerland, confirm that it is included, because it is outside the EU.
- Install the eSIM at home on Wi-Fi by scanning the QR code or following the in-app instructions. Many plans do not start counting days until the phone first connects in Italy.
- In your phone's cellular settings, set the travel eSIM as the line for cellular data and turn on data roaming for that line only.
- Leave your US line on for calls and texts, with data roaming off. Use Wi-Fi calling to make US calls for free or cheaply, depending on your carrier.
- When you land, switch off airplane mode and wait a minute for it to find TIM, Vodafone or WindTre, the networks most travel eSIMs use.
Insider tip
Most travel eSIMs give you data only, with no Italian phone number. That is usually fine, since hotels, restaurants and tour guides in Italy use WhatsApp, which works on data. If you will need to receive calls from Italian numbers, such as a car rental office, keep your US line reachable or get an Italian SIM.
Unlimited eSIM plans often slow down after a daily fair-use amount and may block hotspot use. Read the small print if you plan to tether a laptop.
Italian SIM cards
Italy's mobile market is competitive, and local prepaid plans give large data allowances for little money. The main networks are TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad, plus smaller brands that use their networks. Several offer short-term tourist plans, sold at airport kiosks and city stores.
- ID: Italian law requires your identity to be registered with every SIM, so bring your passport. Some sellers also ask for an Italian tax code, the codice fiscale, and can generate one from your passport details.
- Where to buy: airport kiosks are convenient but usually charge more than stores in town. A carrier store near a big station is a good compromise.
- Activation: it can take a few hours, so do not count on it for the taxi ride from the airport.
- Roaming: under EU rules, an Italian SIM works in other EU countries at no extra charge, within fair-use limits. Switzerland is not covered.
An Italian SIM is the best choice if you are staying for a month or more, renting an apartment, or doing anything that sends verification codes by SMS to an Italian number. For longer stays, see long stays in Italy.
Wi-Fi, calling and WhatsApp
Wi-Fi
Almost every hotel, B&B and rental apartment has free Wi-Fi, though speed varies a lot in old stone buildings and rural agriturismi (farm stays). The Frecciarossa and Italo high-speed trains have free onboard Wi-Fi that can drop in tunnels. Airports offer free Wi-Fi after a short sign-in. Cafés in Italy are places for a quick espresso at the counter, and few offer Wi-Fi the way an American coffee shop does.
Watch out
Avoid logging in to banking or entering card details on open public Wi-Fi networks. Use your cellular data for that, or a reputable VPN.
WhatsApp is how Italy communicates. Your B&B host will send check-in instructions on it, restaurants confirm bookings on it, and tour guides set up meeting points on it. Install it before you go and make sure it is linked to a number you can receive a text on.
Different from home
Italians call and send voice messages far more than Americans do. Do not be surprised if a host answers your text with a two-minute voice note. Many small businesses list a mobile number starting with 3 as their main contact, and WhatsApp is often the fastest way to reach them.
Dialing
- Italy's country code is +39. Unlike in most countries, you keep the leading 0 of landline numbers: a Rome landline beginning 06 is dialed +39 06 from abroad.
- Italian mobile numbers start with 3 and have no leading 0.
- To call the US from an Italian phone, dial +1 and the number. From your US phone, just dial the number with +1 as usual.
- Numbers starting 800 or 803 are toll-free within Italy; numbers starting 89 are premium-rate.
Emergencies
Dial 112 for police, ambulance or fire. It is free from any phone, including a US phone roaming in Italy, and operators can connect you with English-speaking help. The official 112 app, Where ARE U, sends your location to the operator. Italy's IT-alert public warning system can also send emergency messages to every phone in an affected area, for example during a flood or wildfire, including phones roaming from abroad. More on emergencies is on our safety page.
Plugs and voltage
Italy runs on 230 volts at 50 Hz, about twice the US's 120 volts. It also uses two plug types, and some outlets take only one of them, which confuses even experienced travelers.
Type F (Schuko)
The standard across much of continental Europe. Fits round, recessed sockets. Common in newer Italian buildings, hotels and for big appliances.
Type L
Italy's own plug, in a small 10 amp version and a larger 16 amp version with thicker pins. Older apartments may have only Type L sockets, which will not take a Schuko plug.
Type C (Europlug)
The universal small plug. It fits Type F sockets, small Type L sockets and the combination sockets common in Italy. This is the adapter to pack.
Insider tip
Pack two or three small Type C adapters rather than one bulky universal adapter. They fit nearly every Italian socket, they also work in France, Switzerland, Greece and Croatia, and having several lets you charge a phone, a watch and a camera at once. If a socket is the large three-hole kind, you may need a Type L adapter or a hardware-store riduttore (adapter), which costs a few euros.
Will your devices work?
Look at the small print on the charger or power brick. If it says INPUT 100–240V, 50/60Hz, it is dual-voltage and needs only a plug adapter. That covers almost all phone chargers, laptop chargers, tablet and camera chargers, and most modern CPAP machines.
Devices that heat things are another story. Most US hair dryers, curling irons, flat irons and some electric toothbrush and shaver chargers are single-voltage 120 V and will burn out or catch fire on 230 V. A voltage converter heavy enough to run a hair dryer is big and unreliable. Use the hair dryer your hotel provides, which nearly all do, or buy an inexpensive European one when you arrive.
Watch out
Do not plug a US power strip into an Italian adapter unless it is rated for 250 V. Many US strips are built for 120 V only. A travel power strip with only USB ports, or one designed for international use, is safer.
Different from home
Many Italian hotel rooms cut the power when you remove the key card from the slot by the door, so your phone will not charge while you are out. Italian apartments also often have a low household power limit: run the washing machine, the air conditioner and a kettle at once and the meter trips. If the power goes out, look for the meter or breaker box, usually by the front door, turn something off and flip the switch back up.
The apps that make Italy easier
Install these at home on Wi-Fi, create accounts and add a payment card before you fly. Setting up an account on a slow connection at a busy station is no fun.
Trains
Trenitalia
Buy tickets for the high-speed Frecciarossa, Intercity and regional trains, pick seats, change bookings, and get platform and delay updates. Digital tickets on the phone need no printing. For regional tickets without a fixed train, the app may ask you to check in before boarding; do it on the platform, because an unvalidated ticket can get you fined. Full details are on getting around.
Italo
Italo runs high-speed trains on the main lines between Turin, Milan, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Salerno and more. Its app sells tickets, sends live updates and stores your boarding QR code. Check both Italo and Trenitalia on busy routes like Rome to Florence, since fares differ.
Getting around cities
Moovit
Shows bus, tram and metro routes with live arrival times and service alerts in Rome, Milan, Naples, Florence and many other cities. It is often better than Google Maps for city buses and for small regional bus companies.
Free Now
Now branded Freenow by Lyft after Lyft bought it in 2025. It hails licensed city taxis in Rome, Milan and other big cities, shows the driver's location and takes payment in the app. Taxis remain metered, with set airport fares in some cities.
itTaxi and appTaxi
Apps run by Italian taxi cooperatives, useful where Free Now has few cars. In smaller cities, the local radio taxi number is still the most reliable way to get a cab.
Google Maps
Excellent for walking directions and good for train schedules. Download offline maps for each city and region before you go, for hill towns and the countryside where signal drops.
Different from home
Uber exists in Italy only in limited form, mostly premium black cars and licensed taxis in a few large cities, so do not plan around it. Italian taxis do not cruise for fares the way New York cabs do; you get one at a taxi stand, through an app or by phone. When you book by app or phone, the meter often starts from where the driver was when you called.
Paying for transit and parking
In Rome and Milan you can tap a contactless credit card or phone wallet at metro gates and on many buses instead of buying a paper ticket. Use the same card or phone for every tap, since that is how your trips are tracked and capped where daily caps apply. For buses in other cities, regional transit, and on-street parking in the blue-lined spaces, apps such as MooneyGo and EasyPark let you buy tickets and pay by the minute. Check which one the local operator uses, which is usually shown on the bus stop or parking sign.
Everything else
- WhatsApp: essential for messaging hosts, guides and restaurants.
- Google Translate: its camera mode reads menus and signs. Download Italian for offline use. For phrases worth learning yourself, see Italian for travelers.
- TheFork: restaurant reservations across Italy, sometimes with discounts. See food.
- Your airline's app and, for low-cost airlines, their apps for boarding passes. See flights.
- Museum and site tickets: use the official ticketing site or app for the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum and the Uffizi, and save the QR codes offline. See art and churches.
- CBP's Mobile Passport Control: for a faster line on your return to the US.
- A banking app: with card controls and travel notifications. See money.
Keeping your phone safe
Phones are the most stolen item from tourists in Italy, especially on Rome's metro lines, crowded buses such as Rome's 64 and 40, at the Trevi Fountain and in train stations. Keep the phone in a front pocket or a zipped bag, never on a café table near the street, and be careful when you are absorbed in maps at busy corners.
- Turn on Find My (iPhone) or Find My Device (Android), and on iPhone, Stolen Device Protection.
- Set a strong passcode and make sure banking apps need Face ID or a fingerprint.
- Back up your photos before you go and let them sync on hotel Wi-Fi.
- Save your hotel address and an emergency contact on paper, in case the phone disappears.
- If the phone is stolen, report it at a police station for an insurance claim. More on pickpockets is on our safety page.
Pre-trip phone checklist
- Decide: carrier pass, included plan, travel eSIM or Italian SIM.
- Confirm your phone is unlocked if you plan to use an eSIM or local SIM.
- Install the eSIM at home; leave data roaming off on your US line.
- Turn on Wi-Fi calling for your US line.
- Install Trenitalia, Italo, Moovit, Free Now, WhatsApp and Google Maps, and set up accounts and payment.
- Download offline Google Maps and the Italian language pack for Translate.
- Pack two or three Type C adapters and a dual-voltage USB charger.
- Leave the hair dryer at home.
- Make sure your phone and accounts are set up for security in case of loss or theft.
For the rest of your packing list, see packing.
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