Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Croatia

Dramatic coastal cliffs. Crooked cobblestone streets. Shimmering azure waters. Croatia is one of the most photogenic countries on Earth, and the rightful backdrop to Westeros’ majestic King’s Landing.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what that means (I’ll admit I didn’t until I arrived in Dubrovnik) – this country will win you and your camera over, even if you have no idea what Jon Snow looks like.

Feeling the need to upload a million reels already? Grab a local SIM card or travel eSIM, and flood the Instagram feeds of unsuspecting friends and family with those jealousy-inducing shots.

The main cell carriers in Croatia are T-Hrvatski Telekom (T-HT), A1 Croatia, and Telemach. T-HT is the leading service provider, with almost half of the users in the country. It is also the one with the largest network, covering anywhere you’re likely to be.

All three companies offer tourist packages, which are short-term, prepaid plans heavy on data. Telemach and A1’s plans includes some domestic voice minutes and/or texts, while T-HT charges extra for them.

I didn’t need calls or texts on this trip, so I went with T-HT due to its larger network.

While the tourist SIMs in Croatia aren’t particularly expensive and provide large or unlimited amounts of data, there are some good travel eSIM options if your data needs are more modest.

Of the better providers out there, eSIMPal is the best option for most visitors. It has the best prices, often with longer validity, and has been nice and fast anywhere I’ve tested it.

The only exception is if you want unlimited data: eSIMPal doesn’t offer that, but companies like aloSIM and Holafly do. It’s a competitive market, though, and discounts and promotions can make a big difference.

Other than the convenience and time saving of being connected as soon as you arrive, you’ll also save money over a local SIM if you don’t expect to use loads of data during your stay. All of the prices for the companies I regularly use are in the table below.

We update the details every week, most recently on 5 Oct 2026.

As with the vast majority of travel eSIMs, this is a data-only service: there’s no phone number included. While apps like WhatsApp, Facetime, and Messenger work fine for voice and video calling, you’ll need to use eSIMPal’s sister company Yadaphone or one of the alternatives to make calls to other numbers.

One thing worth noting: if you’re planning to travel to several European countries within a few weeks, it might be worth looking at some of the regional eSIM packages on offer.

There are too many to list each one separately (and they change all the time), but as a starting point, these are the Europe eSIM options from companies I’d actually consider using:

New to eSIMs? They offer big benefits to travelers in terms of how quickly, easily, and (often) cheaply you can get connected when you arrive in a new country. Most recent phones support them, and you can read all about them here.

If you’re visiting other countries as well, make sure you check out our worldwide eSIM finder before you go. It has real-world recommendations for every trip, only takes a few seconds, and could save you a lot of money!

You can purchase packages at the carrier’s official stores, as well as in several convenience stores, souvenir shops, and electronic stores around the country.

Setup is easy enough. Simply put the SIM card in your device, and as soon as it recognizes the network, you’re good to go.

I bought mine from an official T-HT store in Zadar. As soon as I entered, I was asked to take a number from a machine by the door. The screen gave two options in Croatian, for personal or business customers.

The machine does offer English versions of the text, but if it happens to not work (as was the case for me) you should go with “privatni korisnici”, or private user.

As soon as my number came up, a representative who spoke flawless English took care of me. No passport or ID card was needed for the tourist contract, though it would be if you wanted to sign up for any of the non-tourist packages.

If you have any problems that turning your device on and off doesn’t fix, the stores can lend you a hand, even if, like me, the problem is self-inflicted and embarrassingly silly.

Hint: don’t try to open your iPhone’s SIM card slot with a wooden toothpick. It will not end well.

T-HT

The T-HT “Visiting Croatia” tourist package used to be a physical SIM card, but it’s now switched to being entirely eSIM-based.

You can buy versions that last 3, 10, or 90 days: the first two have unlimited data, the last has 120GB. You’ll pay €11, €15, or €25 respectively.

These packages will auto-renew when they expire if you’ve added enough credit onto your account (renewals cost the same as the initial purchase), otherwise the service stops working.

A1

For A1 Croatia, the tourist plans are pretty similar, but there are more choices and some give the option of either a physical SIM or eSIM version. Prices tend to be slightly cheaper than the T-HT versions, but that does depend on current promos.

Telemach

Telemach’s tourist SIM offerings are very straightforward: there are two plans, one with unlimited data for 10 days, and the other with a set amount of data for a month.

The latter plan also comes with local calls, 200 minutes in this case. The 10GB data allowance on that plan isn’t as generous as the others, although you’ll often find very large amounts of bonus data on offer for (at least) the first month.

The unlimited plan costs €14.95 while the other costs €9.95, and there’s no roaming elsewhere in the EU with either of them.

Topping Up

T-HT

You can recharge your account in the usual ways: online through the provider’s website or app, with a call or text message to the service provider, or with a voucher purchased at the same places you buy SIM cards from.

International cards are allowed for payment. When I recharged my account I went the online route, and my Spanish credit card worked without a glitch.

eSIMPal

Topping up with eSIMPal is simply a matter of heading back to the web page and either topping up or buying another package. Either way you don’t need to do any configuration: it uses your existing eSIM and starts working immediately

Data was consistent and reliable throughout the country, with good to excellent speeds everywhere I tested. I made several calls with WhatsApp audio during my stay, and had no major interruptions in any of them.

I found the fastest data to be in the cities, particularly Split, but also got decent service on the island of Lokrum off the Dubrovnik coast.

Note that both aloSIM and eSIMPal can use any of the networks in the country, so you’ll get better service with either of them than with a SIM or eSIM from a local carrier.

Croatia is part of the European Union, so EU roaming regulations apply. These “roam like at home” rules ended roaming charges across much of Europe in 2017, letting you use a SIM card from any EU country across all the others at no extra charge.

There are some exceptions and limits, however, especially with large or unlimited data packages. Double-check the exact details at time of purchase.

You can roam elsewhere in the EU with any of the T-HT tourist packs mentioned earlier, but there are data fair use limits before you need to start paying a surcharge.

EU roaming isn’t included with the A1 tourist SIM, so if that’s something you plan to do, you’re better off with the T-HT option.

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Check out our guides to SIM cards and eSIMs in 65+ other countries here.